Chapter 3 Connection Wizard

3.4.6 IP Address and Subnet Mask

Similar to the way houses on a street share a common street name, so too do computers on a LAN share one common network number.

Where you obtain your network number depends on your particular situation. If the ISP or your network administrator assigns you a block of registered IP addresses, follow their instructions in selecting the IP addresses and the subnet mask.

If the ISP did not explicitly give you an IP network number, then most likely you have a single user account and the ISP will assign you a dynamic IP address when the connection is established. The Internet Assigned Number Authority (IANA) reserved this block of addresses specifically for private use; please do not use any other number unless you are told otherwise. Let's say you select 192.168.1.0 as the network number; which covers 254 individual addresses, from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.254 (zero and 255 are reserved). In other words, the first three numbers specify the network number while the last number identifies an individual computer on that network.

Once you have decided on the network number, pick an IP address that is easy to remember, for instance, 192.168.1.1, for your NBG-418N, but make sure that no other device on your network is using that IP address.

The subnet mask specifies the network number portion of an IP address. Your NBG-418N will compute the subnet mask automatically based on the IP address that you entered. You don't need to change the subnet mask computed by the NBG-418N unless you are instructed to do otherwise.

3.4.7 DNS Server Address Assignment

Use DNS (Domain Name System) to map a domain name to its corresponding IP address and vice versa, for instance, the IP address of www.zyxel.com is 204.217.0.2. The DNS server is extremely important because without it, you must know the IP address of a computer before you can access it.

The NBG-418N can get the DNS server addresses in the following ways.

1The ISP tells you the DNS server addresses, usually in the form of an information sheet, when you sign up. If your ISP gives you DNS server addresses, enter them in the DNS Server fields in the Wizard and/or WAN > Internet Connection screen.

2If the ISP did not give you DNS server information, leave the DNS Server fields set to 0.0.0.0 in the Wizard screen and/or set to From ISP in the WAN > Internet Connection screen for the ISP to dynamically assign the DNS server IP addresses.

3.4.8WAN IP and DNS Server Address Assignment

The following wizard screen allows you to assign a fixed WAN IP address and DNS server addresses.

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NBG-418N User’s Guide