A LinkSys router is perhaps one of easiest routers to set up and therefore is used widely for its user friendliness and compatibility with a lot of systems. The compatibility factor is what is the common ‘link’ between its sales and productivity.
To set up the router, first the hardware must be configured. The steps to configure the hardware are:
- Connect the router to the computer: Use the Ethernet cable given with the router and plug one side of it inside the router and the other into the computer. Use the WAN (Wide Area Network) Ethernet card from the server/ISP cable and plug it into the router’s WAN port. Now the router can access the server. If your network is not a WAN, but rather a phone line broadband connection, then instead of the WAN card, plug in the phone line to the phone line connection port.
- Connect the power cord: Connect the adapter that came with the router to any rated wall socket (9V is the usual rating) and connect the other line into the router. Wait till the power LED glows green and you are good to go.
Configuring the router is the most important step in setting it up. The router’s default configuration, IP address, security and other such default behaviour would be well documented in the manual of the LinkSys router.
To configure the router to access the proper network, the router settings have to be changed from a browser.
The steps are:
- Type in the router’s IP address (Internet Protocol) in the browser’s navigation bar. It is usually 192.168.1.1 but a router may have its own unique IP supplied by the company. Check the manual for more details
- When the page opens, it asks for the password of the router and the username. Factory defaults are ‘admin’ for both. Type it in. If it does not work, consult the manual.
- All the settings can now be changed in this page including the security (encryption of packets, password, username etc.) the DHCP (Dynamic Host Control Protocol) for Dynamic IP addresses and DNS (Domain Name Server) names for connecting to the internet.
The router is now set up, but the configuration of the internet is still left. These are to be consulted and withdrawn from the server administrator or the system administrator or the internet service provider. These are the people who would know the exact configurations.
