Home Networking: The Missing Manual

Manually Configuring Your Router

Okay, so your basic network setup wasn't so basic; your computers are not quite yet ready to get online. No problem. This section will tell you everything you need to know to manually configure your router. (If the term "manually configure" makes you nervous, relax. It really just means "typing stuff into boxes onscreen and clicking OK.") If you've got a static IP address, read on; if you're a PPPoE person, skip ahead to "Information PPPoE People Need" on Section 2.3.2.

Information Static IP People Need

If you've got yourself a static IP address, you need to obtain the following bits of info from your ISP before you can move ahead: the IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, and DNS servers. Here's a quick primer on what all this arcane technical jargon means.

The IP address

Every computer connected to the Internet, even temporarily, has its own exclusive IP address (IP stands for Internet Protocol). An IP address is always made up of four numbers, separated by periods. Think of your IP address as the number of your house on your street—350, 1060, or whatever. If you have a static IP address, make sure your Internet service provider has given you an address that will allow you to get out on the Internet. If the static address falls within any of three restricted ranges—192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255, 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255, or 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255—it won't let your PCs get online. These numbers all fall within the category of what's known ...