Configuration OpenWRT – Instruction
Connection to the router
To connect the router to the Internet (or any other WAN network), the WAN port is used. For wired connection of the router to local user devices (computer, laptop, TV with SmartTV function, router, switch, etc.) one of the LAN ports is used. Also, user devices can be connected wirelessly via Wi-Fi.
Wired connection (LAN):
To configure the router, connect any LAN port of the router to the port of the network card of your computer using the patch cord that comes with the package. Connect the power supply to the router (also included).
On the computer, you need to check the TCP / IPv4 settings in the properties of the LAN connection: everywhere there should be automatic settings. Automatic settings are usually set by default.
Open this URL in the browser: http://192.168.1.1 - at this address is the WEB-interface of the router.
By default, the router does not have a password on the administrator account. This is done so that the user himself sets a password that is known only to him.
When working without a password on the account, the router reminds you to set a password.
To establish a password, you must click on the link «Go to setting a password» or «System» → «Management»
The window will open where you will be asked to enter a password.
If you have problems connecting to the router, check the following:
- Availability of power on the router. The power LED must be active.
- There is a connection on the side of the router. To do this, pay attention to the LAN port of the router:
- Is the network cable plugged into the computer port?
- Is the automatic detection of IP active in the operating system?
- - The network cable must be inserted into the port of the router.
- - If the port has indicators, then if the connection is successful, the orange LED should be on, the green one may flicker periodically
Connection to network (WAN):
For a wired connection of the router to the Internet or any other external network, the WAN port is used.
Usually, to connect the router to the network, it is enough to do the following:
- Plug the network cable into the WAN port. If you have an external network without L2TP, PPTP, then most often you no longer need to configure anything, the Internet will work itself.
- If you have an external network with L2TP, PPTP, then open in the browser the web interface of the router at http://192.168.1.1/
- Log in to the system. After this, you will see the system interface.
Select the «Network» tab and in it the «Interfaces» submenu. The list of all network interfaces will be loaded. Among them will be “WAN” which belongs to IPv4 and “WAN6” for IPv6. Click on the “Change” button in the WAN interface. In the “Protocol” drop-down menu, select the protocol according to your settings. These settings must be provided by your internet provider.
Click on the «Change Protocol» button that appears. Now you can enter the settings provided by your internet provider. After entering the settings, you must click the «Save and apply» button. If the Internet connection has not happened, then contact your internet provider for details of the connection.
Wireless connection (Wi-Fi):
Turn on your device (for example, on the phone) Wi-Fi, find your router in the list (the name of the router is SSID, its name is on the label on the back of the router), select it and enter the password (also written on the label).
Resetting the router to factory settings.
If you have forgotten the password to enter the router or accidentally deleted the configured profiles for the modem, perform a hardware reset of the router. To do this, when the power of the router is on, press and hold the reset button for 5 seconds. After releasing the button, reboot the router by turning the power off and then on. After rebooting the router, go to the browser at 192.168.1.1. The password and settings of the router will be factory.
WiFi network setup
Wi-Fi router module can work in several modes:
- Access point (default Mode)
- Client
- Repeater
Wi-Fi Setup:
- Open the web-interface of the router in the browser by typing in the address http://192.168.1.1/ and log in to the system.
- Select the «Network» tab and in it the «Wi Fi» sub-item. This menu will display all radio modules and Wi - Fi network of the router.
- Select the Wi-Fi network you are interested in and click the button «Change.»
The Wi-Fi network setup window will load.
Consider the main points:
«Device settings»
- Tab «Basic settings»
- Status. This section displays information about the Wi-Fi network.
- «Wireless Network Enabled» / «Wireless Network Disabled». In this block you can disable or enable the radio module.
- «Setting the frequency»
Mode of operation. «Legacy» is designed to operate a Wi-Fi module with support for legacy devices.«N» is intended for new devices.
Channel. Allows you to select the broadcast frequency of the Wi-Fi module. Choosing the optimal (less loaded) value will increase the stability and speed of the connection.
Width. Directly affects the speed and transmission distance.
«20 MHz» - Speed is lower, but higher stability and range
«40 MHz» - Speed is higher, but lower stability and range
«Transmitter power». It affects the reception range. Sometimes it makes sense to lower the values to reduce the load on the transmitter.
«Additional settings»
«Country code» - choice of standards and restrictions according to the legislation of your country.
«Distance optimization» - automatic calculation of delays according to the specified distance.
«Network settings»
«Basic settings»
«ESSID» - network name
«Mode» - Wi-Fi module operation mode.
«Network» - indicates with which networks the device operates in the bridge mode.
«Hide ESSID» - you can hide the name of the network
«WMM mode» -the priority of multimedia (video and audio calls, streaming video, game traffic) over normal.
«Wireless security»
«Encryption» - the choice of encryption algorithm to ensure the security of the network.
«Encryption key» (or similar settings) — are determined according to the selected mode
«MAC-filter».This setting can create a list of allowed / denied clients. This will protect the device from unauthorized access. But this should not be the only means of protection, since an attacker can fake a MAC.
Access Point (AP)
By default, the router works as an access point. In this mode, the router can distribute the Internet, provide access to the local network for Wi-Fi clients. Also in this mode, the router can create up to four Wi-Fi networks.
Creating an access point
- Select the «Network» tab and in its item «WiFi»
- Click «Add»
Adjust the settings according to preferences. You can leave all settings unchanged except for the following items:
«ESSID» - call your Wi-Fi network with your name
«Mode» - «Access point»
Network «lan» - check
«Wireless network security»
«Encryption» - select «WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK Mixed Mode»
«Password (key)» - enter the password to access the Wi-Fi network (8-16 characters)
After that click on the «Save and apply» button. Access point successfully created.
There are a number of simple recommendations for a secure Wi-Fi network:
- «Encryption» - «WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK Mixed Mode».
- Password length more than 8 characters.
- If transmission distance is not required, lower transmitter power.
- Do not share your password with unverified sources.
- If you have guests - create a guest Wi-Fi network, which will be in a different subnet.
Configure the access point
Select the «Network» tab and in the sub-item «WiFi»
Select the network of interest and click on the «Edit» button.
Further, according to the item «Create an access point».
Customer
In this mode, the router can be connected to an existing Wi-Fi network to gain access to the Internet. When configuring via the WEB interface, all existing access points on the router will be deleted.
Select the «Network» tab and in the sub-item «WiFi»
Click on the «Scan»button. The search component of Wi-Fi access points in range is launched.
Select the access point to which you want to connect and click the «Connect to the network» button
If you need, to enter the «WPA password » (password to access the WiFi point)
«Create / assign a firewall zone» - enter the WPA password network zone («lan» if you trust the network and want to allow it to access your, «wan» otherwise)
Click «Apply»
The router should create a network «wwan»
Click «Save and apply»
If everything went well, then you have access to the network in the «Wi-Fi client» mode. In the «Network» tab «Interfaces», the “WWAN” interface should appear in which the «running time» report is displayed.
Repeater
In this mode, the router can distribute the Internet from another access point. For this, it is enough to do 2 points:
Create a Wi-Fi client
Create an access point
Now the router is in repeater mode. In this mode, the speed is reduced, as the router created two Wi-Fi points on one transmitter.
Traffic balancing
Balancing traffic allows you to configure multiple network interfaces directly to the needs of the user.
There are two main modes of operation of the balancer:
- Traffic balancing with sum function
- Channel reservation
Balancer setting
The role of the balancer is performed by the utility MWAN3. In the router, it is located on the page «Network» → «Load Balancing».
This is the main screen balancer. It consists of several points:
- Overview
- Setting
- Advanced
Overview
There are two tabs in this item:
- Interface Status. It clearly shows the interfaces used and the log of recent events.
- Detailed Status. It has similar information, but the information is presented in numerical form for ease of analysis.
Setting
The settings item consists of the following tabs:
Interfaces. In this tab, you can add an interface to the balancer and see the settings of the interfaces used.
To add an interface, there is a text box and an «Add» button at the bottom. You must use the exact interface name from «Network» → «Interfaces» (the system is case sensitive). After adding the interface, a fine-tuning window will open:
Consider the points:
«Enabled» - interface activity for the handler.
«Tracking IP» - IP list to check the availability of the interface. You can enter multiple IP. For example, you can use «8.8.8.8, 8.8.4.4» - Google Public DNS.
«Tracking reliability» - shows how many of the IP must be available to activate the interface.
«Ping count» - shows how many times to try to contact the node in one attempt.
«Ping timeout» - shows how much time, to recognize an attempt to fail.
«Ping interval» - shows how often to try to contact the node.
«Interface down» -shows how many attempts must be successful to deactivate the interface.
«Interface up» -shows how many attempts must be successful to activate the interface.
«Members» - elements for the formulation of rules. Consist of three settings.
«Interface» - the interface that is being controlled.
«Metrics» - the priority of the interface. The closer to zero, the more important.
«Weight» (Вес) — if there are several «Members» with one «Metric» in one «Policies» then their importance is determined by weight
«Policies» - management Policy «Members». It generates a list of «Members», which is used for balancing.
«Members assigned» - list of «Members»
«Last resort» -what is the action after the complete failure of the policy.
«Rules» - is the direct rule of conduct for the balancer. There are the following instructions:
«Source address» - ip address of the device or subnet to which this rule applies. By default, it is applied to the entire subnet of the router.
«Source port» - is the port to which this rule applies. The default applies to all ports.
«Destination address» - indicates which destination network the rule applies to. 0.0.0.0/0 — to all IPv4
«Destination port» - indicates which destination ports this rule applies to
«Protocol» - the protocol under which the system works.
«Sticky» - fixing the interface. If we turned to any resource, the system fixes the interface through which it was done and uses only it if possible. This happens during (Sticky timeout).
«Sticky timeout» - the time of fixing the interface.
«Policy assigned» - is the policy used.
Traffic balancing
In this mode, the router simultaneously uses several active network interfaces. In case of failure of any interface, the system will switch to another interface within 1-5 seconds.
To configure the balancer, you must perform the following steps:
Go to balancer settings.
Add the necessary network interfaces
Add a «Member» for each network interface, with the same metric and weight according to importance.
Create «Policies» with the desired «Member».
Create your network rule using the created «Policies». Or add your «Policies» to «default_rule». (by default)
Channel reservation
In this mode, the router supports active network interfaces, but uses them only in case of failure of another interface. To configure a reservation, you must perform the following steps:
Go to balancer settings.
Add the necessary network interfaces.
Add a «Member» for each network interface with a different metric and weight according to importance. The router will use interfaces from a smaller metric to a larger one. So you can divide the interfaces into groups in order of use.
Create «Policies» with the desired «Member».
Create your network rule using the created «Policies». Or add your «Policies» to «default_rule». (by default)
Port forwarding for remote access via the Internet
To configure port forwarding, you must first enable the DMZ mode on the modem. To do this, in the browser enter the IP address 192.168.8.1. The modem page is loaded. Then go to Settings->DMZ Settings.
In this section, specify the DMZ status - "Enable", as shown in the figure below. Click the "Apply"button.
Now let's proceed to setting up port forwarding on the router. So, in order to forward the desired port on the router, perform the following actions:
- go to Network-> Firewall;
- go to "Port forwarding" tab, as shown in the figure below;
— in the «Name» field enter the name of your port. For example, «Remote Desktop» or «video surveillance»;
— in the field «Protocol» specify the type of protocol: TCP + UDP, TCP, UDP or other;;
— in the «External zone» field the WAN port is indicated;;
— in the «External port» field, enter the port number on the external WAN interface;
— in the «Internal zone» field the LAN port is indicated
— in the field «Internal IP address» specify the local address of the device to which the port is being forwarded;
— in the field «Internal port» specify the port of the internal device;
After setting is completed, click the «Save and apply» button.
Work with the modem. Measurement of the signal level and quality determination
For more accurate measurement of the signal level of the operator in the modem has a built-in utility. With this utility you can more accurately point 3G/4G antenna to the base station of the cellular operator and get the maximum speed. For information on signal strength, go to the «?» menu.
As can be seen in the figure below, the RSSI signal level received by the modem from the base station is -57dBm. And the signal-to-noise ratio SINR is 0dB (high noise level).
The antenna must be configured so that the RSSI value is maximum (do not forget that it is negative, so the smaller the value, the higher the signal). SINR must be greater than zero. The higher the SINR value, the higher the useful signal relative to noise. For example, SINR = 10dB is a good signal.
