Netgear FWG114P FWG114P Reference Manual - Page 22

Reference Manual for the ProSafe Wireless 802.11g Firewall/Print Server Model FWG114P Security The FWG114P Wireless Firewall/Print Server is equipped with several features designed to maintain security, as described in this section: • PCs hidden by NAT. NAT opens a temporary path to the Internet for requests originating from the local network. Requests originating from outside the LAN are discarded, preventing users outside the LAN from finding and directly accessing the PCs on the LAN. • Port forwarding with NAT. Although NAT prevents Internet locations from directly accessing the PCs on the LAN, the router allows you to direct incoming traffic to specific PCs based on the service port number of the incoming request, or to one designated "DNS" host computer. You can specify forwarding of single ports or ranges of ports. Autosensing Ethernet Connections with Auto Uplink With its internal 8-port 10/100 switch, the FWG114P can connect to either a 10 Mbps standard Ethernet network or a 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet network. Both the LAN and WAN interfaces are autosensing and capable of full-duplex or half-duplex operation. The router incorporates Auto UplinkTM technology. Each Ethernet port will automatically sense whether the Ethernet cable plugged into the port should have a 'normal' connection, such as to a computer, or an 'uplink' connection, such as to a switch or hub. That port will then configure itself to the correct configuration. This feature also eliminates the need to worry about crossover cables, as Auto Uplink will accommodate either type of cable to make the right connection. Extensive Protocol Support The FWG114P Wireless Firewall/Print Server supports the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and Routing Information Protocol (RIP). For further information about TCP/IP, refer to Appendix B, "Network, Routing, and Firewall Basics." 2-4 Introduction March 2004, 202-10027-01