Linksys router and TZO

	Using TZO with Linksys Cable / DSL Wireless 802 .11g Router WRT54G
	Many users with Cable and xDSL broadband connections are using hardware routers such as the Linksys Cable/DSL Routers to connection their local area network to the Internet. This tutorial explains how to configure your Linksys router with TZO, and setting the router to run a mail and web and FTP server on your local area network.

	A hardware router offers a simple, easy to use and reliable way to share your broadband Internet connection with the rest of your network. These hardware routers are easier to set up than a PC acting as a NAT/Gateway, and they are often more reliable, since a PC has many points of failure, such as a hard disk, network card, power supply, RAM, etc, where the Linksys hardware router has a single point of failure.

	TZO Dynamic DNS code is integrated into the Linksys Router model WRT54G - the latest Linksys 802.11g router - firmware version 1.01.4 (1/29/03). The router WAN (Wide Area Network - or Internet) IP address is typically the only USEABLE address on the router, and this is the IP address that gets published in the TZO Dynamic DNS system. Since this WAN IP is the incoming IP Address of the router, the router's PORTS need to be configured if you want to run a server. The router acts a NAT (Network Address Translator) and offers basic port filtering for security purposes. This port filtering also prevents you from running a web server, email server, or any other server like Internet Games, Netmeeting, etc.

	In the following tutorial, we give a basic overview of the Linksys Cable/DSL wireless router setup, and then we will show you how to sign up for a free 30 day trial of TZO and log into the TZO DDNS servers by using the router. We also show you how to open ports in the router. You can see other tutorials on the TZO Support page on running your own web server and email server, as well as other types of servers.



	The Main Status Screen of the Linksys WRT54G Wireless Cable/DSL Router (Click to Enlarge)

	When you set the Linksys router up, you need to configure the DDNS from TZO. This SETUP Screen shows the ROUTER NAME, DOMAIN NAME, and shows the FIRMWARE VERSION. Please note that you should see the Linksys Website or FTP Site to get the LATEST FIRMWARE, or see SmallNetBuilder for a great review and detailed information on most the Linksys Routers.

	STEP 1) Setup Screen: Some ISP's require the router name and domain name, so you should leave this information blank or check with your ISP to determine what should be used in these areas.

	STEP 2) Advanced Section: You now need to set up DDNS (Dynamic DNS) using TZO. From the main setup screen as shown in the screenshot above, click the ADVANCED TAB in the right hand corner.

	STEP 3) Advanced Section: Signup for a free TZO DDNS trial account: You now need to sign up for a free DDNS trial (Dynamic DNS) using TZO. Click "TO SIGNUP FOR A FREE 30 DAY TRIAL" link and it brings you to the Linksys free trial signup page at TZO.COM as shown in the screenshot below. Enter your Email Address and your trial domain name. Click the Sign me up! button and TZO will send you an email with your trial information.



	The TZO.COM Linksys signup screen. This launches your browser when you click on the SIGNUP FOR A FREE 30 DAY FREE TRIAL within the Linksys router.

	STEP 4) Advanced Section: Putting your TZO account information into the router: Once you signup at the TZO.COM Linksys signup page as shown above, you will receive an email with your TZO trial information. You now need to copy and paste the information from the TZO Trial email the DDNS section of the router. Below are 5 steps you need to get DDNS working in the router.

	1) Select TZO.COM from the dropdown list under DDNS Service 2) Paste in the TZO Key into the PASSWORD field in the router 3) Paste in the Email address into the proper field 4) Type or paste in the Domain name into the proper field. (Full domain as in MYNAME.LINKSYSNET.COM or MYNAME.TZO.COM) 5) Check your settings and then click the APPLY button to save



	The DDNS screen of the Linksys Cable/DSL Router showing TZO.COM enabled (Click to enlarge)

	After you have all of your TZO DDNS settings in the router and click the apply button, this should log your account in and set the IP. The STATUS should say DDNS IS UPDATED SUCCESSFULLY if the login worked. If the status says something different, double check your settings and try again. In this example, The domain name MyName.LinksysNet.com has been updated with the IP of 89.189.89.189 - which is the IP address dynamically assigned by our cable modem ISP.



	The Port Forwarding Screen of the Linksys Cable/DSL Router (Click to enlarge)

	Once we get the router up and running and we can surf the web using one of the client PC's, we can start preparing the router to run a web server,ftp server and other servers. For information on running other types of servers, you need the Incoming PORT(s) of the desired service, and once you have the port(s), you can set the port as shown in the example above for Passive FTP (Port 20-21) and Web (port 80) as well as Telnet (23) SSL(443) and PCAnywhere (5631-5632). Once you decide what PC is going to run the web, ftp, email server, you need to forward the proper port to the proper Internal IP address of the server. For example:

	- We have 2 PC's on the internal network, one at 192.168.1.100, and the other set at 192.168.1.100. Telnet and PCAnywere are set to go to the PC on the LAN IP of 192.168.1.101 - We also have another PC, that has a Web, FTP and SSL Web Server that has the LAN IP Address of 192.168.1.100, so in the example below, we set SERVICE PORT 80 to IP ADDRESS 192.168.1.100 - We have a FTP and SSL Web Server as well, so these ports are also set to 192.168.1.100. If you wish, you can run Web, FTP, Email all on one PC, then you would set all ports to the same IP address. If you have trouble with the FORWARDING tab shown below, you can set ONE PC to be a DMZ Host (See the DMZ Host Tab under Advanced), which means that the router will totally expose ALL PORTS to this PC, offering NO Filtering at all. This would be a last resort for testing purposes, and is not recommended to leave a host exposed via DMZ.

	After you configure the ports to the proper IP Address, then click the apply button. The sets the router to forward the proper ports to your servers. To add other applications, you need to know the Service Port(s) and then you need to set the server up on your LAN and set the proper IP address. If you want to use Microsoft NetMeeting on the IP Address of 192.168.1.100, you would forward the ports 1503 and 1720 to 192.168.1.100 Once you set the ports up, run your server(s) and have your friend try out your domain name in your browser! It's that easy. If you have trouble with ports, and want more information, you can see http://www.PortDetective.com and you should also check out Shield's Up, a personal security Website at http://www.grc.com These websites can help determine what ports you have open on the router, and Port Detective can even help you find out if your ISP blocks these ports as well. For more information on the Linksys cable and DSL router, please see the Linksys website at http://www.Linksys.com