Security Features; Autosensing Ethernet Connections With Auto Uplink; Extensive Protocol Support - NETGEAR FVS318N Reference Manual

ProSafe Wireless-N 8-Port Gigabit VPN Firewall FVS318N

Security Features

The wireless VPN firewall is equipped with several features designed to maintain security:
• 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 computers on
the LAN.
• Port forwarding with NAT. Although NAT prevents Internet locations from directly
accessing the PCs on the LAN, the wireless VPN firewall allows you to direct incoming
traffic to specific PCs based on the service port number of the incoming request.
• DMZ port. Incoming traffic from the Internet is usually discarded by the wireless VPN
firewall unless the traffic is a response to one of your local computers or a service for
which you have configured an inbound rule. Instead of discarding this traffic, you can use
the dedicated demilitarized zone (DMZ) port to forward the traffic to one PC on your
network.

Autosensing Ethernet Connections with Auto Uplink

With its internal eight-port 10/100/1000 Mbps switch and 10/100/1000 WAN port, the wireless
VPN firewall can connect to either a 10 Mbps standard Ethernet network, a 100 Mbps Fast
Ethernet network, or a 1000 Mbps Gigabit Ethernet network. The LAN and WAN interfaces
are autosensing and capable of full-duplex or half-duplex operation.
The wireless VPN firewall incorporates Auto Uplink
automatically senses whether the Ethernet cable plugged into the port should have a normal
connection such as to a PC or an uplink connection such as to a switch or hub. That port then
configures itself correctly. This feature eliminates the need for you to think about crossover
cables, as Auto Uplink accommodates either type of cable to make the right connection.

Extensive Protocol Support

The wireless VPN firewall supports the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP) and Routing Information Protocol (RIP). The wireless VPN firewall provides the
following protocol support:
• IP address sharing by NAT. The wireless VPN firewall allows many networked PCs to
share an Internet account using only a single IP address, which might be statically or
dynamically assigned by your Internet service provider (ISP). This technique, known as
Network Address Translation (NAT), allows the use of an inexpensive single-user ISP
account.
• Automatic configuration of attached PCs by DHCP. The wireless VPN firewall
dynamically assigns network configuration information, including IP, gateway, and
Domain Name Server (DNS) addresses, to attached PCs on the LAN using the Dynamic
Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). This feature greatly simplifies configuration of PCs
on your local network.
technology. Each Ethernet port
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Introduction
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