I followed the instruction, using my laptop and logged into the web interface. To make sure it didn’t interfere with the operation of my network, I disabled dhcp and configured the LAN IP to be on my network and then plugged it in. This gives me access from my desktop computer, on which I type better, and also allowed me to read the documents at the same time on my big screen instead of the laptop small screen.
SysWan Admin Setup Screen
Since this is a new installation, and new device for me, and since my customer is some distance way, I enabled the Remote Access Configuration. However I changed the port number, and restricted it to my own IP. Since all the IPs associated with the SysWAN are dynamic, I set up a dynDNS configuration so I can find the system when it has been installed.
Configuring Dynamic DNS on the SW88
I didn’t configure email, since I don’t have the email server information for the networks this will be attached to. I don’t plan on setting up SNMP in this network, but as a security precaution I reset the default community strings. Although I like to do remote logging, I no longer have a log server running at the site, so I left that option turned off until they have a new logserver.
Configuring remote System Logging
I then moved on to the Basic Configuration page. I set the number of WAN ports to “Port 1 ~ Port 8″ enabling the maximum number for this device. Right now the customer is using seven cable connections and one DSL. At some point they want to reduce the number of cable connections and add three DSL connections, for better redundancy. All eight ports are configured for dynamic IPs. So we don’t have to change anything. I’ll have to test and make sure we don’t have issues with binding to the MAC addresses of the computers that were previously connected directly to the cable routers.
In the Advance Port -> Load Balancing screen, I split the load as evenly as I could, since the Load Sharing percentage can only be whole numbers.
I made to changes under Advanced Configuration to Host IP, Virtual Server, Special Application, Multi-DMZ, UPNP, ARP Status, or Advanced Feature. I did enable RIP v2 under Advanced Configuration -> Routing. Just in case the provider has it enabled in their network.
Configuring NAT Routing on SW88
In the NAT Setup page, I enabled NAT Routing, and Source Port Translation. Right now I’m not configuring NAT Aliases or Virtual Servers. Once the network stabilizes, I may enable this. I enabled Session Persistency for ports 1-1024 for 6 sessions, the maximum number configurable. I didn’t change anything else under Advanced Configuration -> Advanced Feature.
I don’t have any need in this set up for the Security Management features of the SW-88, so I moved on to the Bandwidth Management settings.
Bandwidth Management on SW88
Since the maximum bandwidth the SW88 will manage is 51200 K bit/sec, I had to find bandwidth settings that would get close to the maximum upload speed for each connection and still maintain some download speed. I didn’t set any Bandwidth Policies for the moment. I may need to adjust once we see how the default settings work. So the next step is to install the device and see what adjustments I’ll need to make.
The first configuration was a total bust. I plugged in the cable ” modems” and DSL router and nothing worked. So I started over. I first installed 2 cable “modems and a few machines, tested and made sure that worked. Then I enabled more WAN ports, reconfigured and tested. First thing that was causing me heartburn was the requirement that each modem had to be restarted after plugged into the SysWAN SW-88. Second annoying “feature” is that the system doesn’t remember any configuration setting between reboots. It’s documented, but it’s still lame and annoying. I ended up with 5 cable modems and one dsl router plugged into the device and 10 workstations running on the LAN. Everything seems to be working fine, after a week.
