ZyXEL Communications ZyXEL ZyAIR B-1000 - Manual (Page 38)

ZyAIR Access Point Series User’s Guide
3-6 Wizard Setup
You can obtain your IP address from the IANA, from an ISP or have it assigned by a private network. If you
belong to a small organization and your Internet access is through an ISP, the ISP can provide you with the
Internet addresses for your local networks. On the other hand, if you are part of a much larger organization,
you should consult your network administrator for the appropriate IP addresses.
Regardless of your particular situation, do not create an arbitrary IP address;
always follow the guidelines above. For more information on address assignment,
please refer to RFC 1597, Address Allocation for Private Internets and RFC 1466,
Guidelines for Management of IP Address Space.
3.4.2 IP Address and Subnet Mask
Similar to the way houses on a street share a common street name, so too do computers on a LAN share one
common network number.
Where you obtain your network number depends on your particular situation. If the ISP or your network
administrator assigns you a block of registered IP addresses, follow their instructions in selecting the IP
addresses and the subnet mask.
If the ISP did not explicitly give you an IP network number, then most likely you have a single user account
and the ISP will assign you a dynamic IP address when the connection is established. If this is the case, it is
recommended that you select a network number from 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.0 and you must enable the
Network Address Translation (NAT) feature of the ZyAIR. The Internet Assigned Number Authority
(IANA) reserved this block of addresses specifically for private use; please do not use any other number
unless you are told otherwise. Let's say you select 192.168.1.0 as the network number; which covers 254
individual addresses, from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.254 (zero and 255 are reserved). In other words, the first
three numbers specify the network number while the last number identifies an individual computer on that
network.
Once you have decided on the network number, pick an IP address that is easy to remember, for instance,
192.168.1.2, for your ZyAIR, but make sure that no other device on your network is using that IP address.
The subnet mask specifies the network number portion of an IP address. Your ZyAIR will compute the
subnet mask automatically based on the IP address that you entered. You don't need to change the subnet
mask computed by the ZyAIR unless you are instructed to do otherwise.