Setting Up a Router

Every router is different, so these steps are a vague guide to what you need to configure. Exact language between routers, and which menu a setting is in, may vary. This tutorial will be updated with exact steps for a standard TP-Link unit.

Step 1: Connect to the router

Configuring a router is best done over a wired connection, so first plug your router in to your laptop with a network cable.

1. Use one of the numbered LAN ports. Leave the port marked WAN or Internet empty.
2. Set your laptop's network to DHCP (on a Mac, Configure IPv4: Using DHCP) so the router gives it an address.
3. If the router has been used before and you don't know how it is set up, reset it to factory settings first, usually by holding the reset button for 10 seconds while it is on.

Unless you know what you are doing, do not connect to a venue system or the internet.

Step 2: Log in

Find the admin login details (usually written on the router). Note that this is the admin password, NOT the wifi password.

Some routers will have their address written on them, however you can quickly check the router address using a connected device.

1. With a Mac connected, go to System Settings > Network, select the connected network and click Details.
2. Click TCP/IP and find the Router address.
3. Copy this into your browser of choice.

This should bring you to a login screen where you can enter your router's admin credentials. If it asks you to change the admin password, write the new one down somewhere the next person will find it.

Some routers will offer a basic and advanced mode. If you cannot find the settings we are about to talk about, you may need to enable advanced mode.

Step 3: Set the router address

The first setting is the Gateway IP address or Router address (sometimes called the LAN IP). This is the addressing format the full network will use.

Most home routers will use 192.168.1.1 (or 192.168.0.1) as the router address, which is fine, or you can change to the other theatre standard 10.0.0.1.

1. Find the LAN or local network settings.
2. Set the router address, for example 10.0.0.1.
3. Set the subnet mask to 255.255.255.0.
4. Save. The router will restart, and you will need to log in again at the new address.

Step 4: Set the DHCP address pool

The other key setting is the DHCP server address pool. This allows us to define a range of addresses that the router will hand out to devices that connect.

Devices will not permanently keep the address they are given, so if we want to always find a device we might decide to give it a permanent address.

For example, my home network is set up to work as a show network, so I have various show equipment, desktops and backup servers with lower, fixed, manually assigned addresses from 10.0.0.2 to 10.0.0.99. My DHCP server then has 10.0.0.100 to 10.0.0.254 free to hand out to devices needing them.

1. Find the DHCP settings, usually next to the LAN settings.
2. Make sure the DHCP server is turned on.
3. Set the start of the pool (10.0.0.100 in this example) and the end (10.0.0.254).
4. Save.

Step 5: Static DHCP addresses

You can also assign static DHCP addresses to devices. This means that your device still asks for an address, but the router identifies it and always gives it the same address. It is useful for things like the stage manager's iPad or a camera phone for NDI, where you want a known address without setting it on the device.

1. Connect the device to the network with DHCP turned on, so the router can see it.
2. Find the static DHCP setting. It may be called address reservation, static leases or fixed IP, and is often in the DHCP settings or the list of connected devices.
3. Pick the device from the list, or enter its MAC address (shown in its network settings).
4. Enter the address it should always get, for example 10.0.0.20, and save.
5. Disconnect and reconnect the device, and check it has the new address.

Phones, tablets and Macs often use a private (random) Wi-Fi address that changes, which stops the router recognising them. Turn off Private Wi-Fi Address for the show network on that device first.

Keep static DHCP addresses in your fixed range (10.0.0.2 to 10.0.0.99 in the example above) so they never clash with the pool. A few routers only allow them inside the pool; if yours does, use addresses from the pool instead.

Step 6: Set up the wifi

1. Give the wifi a name that makes sense for the show or venue, so people join the right network.
2. Use WPA2 or WPA3 with a strong password.
3. If the router has 5 GHz wifi, use it for remote apps. It is usually less crowded than 2.4 GHz in a busy building.
4. If you don't need wifi at all, turn it off.

Step 7: Label it

Stick a label on the router with its address, admin login and wifi password, and keep a list of every fixed and static DHCP address you set up. Whoever uses it next, including you in six months, will thank you.