NETGEAR R6300 User manual

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NETGEAR R6300 WiFi Router, 802.11ac Dual Band Gigabit
Reviewer Guide
May 2012
v1, 5/8/2012

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Contents
NETGEAR R6300 WiFi Router, 802.11ac Dual Band Gigabit Reviewer Guide.............................................. 1
1. Resources.................................................................................................................................................. 3
2. Introduction .............................................................................................................................................. 3
3. Getting Started.......................................................................................................................................... 4
4. Wireless Speed and Range........................................................................................................................ 5
5. Advanced Features.................................................................................................................................... 6
ReadySHARE USB .................................................................................................................................. 6
ReadySHARE Printer.............................................................................................................................. 6
Guest Network ...................................................................................................................................... 7
DLNA ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
NETGEAR Live Parental Controls........................................................................................................... 7
Advanced Quality of Service (QoS) ....................................................................................................... 7
6. NETGEAR genie application ...................................................................................................................... 8
7. Bridge Mode........................................................................................................................................... 10
How to Set Up Bridge Mode on the R6300 Router................................................................................. 11
Appendix .............................................................................................................................................13
Technical Evaluation Recommendations ............................................................................................ 13

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1. Resources
NETGEAR’s public relations team is ready to assist if you have any questions or problems while reviewing
the NETGEAR R6300 WiFi Router. Please contact:
Claudia Oropeza
Weber Shandwick
408-685-0618
[e-mail]
For additional information, including the product fact sheet, visit http://www.netgear.com/R6300#.
2. Introduction
The NETGEAR R6300 WiFi Router delivers next generation WiFi at Gigabit speeds. It offers the ultimate
mobility for WiFi devices with speeds up to 3x faster than 802.11n.
Compatible with next generation WiFi devices and backward compatible with 802.11 a/b/g and n
devices, the R6300 enables HD streaming throughout your home. Ssimultaneous dual band WiFi
technology offers speeds up to 450+1300‡ Mbps† and avoids interference, ensuring top WiFi speeds
and reliable connections. This makes it ideal for larger homes with multiple devices. In addition, four
Gigabit Ethernet ports offer ultra-fast wired connections. Wirelessly access and share USB hard drive
and USB printer using the two USB 2.0 ports.
Beyond speed and range, the NETGEAR R6300 offers a long list of advanced features that make home
networks more useful and easier to manage. Among these features are:
USB sharing. The R6300 has two USB ports for simultaneously sharing a printer and a USB hard
drive or flash drive across the home network.
Guest network access. Through the browser interface, it’s simple to set up a guest network, so
visitors can go online without having to be given the home network password and without
gaining access to computers, printers, storage drives and other home-network devices.
DLNA. A USB hard drive plugged into the router becomes a DLNA media server for sharing its
entertainment content –such as video, music, and photos –to DLNA-certified, Internet-ready
consumer electronic devices including televisions, Blu-ray™players and game consoles.
NETGEAR Live Parental Controls. Gives parents a centralized, flexible and reliable way to
establish what websites their children visit and what times of day they can go online for all
devices on the network, including Windows PCs, Macs, smartphones and tablets.
Advanced Quality of Service (QoS). By prioritizing video streams over other home network
traffic, advanced QoS provides the best possible viewing experience for online video.
Setting up the NETGEAR R6300 is quick and easy with a simple browser-based interface for PCs, Macs,
smartphones, the iPad, and other tablets. NETGEAR Genie™is a free application that you can use to
monitor, control, and repair home networks. Visit www.netgear.com/landing/en-us/netgear-genie.aspx.

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3. Getting Started
This reviewer guide assumes you have received the R6300 package. The contents of the package are:
The R6300 router
The power adapter and AC cable
An Ethernet cable
The Installation Guide
Please contact NETGEAR’s PR team if any of these pieces are missing.
The first step in setting up the R6300 is finding an appropriate location. For best results, NETGEAR
recommends placing the router:
Near the center of the area where computers and other wireless devices will operate.
Within easy reach of an AC power outlet, as well as the Ethernet cable that provides Internet
access –such as a home cable or DSL modem, or an office network.
At an elevated location, such as a high shelf, keeping the number of walls and ceiling between
the router and wireless devices to a minimum.
Away from any large metal surfaces, such as a solid metal door or aluminum studs. Large
expanses of other materials such as glass, insulated walls, fish tanks, mirrors, brick, and concrete
can also affect the wireless signal.
The second step is connecting the R6300 to the Ethernet cable that provides Internet access and then to
AC power. Make sure the R6300 is turned on –the power button is found on the back of the router, at
the bottom.
The third step is connecting your PC, smartphone or tablet to the R6300. As noted above, setting up the
R6300 is quick and easy. The set up process can be managed from any wired or wireless device on the
network that runs a web browser, including PCs, Macs, smartphones, and tablets.
To use a wired connection, simply connect the Ethernet cable from the R6300 to your computer.
To use a wireless connection, connect to the R6300’s default WiFi network. The WiFi network
name (SSID) and network key (password) are shown on the router’s label.

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The fourth step is configuring the R6300.
1. Open a web browser on any device connected to the router. The browser is hijacked to the
installation page. Please follow the installation steps.
2. If the browser is not hijacked, check connection to the router or alternatively login directly to
the router by going to http://routerlogin.net.
3. Enter the user name admin and the default password (the word password). You’ll then see the
home screen, from which you can customize the R6300’s wireless networks and advanced
features.
4. Wireless Speed and Range
The R6300 delivers speeds up to 450 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band and 1300 Mbps in the 5 GHz band. Six
highly sensitive internal antennas are connected to the highest-power radio amplifiers allowed by
regulations: transmit power of +28.5 dBm in both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands (+27 dBM at 5 GHz in
Europe) and receive sensitivity of -99 dBm at 1 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band and -96 dBm at 6 Mbps in the
5 GHz band.
Reviewers will receive two units—one to set up as a router, and the other to set up as a bridge. For
reviewers, the units will be preconfigured. There is also a separate note that explains how to configure
the R6300 as a bridge. This feature is accessed through the Advanced Wireless Settings page of the
router GUI (Advanced tab > Advanced Setup > Wireless Settings).
The result is more WiFi range –and more wireless speed at any given distance –than top-of-the-line
home routers available today.

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To test this informally, start with your current router before setting up the R6300. Go to remote corners
of your test area with a laptop, smartphone or tablet and look for areas of low signal strength. Then
check the same locations again after installing the R6300. You should see greater signal strength at
many of these points.
For NETGEAR’s recommendations on technical evaluation of wireless performance, see the Appendix.
5. Advanced Features
This section highlights a few of the many advanced features available on the R6300.
ReadySHARE USB
The R6300 is ready for instant file sharing –just plug a USB hard drive or flash drive into either of the
router’s two USB ports. Files on the shared drive can then be accessed anywhere on the network, as well
as outside the home through a web browser or via File Transfer Protocol (FTP.). By default only Network
Connection and HTTP are enabled.
ReadySHARE Printer
The R6300 makes it possible to share almost any USB printer with PCs and Macs on the home network,
through either a wired or wireless connection. With the R6300, there’s no need to buy a new printer
with built-in WiFi to provide wireless printing to every PC and Mac on the network.
To test this feature, simply plug a USB printer into either of the R6300’s USB ports and make sure the
correct printer driver software is installed on each PC or Mac that will access the printer. Then,
download and install the NETGEAR ReadySHARE Printer utility—available free at

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www.netgear.com/readyshare on each PC and Mac. Run the utility on each PC and Mac to complete
the connection.
Guest Network
Through the Genie interface, it’s simple to set up a guest network, so visitors can go online without
having to be given the home network password and without gaining access to computers, printers,
storage drives and other home-network devices.
DLNA
A USB hard drive plugged into the router becomes a powerful DLNA media server for sharing
entertainment content stored on the drive –such as video, music and photos –to DLNA-certified,
Internet-ready consumer electronic devices including televisions, Blu-ray™players and game consoles.
NETGEAR Live Parental Controls
NETGEAR Live Parental Controls give parents a centralized, flexible and reliable way to establish what
web sites their children visit and what times of day they can go online for all devices on the network,
including Windows PCs, Macs, smartphones and tablets. For details, please go to
http://countries.netgear.com/lpc.
Advanced Quality of Service (QoS)
By prioritizing video streams over other home network traffic, advanced Quality of Service (QoS)
provides the best possible viewing experience for online video.

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6. NETGEAR genie application
NETGEAR genie™is a free application, available for PCs, Macs, and mobile devices, that presents a
simple dashboard for monitoring, controlling and repairing home networks; viewing devices connected
to the router through a network map; and accessing many router features. NETGEAR genie mobile apps
are also available for iPhones, Android phones, and iPads. To download NETGEAR genie, go to
www.netgear.com/genie.
The NETGEAR genie utility goes beyond the genie interface that comes with the R6300 by providing an
in-depth look at network performance and allowing advanced configuration for the router’s many
features. The NETGEAR genie home screen is the starting point:

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The Network Map presents a visual image of all devices connected to the home network:
The WiFi Channels feature shows which wireless channels are being used by the R6300 and nearby
access points:

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The Internet feature shows real-time Internet speed for both download and upload:
7. Bridge Mode
The R6300 WiFi Router can be configured in bridge mode. This mode lets you connect multiple devices
wirelessly at the faster 802.11ac speed. To do this, you would use two R6300 routers. Install the first
router, and then set up the second router in bridge mode.
R6300 WiFi Router
R6300 configured as a
Bridge
802.11ac
WiFi
Connection
Ethernet

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For a Gigabit WiFi connection for your home entertainment center, install the first R6300
router, then set up the second R6300 in Bridge mode near the home entertainment center and
connect via Ethernet your Smart TV, DVR, game console or Blu-ray® player. The R6300 Bridge
connects at 802.11ac WiFi speeds to the R6300 WiFi Router, providing you a gigabit wifi
connection to your home entertainment center.
Benefits of installing the R6300 router as a bridge:
Enables you to take advantage of Gigabit WiFi speeds on current devices
Utilize Gigabit WiFi for applications like video and gaming by putting this next to your home
entertainment center
Connect multiple devices like NAS, Smart TV, NeoTV, Blu-ray player, game console at Gigabit
WiFi speeds using a WiFi link
Avoids the need for separate WiFi adapters for multiple devices
How to Set Up Bridge Mode on the R6300 Router
Make sure that the base router (the router that the R6300 will connect to) is operational and
able to connect wireless devices. Make a note of the following items: SSID, security mode,
wireless password, operating frequency (either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz).
1. Log in to the R6300 Router by typing routerlogin.net on an Internet browser’s address
bar.
2. Go to Advanced tab > Advanced Setup and click Wireless Settings.

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3. Click Use other operating mode and select Enable Bridge mode.
4. Click Setup bridge mode wireless settings and configure the following items on the pop-
up window.
a. Click the drop-down menu to choose the wireless network frequency (2.4 GHz or
5 GHz) of the router you are connecting to. Please choose 5GHz to setup in
802.11ac mode.
b. Type the wireless network name (SSID) of the router you are connecting to.
c. Select the security mode of the router you are connecting to.
d. Type the passphrase of the router you are connecting to.
e. Click Apply.
5. Click Apply again on the Wireless Settings screen.
Congratulations, you’ve finished! The R6300 Router will reboot and connect to the base router
in a few minutes.

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Appendix
Technical Evaluation Recommendations
1. Wi-Fi Speed and Range
The NETGEAR R6300 router’s high transmit power and sensitive antennas fine-tuned for each frequency
band provide superior range in comparison to competing routers. Please note WiFi speed and range
always depend on the WiFi adapters in use and the processing power of the network device. In the case
of R6300, as the router is capable of multiple sessions, the computer can become the bottleneck when
testing with only one computer. Also note that it is best to run the Iperf or IxChariot test programs using
multiple sessions instead of single sessions.
Highest speed is reached with Intel 6300 WiFi cards integrated in notebooks (found in selected
Dell and HP notebooks).
USB adapter speed (with NETGEAR WNDA3100 v2) at close range is usually less than integrated
WiFi N in laptops as the interface is via USB instead of natively talking to the PC CPU bus. This is
not a limitation of the USB adapter, but reflects the speed at which the PC can interface and
process traffic while driving the USB adapter.
It is best to use mid channels in 2.4 GHz range (Channel 4 –8) as they support the highest
power, per FCC/CE regulations, and hence provide extended range.
For the 5 GHz band, the higher the power, the better the range. NETGEAR recommends using
channel 153 for testing 5 GHz.
For short-range testing, the router is optimized for maximum throughput when the client is 10
to 15 feet away from the router. At closer distances, speed measurements may lead to some
lowering of performance due to over-saturation, because the client is receiving too much WiFi
power.
Note: Due to the new WiFi Alliance certification rules regarding the 2.4 GHz frequency, the connection is
allowed to channel bond and go to 300 Mbps maximum link rate only where there are no other
interfering access points nearby. In presence of other WiFi access points, the router and the clients will
go down to 20 Mbps mode with maximum link speed of 145 –150 Mbps.
2. WAN to LAN Speed
The methodology for running WAN to LAN Speed test is explained below. For the R6300, TCP and UDP
performance in both downlink and uplink directions are in the 400-550 Mbps range.
3. Simultaneous Session test
When both Wi-Fi networks (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) are connected to clients and passing network traffic at
the same time, the router CPU is usually the bottleneck as it has to process multiple streams of 802.11n
traffic. This test is recommended at close range, within 5 to 7 feet, to ensure highest throughput in each
frequency bands and measure total WiFi performance and stress test the CPU.

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4. Plug and Play USB hard drive access
Accessing a USB hard drive connected to the R6300 is plug-and-play –simply connect the USB hard drive
to the R6300 and immediately access as if the drive were a Networked Attached Storage (NAS) device.
There is no need for configuration or software installation.
Simply type \\readyshare at Start -> Run when a PC is connected to the R6300, either wired or
wirelessly. The methodology NETGEAR uses to test USB access performance is highlighted below.
5. Links to Download Software
The following section highlights useful content, information and links for reviewing the product.
Iperf, an industry-standard tool for WiFi performance testing, is available free of charge through the
following website:
http://sourceforge.net/projects/iperf/
IxChariot, another industry-standard network analysis tool can be purchased from Ixia:
http://www.ixchariot.com/
6. Suggested Test Setup
The following diagram shows how the router and the wireless clients are set up. To test the different
scenarios, with and without interference, with several clients associated to the router in each mode, it is
advisable to start with one notebook as the destination and set up the Iperf or IxChariot tests. Additional
clients are then added to measure simultaneous operation in the presence of interference and multiple
clients.

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7. Required Equipment
Two fast computers (PC or laptops) such as a Pentium-4 with a 2 to 4 GHz CPU, 2GB RAM, and
Windows Vista/XP/Win7. Use a brand such as Dell, IBM, HP, Toshiba, Fujitsu, or Sony, and avoid
sub-brands. Note that Wi-Fi speed will not just depend on the Wi-Fi router, but also on the
speed of the laptop CPU.
For testing with IxChariot scripts, use IxChariot software version 4.3 or higher or later from
NetIQ on each of two computers. The IxChariot console should be on one computer and the
IxChariot endpoint on the other computer.
Standard Ethernet cable from the router to the computer that is running the IxChariot endpoint.
8. Throughput Consistency
Test the throughput variance to see how consistently the client can receive optimum speeds. NETGEAR
advises verifying the throughput in the following scenarios:
Distance s from short (15 feet with line of sight) to long (for instance, from one corner to
another corner of the house through multiple walls)
Orientation (0 to 270 o)
Frequency channel 1, 6, 11 in 2.4 GHz. Do a quick site survey on 2.4 GHz and pick up the cleanest
channel, which has other APs at the lowest signal strength.
Use Metageek inSSIDer for channel scan.
Laptop or PC used for the client adapter (IBM, Dell, HP, Toshiba, etc.)
Level of obstruction (line of site, number of walls, wall composition, residential home floor plan,
etc.)

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9. Level of Obstruction in Different Environments
Obstructions to line of sight may be present in a home. To limit the amount of signal loss, check
throughput in several locations within the home, using open space wherever possible to prevent a direct
obstruction. Note any metal sheets or panels, chicken wire inside the walls, etc., that might create
obstructions for wireless signals.
10. Running IxChariot and Iperf Scripts
IxChariot and Iperf scripts are described in the following sections.
Set TCP or UDP. For experimental purposes, UDP provides a better representation of video
streaming traffic. With UDP, throughput will increase because it does not incorporate an
acknowledgement protocol as TCP does.
Set Random file. For experimental purposes, send a text file, an HTML file, or a binary or
compressed file. With binary or compressed files, throughput may increase due to effective
compression.
Set the file size to 1MB for short and medium ranges when throughput is higher than about 3
Mbps. For long range, set the file size to 100 KB to accelerate the response time of IxChariot. If
you use 100 KB files at short to medium range, throughput could be reduced 10 percent due to
poor file packetization.
Start with 30 to 60 second test time. A good compromise between fast measurement and
providing enough averaging and accuracy is 30 seconds.
Test the AP to client (downlink), client to AP (uplink) and both uplink and downlink
(bidirectional). Set up and run IxChariot scripts as described below.
Follow these steps:
1. Open IxChariot, and select the “High_Performance_Throughput.scr” script.
2. Set the run time to 1 minute.

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IxChariot Download Test
Set up two pairs of the same script.
Endpoint 1: Use the IP address of the PC connected to the router via Ethernet.
Endpoint 2: Use the IP address of the computer connected via wireless.
Then run the test.
IxChariot Upload Test
Set up 2 pairs of the same script.
Endpoint 1: Use the IP address of the computer connected via wireless to the router
Endpoint 2: Use the IP address of the PC connected to the router via Ethernet.
Then run the test.
IxChariot Bidirectional Test
Set up the download test and the upload test (all four bulleted items in the previous sections). Then run
both tests at the same time.
Set Up and Run Iperf
Copy IPerf.exe onto each computer - one connected to the PC via wired Ethernet to the router and to
the wireless client computer.
Iperf Download Test
1. On the computer with the wireless adapter, run Iperf as the server.
Type: IPerf.exe –s –w 10000k
(Run as server mode and 10000 KB file size).
2. On the PC connected to the router via Ethernet, run Iperf as a client.
Type: IPerf.exe –c srv_ipaddress –w 10000k –P 2 –t 60
(Run as client mode, and set up the server IP with 10000 KB file size transfer with two pairs on 60
seconds) where srv_ipaddress is the Iperf server IP address.

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Iperf Upload Test
1. On the PC connected to the router via Ethernet, run IPerf as a server.
Type: IPerf.exe –s –w 10000k
(Run as server mode and 10000k byte file size.)
2. On the computer with the wireless adapter, run IPerf as a client.
Type: IPerf.exe –c srv_ipaddress –w 10000k –P 2 –t 60
(Run as client mode, and set up the server IP with 10000k file size transfer with two pairs on 60
seconds) where srv_ipaddress is the IPerf server IP address.)
Iperf Bidirectional Test
1. Set up the Iperf Download Test and the Iperf Upload Test.
2. When both scripts are set up, run them together at the same time.
The total throughput is added on two screens.
WAN-LAN speed Test
1. Download speed test: Set up IxChariot with endpoint 1 as LAN IP address, endpoint 2 as WAN IP
address. Select “Filercvl.scr” script (a file receive script) and edit the file size from 100,000 Bytes
to 1,000,000 Bytes. Set up and run the test for 1 minute and collect the data.
2. Upload sped test: Set up with IxChariot with endpoint 1 as LAN IP address, endpoint 2 as WAN IP
address. Select “Filesendl.scr” script (a file send script) and edit the file size from 100,000 Bytes
to 1,000,000 Bytes. Setup and run the test for 1 minute and collect the data.
3. Bi-Direction speed test: Set up IxChartio with endpoint 1 as LAN IP address, endpoint 2 as WAN
IP address. Select “Filesendl.scr” script (a file send script) and edit the file size from 100,000
Bytes to 1,000,000 Bytes. Set up another endpoint 1 as LAN IP address, endpoint 2 as WAN IP
address. Select “Filercvl.scr” script (a file receive script) and edit the file size from 100,000 Bytes
to 1,000,000 Bytes. Run these two pairs of tests for 1 minute and collect the data.

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ReadySHARE USB Speed Test
1. Create a 1GB test file.
2. Partition your USB external hard drive as two partitions (one FAT32 and one NTFS)
3. Attach a USB external hard drive to the router.
4. Upload Test: copy the 1GB file from your PC to the USB storage drive. Record the start and finish
time.
5. Download Test: copy the 1GB file from the USB storage drive to the PC. Record the start and
finish time.
6. Repeat the tests on the NTFS and FAT32 partitions of the USB external hard drive.
7. For HTTP speed test, download the file in FAT32 and NTFS from your external drive to your PC.
Record the start and finish time.
8. For Bi-direction test: Copy a file from partition1 to partition 2 of your external drive.
9. Record the start and finish time.
Multiple Simultaneous Session Test
1. Setup with IxChariot with two pairs (similar to bi-direction test) using default script of
ilesendl.scr (100k bytes) and filercvl.scr (100k bytes).
2. Highlight both pairs and then right click and select copy to duplicate more pairs. Add up to 64
pairs.
3. First run 64 pairs test in 1 minute, check if all pairs finish without error on the IxChariot console.
4. If 64 pairs pass, repeat with 128, 160, 200, 300, 500, 700, and 1000 pair tests.
(end)