TP-Link SafeStream TL-R480T+ User manual

Business Networking Solution
Installation Guide
Load Balance Broadband Router
TL-R480T+

About this Installation Guide
This Installation Guide describes the hardware characteristics, installation methods and the
points that should be attended to during installation.
This Installation Guide is structured as follows:
Chapter 1 Introduction.This chapter describes the External Components of the router.
Chapter 2 Installation. This chapter illustrates how to install the router.
Chapter 3 Lightning Protection. This chapter illustrates how to prevent lightning damage.
Chapter 4 Connection. This chapter illustrates how to do the physical connection of the router.
Chapter 5 Configuration. This chapter illustrates how to log in and set up the router.
Appendix A Troubleshooting.
Appendix B Hardware Specifications.
Audience
This Installation Guide is for: Network Engineer
，
Network Administrator
Conventions
• The figures in Chapter 2 to Chapter 4 are for demonstration purposes only. Your router may
differ in appearance from that depicted.
• This Guide uses the specific formats to highlight special messages. The following table lists
the notice icons that are used throughout this guide.
Remind to be careful. A caution indicates a potential which may result in
device damage.
Remind to take notice. The note contains the helpful information for a better
use of the product.
Related Document
The User Guide of this product is provided in the resource CD. To obtain the latest product
information, please visit the Official Website:
http://www.tp-link.com

Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction ——————————— 01
1.1 Product Overview ...........................................................01
1.2 Appearance.......................................................................01
Chapter 2 Installation ——————————— 03
2.1 Package Contents ..........................................................03
2.2 Safety Precautions.........................................................03
2.3 Installation Tools..............................................................05
2.4 Product Installation ........................................................06
Chapter 3 Lightning Protection ——————— 08
3.1 Cabling Reasonably........................................................08
3.2 Connect to Ground.........................................................10
Chapter 4 Connection ——————————— 14
4.1 WAN Port............................................................................14
4.2 LAN Port .............................................................................14
4.3 Verify Installation.............................................................14
4.4 Power On............................................................................14
4.5 Initialization........................................................................15
Chapter 5 Conguration —————————— 16
5.1 Preparations......................................................................16
5.2 Login ....................................................................................16
Appendix A Troubleshooting ———————— 18
Appendix B Hardware Specications ————— 19

01
Load Balance Broadband Router
Introduction
Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 Product Overview
TL-R480T+ is a product designed for small business. It features three free changeable
ports that can be set to either LAN or WAN, allowing the router to support up to four
WAN ports to satisfy various Internet access requirements through one device. At the
same time, network traffic is managed to ensure that data is properly distributed to
each port. TP-Link TL-R480T+ will provide you consistent network uptime and reliable
Ethernet connectivity.
1.2 Appearance
■Front Panel
The front panel of TL-R480T+ is shown as the following figure.
Figure 1-1 Front Panel
LEDs
LED Status Indication
PWR On The router is powered on.
Off The router is powered off or the power supply is abnormal.
SYS Flashing The router works properly.
On/Off The router works improperly.
Link/Act
On There is a device connected to the corresponding port but
not active.
Flashing The corresponding port is transmitting or receiving data.
Off There is no device connected to the corresponding port.
Interface Description
Interface Description
WAN The WAN port is designed to connect the router to the interface provided
by ISP via the RJ45 cable.
LAN The LAN port is designed to connect the router to the local PCs or switches
by the RJ45 cable.

02
Load Balance Broadband Router
Introduction
Reset
With the router powered on, use a pin to press and hold the Reset button (about 5
seconds) until the SYS LED flashes quickly. Then release the button and wait for the
router rebooting to its factory default settings.
■Rear Panel
The rear panel of TL-R480T+ is shown as the following figure.
Figure 1-2 Rear Panel
100-240V~ 50/60Hz 0.1A
Power Socket
Connect the female connector of the power cord here, and the male connector to
the AC power outlet. Please make sure the voltage of the power supply meets the
requirement of the input voltage.
Grounding Terminal
The router already comes with lightning protection mechanism. You can also ground
the router through the PE (Protecting Earth) cable of AC cord or with Ground Cable.
For detailed information, please refer to Chapter 3 Lightning Protection.
Kensington
The kensington lock port is used to connect to a kensington lock to secure your
router.
Caution: Please use the provided power cord.

03
Load Balance Broadband Router
Installation
Chapter 2 Installation
2.1 Package Contents
Make sure that the package contains the following items. If any of the listed items is
damaged or missing, please contact your distributor.
One Router One Power Cord and One
Ethernet Cable
This Installation Guide
Two mounting brackets, eight
screws and four rubber feet.
BusinessNetworking Solution
Installation Guide
Load Balance BroadbandRouter
TL-R480T+
2.2 Safety Precautions
To avoid any device damage and bodily injury caused by improper use, please observe
the following rules.
■Safety Precautions
■Keep the power off during the installation.
■Wear an ESD-preventive wrist strap, and make sure that the wrist strap has a good skin
contact and is well grounded.
■Use only the power cord provided with the router.
■Make sure that the supply voltage matches the specifications indicated on the rear
panel of the router.
■Ensure the vent hole is well ventilated and unblocked.
■Do not open or remove the cover of the router.
■Before cleaning the device, cut off the power supply. Do not clean it by the waterish
cloth, and never use any other liquid cleaning method.
■Site Requirements
To ensure normal operation and long service life of the device, please install it in an
environment that meets the requirements described in the following subsection.

04
Load Balance Broadband Router
Installation
Temperature/Humidity
ȭ
ȭ
Please keep a proper temperature and humidity in the equipment room. Too high/low
humidity may lead to bad insulation, electricity leakage, mechanical property changes
and corrosions. Too high temperature may accelerate aging of the insulation materials
and can thus significantly shorten the service life of the device. For normal temperature
and humidity of the device, please check the following table.
Environment Temperature Humidity
Operating 0℃to 40℃10% to 90%RH Non-condensing
Storage -40℃to 70℃5% to 90%RH Non-condensing
Clearness
The dust accumulated on the router can be absorbed by static electricity and result
in poor contact of metal contact points. Some measures have been taken for the
device to prevent static electricity, but too strong static electricity can cause deadly
damage to the electronic elements on the internal circuit board. To avoid the effect of
static electricity on the operation of the router, please attach much importance to the
following items:
■Dust the device regularly, and keep the indoor air clean.
■Keep the device well grounded and ensure static electricity has been transferred.
Electromagnetic Interference
Electronic elements including capacitance and inductance on the device can be
affected by external interferences, such as conducted emission by capacitance
coupling, inductance coupling, and impedance coupling. To decrease the interferences,
please make sure to take the following measures:
■Use the power supply that can effectively filter interference from the power grid.
■Keep the device far from high-frequency, strong-current devices, such as radio
transmitting station.
■Use electromagnetic shielding when necessary.

05
Load Balance Broadband Router
Installation
Lightening Protection
Extremely high voltage currents can be produced instantly when lightning occurs and
the air in the electric discharge path can be instantly heated up to 20,000℃.As this
instant current is strong enough to damage electronic devices, more effective lightning
protection measures should be taken.
■Ensure the rack and device are well earthed.
■Make sure the power socket has a good contact with the ground.
■Keep a reasonable cabling system and avoid induced lightning.
■Use the signal SPD (Surge Protective Device) when wiring outdoor.
Note:
For detailed lightning protection measures, please refer to Chapter 3 Lightning
Protection.
Installation Site
When installing the device on a rack or a flat workbench, please note the following
items:
■The rack or workbench is flat and stable, and sturdy enough to support the weight of
5.5kg at least.
■The rack or workbench has a good ventilation system. The equipment room is well
ventilated.
■The rack is well grounded. Keep the power socket less than 1.5 meters away from the
device.
2.3 Installation Tools
■Phillips screwdriver
■ESD-preventive wrist wrap
■Cables
Note:
These tools are not provided with our product. If needed, please self purchase
them.

06
Load Balance Broadband Router
Installation
2.4 Product Installation
■Desktop Installation
To install the device on the desktop, please follow the steps below:
1. Set the device on a flat surface strong enough to support the entire weight of the
device with all fittings.
2. Remove the adhesive backing papers from the rubber feet.
3. Turnover the device and attach the supplied rubber feet to the recessed areas on
the bottom at each corner of the device.
Figure 2-3 Desktop Installation
Feet
Bottom of the Device
Notch
■Rack Installation
To install the device in an EIA standard-sized, 19-inch rack, follow the instructions
described below:
1. Check the grounding and stability of the rack.
2. Secure the supplied rack-mounting brackets to each side of the device with supplied
screws, as illustrated in the following figure.
Figure 2-4 Bracket Installation
Rack-mounting Bracket
Screw
3. After the brackets are attached to the device, use suitable screws (not provided) to
secure the brackets to the rack, as illustrated in the following figure.

07
Load Balance Broadband Router
Installation
Figure 2-5 Rack Installation
Rack
Caution:
■Please set 5~10cm gaps around the device for air circulation.
■Please avoid any heavy thing placed on the device.
■Please mount devices in sequence from the bottom to top of the rack and ensure
a certain clearance between devices for the purpose of heat dissipation.

08
Load Balance Broadband Router
Lightning Protection
Chapter 3 Lightning Protection
3.1 Cabling Reasonably
In the actual network environment, you may need cable outdoors and indoors, and
the requirements for cabling outdoors and indoors are different. A reasonable cabling
system can decrease the damage of induced lightning to devices.
Note:
It’s not recommended using Ethernet cables outdoors. When cabling outdoors,
please use a signal lightning arrester.
■Requirements for Cabling Outdoors
■Aerial cabling without safeguard is not allowed.
■It’s not allowed cabling down the building to connect network devices in different
floors.
■Outdoor cables should be buried and paved to the indoor through basement. A piece of
steel wire should be paved underground along the pipe and connected to the lightning
protection terminal of the building for shielding. Before connecting the cable to the
device, install a signal lightning arrester on the corresponding port.
■When an aerial cable is set up, the cable should be through a metal pipe (15m long
at least) before coming into the building. The two ends of this metal pipe should be
grounded. Before connecting the cable to the device, install a signal lightning arrester
on the corresponding port.
■It’s not necessary to pave STP cables through pipes. The shielded layer of STP cable
should be well grounded. Before connecting the cable to the device, install a signal
lightning arrester on the corresponding port.

09
Load Balance Broadband Router
Lightning Protection
■Requirements for Cabling Indoors
When cabling indoors, keep a certain distance away from the devices that may cause
high-frequency interferences, such as down-conductor cable, powerline, power
transformer and electromotor.
■The main cable should be paved in the metal raceway of the access shaft. When
cabling, keep the loop area formed by the cable itself as small as possible.
■Requirements for the distance between Ethernet cable and other pipelines are shown
in the table.
Other Pipelines
Ethernet Cable
Min Parallel Net Length L (mm) Min Parallel-overlapping
Net Height H (mm)
Down-conductor 1000 300
PE 50 20
Service pipe 150 20
Compressed air pipe 150 20
Thermal pipe (not wrapped) 500 500
Thermal pipe (wrapped) 300 300
Gas pipe 300 20
The two diagrams below demonstrate parallel net length and parallel-overlapping net
height.
Note:
The above minimum net length/height is required when metal raceway is not
used. If any requirements cannot be met, you can add a steel tube or metal
raceway for shielding.
■Requirements for the distance between Ethernet cable and high-power electric devices
are in following tables.
Cable Pave Way Min Parallel
Length (mm)
<2kVA
powerline
Parallel cabling 130
One is in the grounded metal raceway or metal pipe 70
The both are in the grounded metal raceway or metal pipe 10
2~5kVA
powerline
Parallel cabling 300
One is in the grounded metal raceway or metal pipe 150
The both are in the grounded metal raceway or metal pipe 80

10
Load Balance Broadband Router
Lightning Protection
>5kVA
powerline
Parallel cabling 600
One is in the grounded metal raceway or metal pipe 300
The both are in the grounded metal raceway or metal pipe 150
Device Min Distance (m)
Switch case 1.00
Transformer room 2.00
Elevator tower 2.00
Air-conditioner room 2.00
3.2 Connect to Ground
Connecting the device to ground is to quickly release the lightning over-voltage and
over-current of the device, which is also a necessary measure to protect the body from
electric shock.
In different environments, the device may be grounded differently. The following
will instruct you to connect the device to the ground in two ways, connecting to the
grounding bar or connecting to the ground via the power cord. Please connect the
device to ground in the optimum way according to your specific operation environment.
■Connecting to the Ground via the Power Supply
If the device is installed in the normal environment, the device can be grounded via the
PE (Protecting Earth) cable of the AC power supply as shown in the following figure.
Figure 3-1 Connecting to the Ground
Note:
■The figure is to illustrate the application and principle. The power plug you get
from the package and the socket in your situation will comply with the regulation
in your country, so they may differ from the figure above.
■If you intend to connect the device to the ground via the PE (Protecting Earth)
cable of AC power cord, please make sure the PE (Protecting Earth) cable in the
electrical outlet is well grounded in advance.

11
Load Balance Broadband Router
Lightning Protection
■Connecting to the Grounding Bar
Use the grounding bar
If the device is installed in the Equipment Room, where a grounding bar is available, you
are recommended to connect the device to the grounding bar as shown in the following
figure.
Figure 3-2 Connecting to the Grounding Bar
100-240V~ 50/60Hz 0.1A
Device (Rear Panel)
Ground Cable
Grounding Te rminal
Grounding Bar
Note:
The grounding bar and ground cable are not provided with our product. If
needed, please self purchase them.
Equipotential Bonding
Equipotential Bonding is the practice of intentionally electrically connecting all earthed
systems to the same grounding grid or connecting the grounding grids of all the
earthed systems together through the ground or overground metal so as to create
an earthed equipotential zone. When lightning occurs, the high voltage produced by
lightning current in all systems will meanwhile exist in their ground cables, and thus all
ground cables have the same electrical potential and basically eliminate the electric
strikes between the systems.
The figure below illustrates how to practice equipotential bonding in a network.

12
Load Balance Broadband Router
Lightning Protection
Figure 3-3 Equipotential Bonding
Grounding Terminal Equipotential Bonding Cable
Grounding BarGround Cable
When equipotential bonding, please note that the cable should be copper wrapped
Kelly with its area being 6mm2at least. The shorter cable the better, and use a
grounding bar to establish an equipotential bonding point.
Note:
The equipotential bonding cable is not provided with our product. If needed,
please self purchase it.
Use Lightning Arrester
Power lightning arrester and signal lightning arrester are used for lighting protection.
Power lightning arrester is used for limiting the voltage surge due to a lightning. If an
outdoor AC power cord should be directly connected to the device, please use a power
lightning arrester.
Note:
Power lightning arrester is not provided with our product. If needed, please self
purchase it.
Signal lightning arrester is used to protect RJ45 ports of the device from lightning.
When cabling outdoors, please install a signal lightning arrester before connecting the
cable to the device.
When purchasing or using a signal lightning arrester, please observe the following
rules:

13
Load Balance Broadband Router
Lightning Protection
■The port rate of the signal lightning arrester should match the rate of the desired port
on the device. If it is not matched, this signal lighting arrester will not work. Purchase a
standard lightning arrester.
■Install signal lightning arrester near the protected device and connect it to the ground
via a shorter ground cable.
Figure 3-4 Lightning Arrester Connection
Equipotential Bonding CableGrounding Terminal Ethernet Cable
Signal Lightning Arrester Device
Note:
Signal lightning arrester is not provided with our product. If needed, please self
purchase it.

14
Load Balance Broadband Router
Connection
Chapter 4 Connection
4.1 WAN Port
Please connect the WAN port of the router to the interface provided by ISP via an
Ethernet cable.
4.2 LAN Port
Connect a LAN port of the router to the computer by a RJ45 cable as the following
figure shows.
Figure 4-1 Connecting the LAN Port
LAN Port
RJ45 Cable
RJ45 Port
4.3 Verify Installation
After completing the installation, please verify the following items:
■There are 5~10cm of clearance around the sides of the device for ventilation and the
air flow is adequate.
■The voltage of the power supply meets the requirement of the input voltage of the device.
■The power socket, device and rack are well grounded.
■The device is correctly connected to other network devices.
4.4 Power On
Plug in the negative connector of the provided power cord into the power socket of the
device, and the positive connector into a power outlet as the following figure shows.

15
Load Balance Broadband Router
Connection
Figure 4-2 Connecting to Power Supply
1
2
Note:
The gure is to illustrate the application and principle. The power plug you get from
the package and the socket in your situation will comply with the regulation in your
country, so they may dier from the gure above.
4.5 Initialization
After the device is powered on, it begins the Power-On Self-Test. A series of tests
run automatically to ensure the device functions properly. During this time, its LED
indicators will respond as follows:
■The PWR LED keeps on all the time.
■The Link/Act LEDs and SYS LED will flash momentarily and the Link/Act LEDs will then
turn off.
■The SYS LED will keep on for seconds and then flash, which represents a successful
initialization.

16
Load Balance Broadband Router
Conguration
Chapter 5 Configuration
5.1 Preparations
1. Connect a PC to a LAN port of the router with a RJ45 cable properly.
2. If your computer is configured with a fixed IP, change it to "Obtain an IP address
automatically".
5.2 Login
1. Open a web browser and type the default management address http://192.168.0.1 in
the address field of the browser, then press the Enter key.
Figure 5-1 Enter the IP address
2. Create a username and a password for subsequent login attempts.
Figure 5-2 Create an Account