3. Setup and Administration

The 6tcw comes set to 192.168.111.1 and with its built-in DHCP servers (there are two - one each for the LAN and WLAN network segments) enabled. Bridging between the wired ("Trusted") and wireless ("Optional") networks is disabled by default. So any 802.11b compatible clients can associate and access the Internet via the 6tcw in its out-of-the-box configuration, but can't access any wired LAN machines (and vice-versa).

Unlike the Sonicwall product, there aren't any wizards to guide you through setup. This is probably ok considering the networking-savvy target customer base, and the 6tcw's simpler feature set. But I found I sure could have used some help in setting up the IPsec VPN tunnels (more later).

Hitting the admin server's IP brings up the Status screen shown in Figure 2, which gives a nice overall look at how things are set up.

Figure 2: Status screen
(click on the image for a full-sized view)

The 6tcw handles static, DHCP and PPPoE WAN connection types, but has no provision for domain or host name authentication. I at first thought I couldn't change the WAN MAC address for those ISPs that use that method of authentication, but later found the setting on the Firewall Options page.

The Admin interface is generally logically arranged, responsive and easy to navigate with setting changes accepted without requiring a reboot. I did have the occasion to force a reboot from this screen when the router appeared to lock up a number of times during my testing and found that the screen auto-refreshed to let me know that the router was back on line. Note that remote management from either the WAN side or via wireless connection is possible only through an IPsec tunnel.

I found some of the default Admin settings and features to be puzzling, considering that WatchGuard's primary emphasis is on security. For example, the product comes with no password protection set for the Admin server and you aren't forced to set one either. The admin connection is also via plain HTTP, vs. the more secure HTTPS, and response to WAN pings is not disabled.