3Com WXR100 3CRWXR10095A, WX1200 3CRWX120695A, WX4400 3CRWX440095A, WX2200 3CRWX220095A User Manual

Wireless LAN Mobility System

Wireless LAN Switch and Controller

Hardware Installation Guide

WX4400 3CRWX440095A

WX2200 3CRWX220095A

WX1200 3CRWX120695A

WXR100 3CRWXR10095A

http://www.3Com.com/

Part No. 10015911 Rev AB

Published November 2007

3Com Corporation 350 Campus Drive Marlborough, MA USA 01752-3064

Copyright © 2007, 3Com Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of this documentation may be reproduced in any form or by any means or used to make any derivative work (such as translation, transformation, or adaptation) without written permission from 3Com Corporation.

3Com Corporation reserves the right to revise this documentation and to make changes in content from time to time without obligation on the part of 3Com Corporation to provide notification of such revision or change.

3Com Corporation provides this documentation without warranty, term, or condition of any kind, either implied or expressed, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties, terms or conditions of merchantability, satisfactory quality, and fitness for a particular purpose. 3Com may make improvements or changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this documentation at any time.

If there is any software on removable media described in this documentation, it is furnished under a license agreement included with the product as a separate document, in the hard copy documentation, or on the removable media in a directory file named LICENSE.TXT or !LICENSE.TXT. If you are unable to locate a copy, please contact 3Com and a copy will be provided to you.

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT LEGEND

If you are a United States government agency, then this documentation and the software described herein are provided to you subject to the following:

All technical data and computer software are commercial in nature and developed solely at private expense. Software is delivered as “Commercial Computer Software” as defined in DFARS 252.227-7014 (June 1995) or as a “commercial item” as defined in FAR 2.101(a) and as such is provided with only such rights as are provided in 3Com’s standard commercial license for the Software. Technical data is provided with limited rights only as provided in DFAR 252.227-7015 (Nov 1995) or FAR 52.227-14 (June 1987), whichever is applicable. You agree not to remove or deface any portion of any legend provided on any licensed program or documentation contained in, or delivered to you in conjunction with, this User Guide.

Unless otherwise indicated, 3Com registered trademarks are registered in the United States and may or may not be registered in other countries.

3Com and the 3Com logo are registered trademarks of 3Com Corporation.

Mobility Domain, Mobility Point, Mobility Profile, Mobility System, Mobility System Software, MP, MSS, and SentrySweep are trademarks of Trapeze Networks, Inc.

Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. Microsoft, MS-DOS, Windows, Windows XP, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated.

CONTENTS

ABOUT THIS GUIDE

	Conventions	6
	Documentation	7
	Documentation Comments				8
1 WX SWITCH OVERVIEW
	WX Model Numbers		9
	Hardware Features		10
	WX2200 Switch		10
	WXR100 Switch		11
	WX1200 Switch		12
	WX4400 Switch		13
	Management Features			14
	Power Features		14
	Network Interfaces 15
	WX1200, WX4400, and WX2200 Status LEDs					16
	WXR100 LEDs		17
	Software Features		19
	Management Features			19
	Layer 2 Switching Features				19
	IP Services	20
	Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting					20
	Roaming	20
	RF Management		21
2 INSTALLING AND CONNECTING A WX SWITCH
	Unpacking a WX Switch			23
	Installation Requirements and Recommendations					25
	3Com Wireless Switch Manager Network Plan					25
	Installation Location			25
	Cable Requirements			26

Installation Hardware and Tools			29
Installing a WX Switch	30
Equipment Rack Installation 31
Tabletop Installation	33
Installing a Power Supply in a WX4400 Switch				34
Installing a New Power Supply			34
Replacing a Power Supply		35
Powering On a WX Switch		37
Powering On a WXR100 Switch			37
Connecting to a Serial Management Console				38
Troubleshooting a Serial Management Connection 39
Connecting to the Network		39
Connecting to a MAP or Other 10/100 Ethernet Device 39
Connecting to Gigabit Ethernet Devices				42

AWX TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

BWX TROUBLESHOOTING

COBTAINING SUPPORT FOR YOUR 3COM PRODUCTS

Register Your Product to Gain Service Benefits 57 Solve Problems Online 57

Purchase Extended Warranty and Professional Services 58 Access Software Downloads 58

Contact Us 58

Telephone Technical Support and Repair 59

INDEX

ABOUT THIS GUIDE

This guide shows you how to install a 3Com Wireless LAN Switch (WX) in a 3Com Mobility System wireless LAN (WLAN) and deploy basic IEEE 802.11 wireless service.

Read this guide if you are a network administrator or other person installing WX switches and deploying 802.11 wireless service in a network.

The 3Com Mobility System is an enterprise-class WLAN solution that seamlessly integrates with an existing wired enterprise network. The 3Com system provides secure connectivity to both wireless and wired users in large environments such as office buildings, hospitals, and university campuses and in small environments such as branch offices.

The 3Com Mobility System fulfills the three fundamental requirements of an enterprise WLAN: It eliminates the distinction between wired and wireless networks, allows users to work safely from anywhere (secure mobility), and provides a comprehensive suite of intuitive tools for planning and managing the network before and after deployment, greatly easing the operational burden on IT resources.

If release notes are shipped with your product and the information there differs from the information in this guide, follow the instructions in the release notes.

Most user guides and release notes are available in Adobe Acrobat Reader Portable Document Format (PDF) or HTML on the 3Com World Wide Web site:

http://www.3com.com/

6 ABOUT THIS GUIDE

Conventions	Table 1 and Table 2 list conventions that are used throughout this guide.
	Table 1			Notice Icons
		Icon		Notice Type	Description
				Information note	Information that describes important features or
					instructions
				Caution	Information that alerts you to potential loss of data or
					potential damage to an application, system, or device
				Warning	Information that alerts you to potential equipment
					damage or personal injury.

Table 2 Text Conventions

Convention	Description
Monospace text	Sets off command syntax or sample commands and system
	responses.
Bold text	Highlights commands that you enter or items you select.
Italic text	Designates command variables that you replace with
	appropriate values, or highlights publication titles or words
	requiring special emphasis.
[ ] (square brackets)	Enclose optional parameters in command syntax.
{ } (curly brackets)	Enclose mandatory parameters in command syntax.
| (vertical bar)	Separates mutually exclusive options in command syntax.
Keyboard key names	If you must press two or more keys simultaneously, the key
	names are linked with a plus sign (+). Example:
	Press Ctrl+Alt+Del
Words in italics	Italics are used to:
	Emphasize a point.
	Denote a new term at the place where it is defined in the
	text.
	Highlight an example string, such as a username or SSID.

Documentation 7

Documentation

The MSS documentation set includes the following documents.

Wireless Switch Manager (3WXM) Release Notes

These notes provide information about the 3WXM software release, including new features and bug fixes.

Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Release Notes

These notes provide information about the MSS software release, including new features and bug fixes.

Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Quick Start Guide

This guide provides instructions for performing basic setup of secure (802.1X) and guest (WebAAA™) access, and for configuring a Mobility Domain for roaming.

Wireless Switch Manager Reference Manual

This manual shows you how to plan, configure, deploy, and manage a Mobility System wireless LAN (WLAN) using the 3Com Wireless Switch Manager (3WXM).

Wireless Switch Manager User’s Guide

This guide shows you how to plan, configure, deploy, and manage a Mobility System wireless LAN (WLAN) using the 3Com Wireless Switch Manager (3WXM). It contains information about recommended system requirements you should meet for optimum 3WXM performance, installing 3WXM client and 3WXM Services software, and an introduction to using the 3WXM interface.

Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Hardware Installation Guide

This guide provides instructions and specifications for installing a WX wireless switch in a Mobility System WLAN.

Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Configuration Guide

This guide provides instructions for configuring and managing the system through the Mobility System Software (MSS) CLI.

Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Command Reference

This reference provides syntax information for all MSS commands supported on WX switches.

8 ABOUT THIS GUIDE

Documentation	Your suggestions are very important to us. They will help make our
Comments	documentation more useful to you. Please e-mail comments about this
	document to 3Com at:
	[e-mail]
	Please include the following information when contacting us:
	Document title
	Document part number and revision (on the title page)
	Page number (if appropriate)

Example:

Wireless LAN Switch and Controller Configuration Guide

Part number 730-9502-0071, Revision B

Page 25

Please note that we can only respond to comments and questions about 3Com product documentation at this e-mail address. Questions related to Technical Support or sales should be directed in the first instance to your network supplier.

1	WX SWITCH OVERVIEW

A 3Com Wireless Switch (WX) provides mobility and authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) services for wireless or wired users. A WX switch also controls the operation of 3Com Managed Access Point (MAP) access points, which control and manage IEEE 802.11 operation over the air.

WARNING: Installation must be performed by qualified service personnel only. Read and follow all warning notices and instructions marked on the product or included in the documentation.

WARNING: There are no user-serviceable parts inside the WX switches.

WX Model Numbers Table 3 lists the WX switch model numbers.

Table 3 WX Switch Model Numbers

Model	Port Configuration	Power Supply Configuration
WX2200	Two gigabit Ethernet ports. Each	Two 100-240V VAC autosensing
	port has a miniature Gigabit	AC power supplies
	interface converter (mini-GBIC) slot
	for insertion of a small form-factor
	pluggable (SFP) 1000BASE-SX or
	1000BASE-LX fiber-optic interface.
	One 10/100 Ethernet port for out-of-
	band management (without PoE).
WXR100	Two 10/100BASE-TX Ethernet ports	One 100-240 VAC autosensing AC
	Port 1 provides an uplink to the	power supply
	network.
	Port 2 supports Power over Ethernet (PoE)
	and provides direct connection to a MAP
WX1200	Eight 10/100 Ethernet ports, six of	One 100-120 VAC / 200-240 VAC
	which support PoE	autosensing AC power supply

10 CHAPTER 1: WX SWITCH OVERVIEW

Table 3 WX Switch Model Numbers (continued)

Model Port Configuration

Power Supply Configuration

WX4400 Four dual-interface gigabit Ethernet ports. Each port has a 1000BASE-TX copper interface and a Gigabit interface converter (GBIC) slot for insertion of a 1000BASE-SX or 1000BASE-LX fiber-optic interface.

Two 100-120 VAC / 200-240 VAC autosensing AC power supplies

Hardware Features The following sections describe the WX hardware features.

WX2200 Switch A WX2200 switch is one RU high and also can be installed in a standard 48.26-cm (19-inch) equipment rack or on a tabletop. Figure 1 shows the features of a WX2200 switch.

Figure 1 3Com WX2200 Switch

	Power	Serial
		console port
	supplies

Provide an Earthing Connection
90 - 240V~ / 50 - 60 Hz
2.0 / 1.0A
Mgmt (3)
Console	1	2

Power
supply LEDs	Mgmt	10/100	Mini-GBIC	Gigabit link
	LED	Management	slots	LEDs
		Port

The rear of the switch contains a label with the serial ID, MAC address, and other identifying information.

Hardware Features

11

WXR100 Switch A WXR100 switch is compact and can be installed on a tabletop. Figure 2 shows the external hardware features of an WXR100 switch.

Figure 2 3Com WXR100 Switch

CAUTION: Do not stack WXR100 switches. Stacked WXR100 switches can overheat and cause loss of equipment functionality or permanent damage.

CAUTION: Ensure adequate airflow around WXR100 switches. The WXR100 switch uses natural convection cooling and requires free entry of air. Airflow blockage can cause the system to overheat and result in a loss of equipment functionality or permanent damage.

The underside of the switch contains a label with the serial ID,

MAC address and other identifying information.

12 CHAPTER 1: WX SWITCH OVERVIEW

WX1200 Switch A WX1200 switch is one RU high and can be installed in a standard 48.26-cm (19-inch) equipment rack or on a tabletop. Figure 3 shows the external hardware features of a WX1200 switch.

Figure 3 3Com WX1200 Switch—Control Features

Power	Serial
supply	console port

Power	10/100 Ethernet	10/100 and MAP
supply LED	uplink ports	Ethernet ports

10/100 and MAP/PoE LEDs

The rear of the switch contains a label with the serial ID, MAC address, and other identifying information.

Hardware Features

13

WX4400 Switch A WX4400 switch is two rack units (RUs) high and can be installed in a standard 48.26-cm (19-inch) equipment rack or on a tabletop. Figure 4 identifies the external hardware features of a WX4400 switch.

Figure 4 3Com WX4400 Switch—Control Features

Power	Power	Serial	Flash	Eject	Mgmt
supply LED	supply	console port	card slot	button	LED

100-240V	Mgmt
50/60 Hz	Console
8A MAX
DISCONNECT
ALL POWER
BEFORE
SERVICING

AC power	Power supply GBIC slot	Gigabit	1000BASE-TX port
inlet	serial number	link
		LEDs

Like the WX1200, the rear of the WX4400 contains a label with the serial ID, MAC address, and other identifying information.

14 CHAPTER 1: WX SWITCH OVERVIEW

Management	Serial console port—The serial console port provides a direct
Features	management connection to a WX switch’s command-line interface
	(CLI). The port has a DB-9 female connector and supports the
	EIA-232D signaling standard.
	10/100 out-of-band management port—The WX2200 switch features
	an out-of-band management port, which allows you to connect the
	switch to a network server and configure the switch to boot using a
	software image downloaded from the server. The WXR100 also
	supports booting with a software image downloaded from a server.

CAUTION: The Fn switch on the WXR100 performs two functions. If you press the Fn switch for less than 5 seconds, it restarts the WXR100 and reloads its configuration from the configuration file. However, if you press the switch for 5 seconds or longer, the configuration file is deleted and the switch restarts with its factory default settings. If you accidentally press the Fn switch for too long and erase the configuration, you can use the Web Quick Start to reconfigure the switch.

Status LEDs—The Ethernet ports and power supplies have LEDs that indicate their status. The management CPU on a WX4400 or WX2200 switch also has an LED. (For details, see “WX1200, WX4400, and WX2200 Status LEDs” on page 16.)

Flash card slot (WX4400 only)—The flash card slot is not used for normal WX operation.

Power Features Power supplies—A WX4400 switch comes with one 100-240 VAC autosensing AC power supply. You can add a second supply for load sharing and redundancy. The power supplies are hot-swappable.

A WX1200 switch contains one 100-120 VAC / 200-240 VAC autosensing AC power supply. The WX1200 power supply is a fixed-configuration supply and cannot be inserted or removed.

A WX2200 switch contains two 100-240V VAC autosensing AC power supplies.

A WXR100 switch uses an external power supply, which comes with the switch.

Hardware Features 15

Network Interfaces 10/100 Ethernet ports—A WXR100 switch has two 10/100BASE-TX Ethernet ports. A WX1200 switch has eight 10/100BASE-TX Ethernet ports. Each port has a standard RJ-45 connector and uses Category 5 (Cat 5) cable based on the EIA/TIA-586 standard.

On the WXR100, port 2 can be configured for MAP access points and can support Power over Ethernet (PoE). Port 1 is an uplink port only and does not support PoE.

On the WX1200, ports 1 through 6 can be configured for MAP access points and can support PoE. Ports 7 and 8 on the WX1200 switch are uplink ports only and do not support PoE.

The 10/100 Ethernet ports on the WX1200, WX2200, and WXR100 switches provide automatic MDI/MDX, which automatically crosses over the send and receive signals if required.

The WX4400 and WX2200 switches provide high-bandwidth centralized control of many indirectly connected MAP access points. The WX4400 switch does not have 10/100 Ethernet ports and does not provide PoE. The WX2200 has one 10/100 Ethernet port (port 3); this port does not provide PoE.

Gigabit interface converter (GBIC) slots (WX4400 only)—A WX4400 switch has four ports. Each port has a slot for a 1000BASE-SX or 1000BASE-LX fiber-optic GBIC, and a built-in 1000BASE-TX copper interface with an RJ-45 connector. Only one interface, copper or fiber, can be active on a port. The GBIC interface is active by default.

Miniature Gigabit interface converter (mini-GBIC) slots (WX2200 only)—A WX2200 switch has two slots allowing insertion of small form-factor pluggable (SFP) 1000Base-SX, 1000Base-LX, 1000Base-T, or 1000Base-LH fiber-optic mini-GBICs to provide gigabit Ethernet interfaces to the network.

The mini-GBICs have standard SC Duplex connectors and use either single-mode fiber (SMF) for LX or multimode fiber (MMF) for SX. Mini-GBICs are available separately and are not included with the switch.

The gigabit Ethernet ports operate at 1000 Mbps only. They do not change speed to match 10-Mbps or 100-Mbps links.

16 CHAPTER 1: WX SWITCH OVERVIEW

WX1200, WX4400, The WX1200, WX4400, and WX2200 switches have LEDs that indicate and WX2200 Status port, power, and CPU status. Table 4 lists the LEDs. (For the location of

LEDs each LED, see Figure 3 and Figure 4.)

Table 4 WX1200, WX4400, and WX2200 Status LEDs

	LED	Appearance	Meaning
	Mgmt	Bright green, then	WX switch is operating normally.
	(WX4400 and	fade (repeated)
	WX2200 only)	This LED appearance
		is sometimes called
		breathing.
		Blinking green	WX switch is booting.
		Quickly blinking	WX switch was unable to boot completely.
		amber
	Power supply	Solid green	DC power output is on.
	status
		Solid amber	Power fault has occurred.
		Unlit	AC power is off.
	Gigabit fiber	Solid green	1000-Mbps fiber link is operational.
	link activity
		Blinking green	Traffic is active on the 1000-Mbps fiber
	(WX4400 and		link.
	WX2200 only)
	Gigabit copper	Solid green	1000-Mbps copper link is operational.
	link activity
		Blinking green	Traffic is active on the 1000-Mbps copper
	(WX4400 and		link.
	WX2200 only)
	Link	Solid green	100-Mbps link is operational.
	(WX1200 only)	Solid amber	10-Mbps link is operational.
		Blinking green	Traffic is active on the 100-Mbps link.
		Blinking amber	Traffic is active on the 10-Mbps link.

		Hardware Features 17
Table 4 WX1200, WX4400, and WX2200 Status LEDs (continued)
LED	Appearance	Meaning
MAP	Solid green	For a MAP access point’s active link, with
(WX1200 only)		PoE enabled, all the following are true:
		MAP access point has booted.
		MAP access point has received a valid
		configuration from the WX switch.
		Management link with a MAP access
		point is operational.
	Alternating green	MAP access point is booting with an image
	and amber	received from the WX switch.
		If the LED remains in this state indefinitely,
		the boot or configuration attempt has
		failed.
	Solid amber	PoE is on but no MAP access point is
		connected to the link.
	Blinking amber	MAP is not connected or is unresponsive,
		or there is a PoE problem.
	Unlit	Port is not configured as a MAP access
		port, or PoE is off.

WXR100 LEDs Figure 5 shows the locations of the WXR100 LEDs. Table 5 describes the LEDs.

Figure 5 WXR100 LEDs

FN LED

MAP LED

1 2

	Power
Link LED	supply LED

18 CHAPTER 1: WX SWITCH OVERVIEW

Table 5 WXR100 Status LEDs

LED	Appearance	Meaning
Power status	Solid green	The switch is receiving power.
	Unlit	The switch is not receiving power.
Link	Solid green	100-Mbps link is operational.
(ports 1 and 2)	Solid amber	10-Mbps link is operational.
	Blinking green	Traffic is active on the 100-Mbps link.
	Blinking amber	Traffic is active on the 10-Mbps link.
Fn	Solid green	The switch is booting and is loading its
(port 1 only)		configuration file. This LED state lasts
		for three seconds.
	Blinking green	The switch is booting but the Fn
		switch is being pressed. The switch
		does not load its configuration file but
		instead contacts WX to request a
		configuration.
		This LED state lasts for three seconds.
	Unlit	The switch has finished booting.
MAP (port 2 only)	Solid green	For a MAP access point’s active link,
		with PoE enabled, all the following are
		true:
		MAP access point has booted.
		MAP access point has received a valid
		configuration from the WX switch.
		Management link with an MAP access
		point is operational.
	Alternating green and	MAP access point is booting with an
	amber	image received from the WX switch.
		If the LED remains in this state
		indefinitely, the boot or configuration
		attempt has failed.
	Solid amber	PoE is on but no MAP access point is
		connected to the link.
	Blinking amber	MAP is not connected or is
		unresponsive, or there is a PoE
		problem.
	Unlit	Port is not configured as a MAP access
		port, or PoE is off.

Software Features

19

Software Features	Mobility System Software (MSS) provides a combination of standard
	wired LAN features and wireless LAN features that enable you to
	integrate the switch into your wired network and provide network access
	for wired or wireless users.
Management	Serial and network command-line interface (CLI) access—You can
Features	access the CLI through a direct serial connection or through the
	network using Secure Shell (SSH) or Telnet.
	3Com Wireless Switch Manager management application—3Com
	Wireless Switch Manager is an extensive GUI application for planning,
	configuring, deploying, and managing a 3Com network and its users.
	3Com Wireless Switch Manager uses Secure Sockets Layer protocol
	(SSL) to interact with MSS.
	Software and configuration management—You can store multiple
	software images and configuration files in the WX switch’s nonvolatile
	storage.
	Web View—Web View is a Web-based application for configuring and
	managing a single WX switch through a Web browser. Web View
	creates a secure connection by using Hypertext Transfer Protocol over
	Secure Sockets Layer (HTTPS).
Layer 2 Switching	Spanning Tree Protocol (STP)—MSS is 802.1D-compatible and
Features	supports Per-VLAN Spanning Tree (PVST+). PVST+ allows a separate
	spanning tree in each virtual LAN (VLAN). Optional fast convergence
	features allow you to quickly resume traffic forwarding after a
	topology change.
	Load-sharing port groups—You can configure multiple physical ports
	into a single logical link for traffic load sharing and physical link
	redundancy.
	Virtual LANs (VLANs)—MSS supports logical segmentation of a
	switch’s ports into separate Layer 2 collision domains. A port can be a
	member of one or more VLANs. Each VLAN can have its own IP
	interface. MSS supports the 802.1Q tag format.
	Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) snooping for multicast
	containment—The WX switch can learn about the multicast sources
	and receivers in the network and restrict forwarding for a multicast
	group to the users for that group. IGMPv1 and IGMPv2 are supported.

20 CHAPTER 1: WX SWITCH OVERVIEW

IP Services	IP interfaces—You can configure an IP interface for each VLAN.
	IP ping and traceroute—You can test IP connectivity between the WX
	switch and other devices.
	Domain Name Service (DNS)—You can configure the switch to use
	DNS servers for name resolution. You also can configure a default
	domain name to append to hostnames.
	Network Time Protocol (NTP)—A WX switch can sets its time and date
	by polling an NTP server.
	System log—A WX generates log messages to log system events. The log
	messages are stored locally and also can be exported to syslog servers.
	Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)—A WX switch can be
	configured to generate SNMP traps for major system events.
Authentication,	802.1X—A WX switch can authenticate users based on 802.1X
Authorization, and	protocols. Based on authentication, users are assigned VLAN
Accounting	membership, access control, and roaming boundaries.
	MAC authentication—If a device does not support 802.1X, you can
	configure authentication based on the source MAC address to assign
	VLAN membership, access control, and roaming boundaries.
	Guest authentication—Guests can be authenticated by a shared set of
	authorization attributes that assign VLAN membership, access control,
	and roaming boundaries.
	Local and remote authentication—You can authenticate users locally using
	information configured on the WX switch, or use a Remote Authentication
	Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) server. When you use a remote server, the WX
	switch can enhance performance by performing some of the AAA tasks
	locally or distributing the load across multiple servers.

Roaming MAP access point roaming—You can configure the WX switch to allow users to roam from one MAP access point to another on the same WX switch.

Mobility Domain™ roaming—You also can configure a group of WX switches to allow users to roam from one switch to another. Regardless of the wired subnet connections, each user maintains the same IP address and session across the network.

Session management—You can display session information and statistics for users.