Askey Computer WLL3050 User Manual
802.11g WLAN Card
User’s Manual
2003 All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written
permission of the seller.
Disclaimer
Information in this document is subject to change without notice. The material contained
herein is supplied without representation or warranty of any kind. The seller therefore assumes
no responsibility and shall have no liability of any kind arising from the supply or use of this
document or the material contained herein.
Trademarks
Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. GUI and
Ethernet is a registered trademark of Xeros Corporation. Atheros and the Atheros logo are
registered trademarks of Atheros Communications, Inc. Cisco, Cisco Systems, and the Cisco
Systems logo are registered trademarks of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S.
and certain other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property
of their respective owners.
Date: April 2003
Part No. A230XPRev01
Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction................................................................................................................................................ 7
Wireless LAN Basics................................................................................................................................................... 8
Local Area Network (LAN)....................................................................................................................................... 8
Wireless Network Topologies.................................................................................................................................. 9
802.11g.................................................................................................................................................................. 12
Chapter 2 Installing the Driver and Utility Software .............................................................................................. 13
System Requirements............................................................................................................................................... 14
Installing the driver and software .............................................................................................................................. 14
Chapter 3 Utility Configuration ................................................................................................................................21
Accessing the Atheros Configuration Utility .............................................................................................................. 21
Note to Windows XP Users ................................................................................................................................... 22
Network Basic Configuration..................................................................................................................................... 23
General Tab........................................................................................................................................................... 24
Security Tab .......................................................................................................................................................... 25
Advanced Tab ....................................................................................................................................................... 30
Connecting to an Existing Network ........................................................................................................................... 33
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802.11g Mini PCI WLAN Card User’s Manual
Modifying a Configuration Profile .............................................................................................................................. 35
Removing a Configuration Profile ............................................................................................................................. 35
Chapter 4 Checking Status or Statistics................................................................................................................. 37
Status Monitor Tray Icon ........................................................................................................................................... 37
Current Status Tab.................................................................................................................................................... 39
Advanced Status ................................................................................................................................................... 42
Diagnostics Tab ........................................................................................................................................................ 43
Advanced Statistics ............................................................................................................................................... 44
Driver Information .................................................................................................................................................. 46
Chapter 5 ACU Toolbar............................................................................................................................................. 49
Action Menu .............................................................................................................................................................. 49
Options Menu............................................................................................................................................................ 51
Help Menu................................................................................................................................................................. 52
Chapter 6 Uninstalling the Wireless LAN Card ...................................................................................................... 53
Chapter 7 Troubleshooting ...................................................................................................................................... 56
Appendix A Setting Up TCP/IP ................................................................................................................................61
For Windows 2000/XP .............................................................................................................................................. 61
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Contents
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802.11g Mini PCI WLAN Card User’s Manual
List of Figures
Figure 1-1 Ad Hoc Network.....................................................................................................................................9
Figure 1-2 Infrastructure Network .........................................................................................................................10
Figure 1-3 Roaming Across Multiple Access Points .............................................................................................11
Figure 3-1 General tab under the Profile Management ........................................................................................25
Figure 3-2 Define Pre-Shared Keys screen..........................................................................................................27
Figure 3-3 Define User Information screen...........................................................................................................28
Figure 3-4 Security tab under the Profile Management........................................................................................29
Figure 3-5 Advanced tab under the Profile Management.....................................................................................32
Figure 3-6 Available Networks ..............................................................................................................................33
Figure 4-1 Current Status Tab ..............................................................................................................................41
Figure 4-2 Advanced Status .................................................................................................................................43
Figure 4-3 Diagnostics Tab...................................................................................................................................44
Figure 4-4 Advanced Statistics .............................................................................................................................45
Figure 4-5 Driver Information ................................................................................................................................47
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About This User’s Manual
This manual was written for Mini PCI Wireless LAN Card. For brevity, throughout this
manual Wireless LAN Card is used to indicate 802.11g WLAN Card Mini PCI. Also, the
following terms/abbreviations are used interchangeably:
• Access Point-AP
• Wireless LAN-WLAN
• Ethernet network-LAN-network
This User’s Manual contains information on how to install and configure your Wireless LAN
Card. From now on, we will guide you through the correct configuration steps to get your
device up and run.
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Chapter 1 Introduction
The Wireless LAN Card design is based on Atheros WLAN chipset. It supports 802.11g
standards to provide maximum data rates of 54 Mbps.
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802.11g Mini PCI WLAN Card User’s Manual
Wireless LAN Basics
This section contains some Wireless LAN basics to help you better understand how the
products work together to create a wireless network.
Local Area Network (LAN)
Simply put, a LAN is a network that exists in a relatively limited area. A network is two or
more computers connected together sharing files and peripheral devices such as printers.
The Wireless LAN Card allows you to interact with other computers without having to run
cables normally associated with networks. This lets you move your computer around while
staying connected to your network.
There are two ways to use the Wireless LAN Card. One way is to connect directly to one or
more Wireless LAN Card equipped computers, forming an Ad Hoc wireless network. The
second way is to connect to an Access Point that gives you access to an existing wired LAN,
forming an Infrastructure wireless network.
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Chapter 1 Introduction
Wireless Network Topologies
The 802.11 standard defines two wireless modes: Infrastructure mode and Ad Hoc mode.
Ad Hoc Network
An Ad Hoc network offers peer to peer connections between wireless stations that are in range
of each other. The stations communicate directly with each other without using an Access
Point or any connection to a wired network. This mode is useful for quickly and easily setting
up a wireless network anywhere that a wireless infrastructure does not exist or is not required
for services. In an Ad Hoc network, all wireless stations must have the same SSID, channel
and WEP keys (if enabled) to communicate with each other.
Figure 1-1 Ad Hoc Network
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802.11g Mini PCI WLAN Card User’s Manual
Infrastructure Network
An Infrastructure wireless network consists of at least one Access Point connected to the
wired network infrastructure and a set of wireless end stations. The AP acts as a gateway,
linking the wireless network to a wired LAN. As a result, wireless stations have access to all
of the features of your wired LAN including e-mail, Internet, network printers and files server
access.
Roaming Between Multiple Access Points
For large environments, multiple Access Points can be implemented to extend the wireless
service coverage area for seamless wireless access. It allows wireless clients to roam from one
AP to another while maintaining the wireless connectivity at all times. A wireless client
Figure 1-2 Infrastructure Network
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Chapter 1 Introduction
wandering across multiple APs will automatically change the operating radio frequency as
required.
In a roaming network, all APs and wireless clients must have the same Service Set Identity
(SSID) and security setting (if enabled). Alternatively the mobile station may use an SSID of
“any” to associate with any available AP, regardless of the AP’s SSID. Roaming among
different Access Points is controlled automatically to maintain the wireless connectivity at all
times.
Figure 1-3 Roaming Across Multiple Access Points
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802.11g Mini PCI WLAN Card User’s Manual
802.11g
This Wireless LAN Card is an IEEE 802.11g radio solution. Getting familiar with some
technical terms will help you better understand your device.
• Operating Frequency Band
• Data Rates
• Modulation
Operates in the 2.4GHz band .
Supports data rates of 1, 2, 5.5, 6, 9,11, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48 and 54Mbps.
Complementary Code Keying (CCK) and Orthogonal Frequency Division Modulation
(OFDM).
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Chapter 2 Installing the Driver and Utility Software
This chapter describes the first-time installation of the driver and software for the Wireless
LAN Card. Proper driver installation is to allow the device to operate on your host computer
while the utility software, a Windows program, is to help you configure and monitor your
Wireless LAN Card.
Note: This Mini PCI model is an integrated Wireless LAN Card solution, your laptop
computer is probably shipped with its driver and software properly installed. If this is the case,
ignore this chapter and proceed with the configuration steps in the next chapter.
In case you need to re-install the driver and software for any reason, we recommend that you
remove any previously installed driver and software from your system first. Refer to the
section “Chapter 6 Uninstalling the Wireless LAN Card” for the instructions on how to
remove previous driver releases.
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802.11g Mini PCI WLAN Card User’s Manual
System Requirements
To use the Wireless LAN Card, your computer must meet the following minimum
requirements:
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Windows 98
/Me/2000/XP
32 MB of RAM or greater
300 MHz processor or higher
UL listed I.T.E. computers
Installing the driver and software
If your operation system has not been installed with the Wireless LAN Card driver, the
Windows Plug-and-Play capability will automatically detect the new device (e.g., Ethernet
Controller) and display the wizard requesting for drivers. Click Cancel to bypass the wizard
screen and then take out the steps below.
1. Close all Windows programs that are running.
2. Insert the provided Software Utility CD into your CD-ROM drive. Run Setup.exe from
the Software Utility CD to launch the setup program.
3. When the Atheros Install Program screen appears, click Next.
Chapter 2 Installing the Driver and Utility Software
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802.11g Mini PCI WLAN Card User’s Manual
4. Click Yes to accept the license agreement.
5. For first-time installation, select the first option as shown below then click Next.
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Chapter 2 Installing the Driver and Utility Software
6. Let Enable icon in system tray check box selected. Click Next.
7. Read the following instructions about the utility (ACU or ZERO) you want to use to control
your Wireless LAN Card. Click Next to continue.
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802.11g Mini PCI WLAN Card User’s Manual
8. Select the preferred utility then click Next.
9. Click Finish to complete the installation and reboot your computer.
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