IBM 22P6415 User Manual

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IB M

High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway

User’s Guide

OPTIONS

by IBM

Note: Before using this information and the product it supports, be sure to read the

IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway Safety and Warranty Information that comes with your option. The Safety and Warranty Information contains the following information, which is necessary to review before operating the device:

v Safety information v Information to the user, including regulatory information and additional installation

requirements.

v Federal Communications Commission (FCC) statement v Product warranty and notices v Help and service information

First Edition (November 2001)

US Government Users Restricted Rights – Use, duplication or disclosure restricted by GSA ADP Schedule Contract with IBM Corp.

Preface ........................v

About this book .....................v

Registering your option ..................v

Part 1: Product description ................1-1

Part 2: Configuration ..................2-1

Web-based interface ...................2-1

Saving configurations ..................2-3

Part 3: Setting up the wireless access point in the IBM High Rate

Wireless LAN Gateway .................3-1

Wireless Settings - Advanced ................3-3

Wireless Settings - MAC Control Setup .............3-4

Wireless Settings - Status Monitor...............3-5

IEEE 802.11b Wireless LAN Access Point General Information .....3-5

Part 4: Setting up client computers for Internet access ......4-1

Clientcomputerrequirements................4-1

System requirements ..................4-1

Part 5: Using tools for advanced configuration .........5-1

Advanced configuration ..................5-1

DHCPconfiguration..................5-1

DMZconfiguration..................5-5

Firmware Upgrade...................5-6

LANconfiguration...................5-7

Language select....................5-9

MAC address clone ..................5-9

Packet filtering ...................5-10

Profile upload/download ................5-15

StaticRoutingtable..................5-16

Virtual server ....................5-17

Change password....................5-19

Reset factory defaults ..................5-20

Restart Wireless Gateway .................5-21

Part 6: System information and help .............6-1

System Information ...................6-1

HelpFeature......................6-2

Part 7: Tips and Troubleshooting ..............7-1

Connecting to other routers.................7-1

Troubleshooting....................7-2

Part 8: Notices ....................8-1

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High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway: User’s Guide

Preface

About this book

This User’s Guide contains instructions for installing and using the IBM®High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway.

The User’s Guide contains the product description and usage instructions. For information about the product warranty and help and service information, see the Safety and Warranty Information that comes with your option.

Registering your option

Thank you for purchasing OPTIONS by IBM. Please take a few moments to register your product and provide us with information that will help IBM to better serve you in the future. Your feedback is valuable to us in developing products and services that are important to you, as well as in developing better ways to communicate with you. Register your option on the IBM Web site at

http://www.ibm.com/pc/register

IBM will send you information and updates on your registered product unless you indicate on the Web site questionnaire that you do not want to receive further information.

vi IBM

High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway: User’s Guide

Part 1: Product description

The IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway provides small offices and home offices (SOHO) an economical way to connect a small local area network (LAN) to the Internet using an external DSL/Cable modem. With its built-in wireless access point, you can connect your IEEE 802.11b-compliant mobile computers or other clients to establish a home network.

The IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway has the following features. v High-speed Internet access: Connect an external DSL/Cable modem to

provide Internet access 10-100 times faster than a 56k modem.

v Wireless access point: The IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway contains

an embedded wireless access point that supports the industry standard (IEEE 802.11b WLAN) protocol with a data rate up to 11 megabits per second (Mbps), can have up to 63 simultaneous users, and is compatible with all WiFi IEEE 802.11b-compliant wireless LAN (WLAN) client cards with seamless roaming between access points.

v Built-in switch: With a built-in four-port, dual speed (10/100 Mbps)

Ethernet switch, you get complete and fast connectivity for small offices.

v Single shared ISP account with network address translation (NAT):NAT

works by translating the data packets’ IP address from the one provided by the Internet service provider (ISP) to the IP address of the computer connected to the IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway. All computers on the network can share a single ISP account.

v Dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP): The IBM High Rate Wireless

LAN Gateway provides IP address acquisition and management.

v Web-based management: The IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway

simplifies management with a built-in, Web-based setup utility.

v Built-in firewall: The IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway has a built-in

firewall to protect the computers on the local network from hackers on the Internet.

– NAT: NAT hides the IP address of the local network from the Internet. – Packet filtering: Data packets without a trusted IP address or port are

dropped. For DMZ, the exposed computer receives all packets that would otherwise be dropped.

– Stateful inspection: Data packets are inspected for relevance within a data

stream or session. If the data packets are not relevant to the session that contains them, they are dropped. For DMZ, the exposed computer receives all packets that would otherwise be dropped.

v Virtual Server: With the IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway, you can set

up a server on your local network that can be remotely accessed from the Internet (an ftp server, for example).

v DMZ: The IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway can support some special

applications and Internet games. With DMZ, one designated computer is removed from behind the built-in firewall and exposed to the Internet. This speeds up Internet gaming and might be required from special applications.

v Access control (Packet filtering): The IBM High Rate Wireless LAN

Gateway can monitor and block specific packets or applications. This function is not the same packet filtering function described for the built-in firewall. The Administrator can set up IP addresses or URLs on the Internet that the local computers are blocked from accessing. For example, if the Administrator does not want users to access IP address 255.255.255.255 or www.urlcom. on the Internet, this function blocks the address.

The Administrator can also set ports to be blocked from local use. For example, if the Administrator does not want users to have ftp access to the Internet, port 21 can be blocked.

v Wireless security: As access control mechanisms, the IBM High Rate

Wireless LAN Gateway has ESSID for wireless network segmentation, MAC address registration, and wireless equivalency protection (WEP) (64-bit and 128-bit) encryption.

v Firmware upgrade: Using the built in Web-based setup utility, users can

update the firmware to the IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway.

v MAC Address Clone: For ISPs needing a specific MAC address, the IBM

High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway can be configured to use the expected MAC address.

v Virtual private networks (VPN): The IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway

supports the following VPNs:

– IP Security (IPSec) passthrough – Point-to-point tunneling protocol (PPTP) passthrough – Point-to-point protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE) for DSL

Note: Functions listed above that are not viewable in the built in Web-based

setup utility are active and not adjustable.

v Status light emitting diodes (LEDs): These LEDs provide a quick method to

check the status of the Gateway.

v Internet-broadband port: The IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway has an

RJ-45 interface for a 10Base-T Ethernet connection to a DSL/Cable modem.

v 10BASE-T/100BASE-Tx ports: These ports can automatically detect the

connection speed of a link and provide a 10 or 100 Mbps connection to Ethernet devices, based on the detected capabilities. All of the 10/100 Mbps Ethernet ports automatically detect whether the attached Ethernet cable is wired in standard or crossover configuration. These ports support a maximum length of 100 m (328.1 ft.) over a Category 5 twisted pair cable.

v Power jack: Connect the included external power adapter to the power jack.

The following items are included in your option package:

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High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway: User’s Guide

v One IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway unit v One AC power supply v One power cord

Note: In the event that your Gateway comes with two power cords, be sure

to use the one labeled for your country. One is labeled for use in the United States and Canada, and one is labeled for use in Japan.

v One RJ-45 Ethernet cable v The IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway Quick Start Guide v The IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway Safety and Warranty Information v The IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway User’s Guide CD

The included CD contains the following items:

– This User’s Guide (in PDF format) – Adobe Acrobat Reader

If any of the above items are missing or damaged, contact the place of purchase.

Part 1: Product description 1-3

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High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway: User’s Guide

Part 2: Configuration

The IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway has a Web-based setup utility.

Note: It is not recommended that multiple users be logged into the Web-based

setup utility at the same time.

Web-based interface

The Web-based setup utility has an easy-to-use graphical user interface (GUI).

Note: Updated Web browser software can be downloaded from:

v Netscape: <http://www.netscape.com> v Microsoft: <http://www.microsoft.com>

The Gateway is pre-configured with the default IP address of 192.168.1.1.

1. Launch your Internet browser on a computer you have configured for

TCP/IP networking.

2. Be sure that the computer and the Gateway have LAN IP addresses on the

same subnet.

3. Type http://192.168.1.1 into the Location field (in Netscape Navigator) or

the Address field (in Internet Explorer) at the top of the browser window, and then press Enter.

Note: If the Gateway IP address has been changed, replace 192.168.1.1 with

the current IP address.

The Enter Network Password dialog box opens.

4. Type default in the Login Name field, then press Enter or click OK.

Note: All IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateways are factory-configured

with ″default″ as the default Administrator name with no password needed.

After login, the Language selection window opens.

5. Select your language by clicking the appropriate icon. The language home

page opens.

The following is a list of buttons and links displayed in the Web-based setup utility.

v Apply: Stores the new configurations into flash memory after configuration

is completed

v Add: Adds a new entry into the configuration table v Modify: Modifies an entry in the configuration table v Cancel: Cancels the configurations and restores previous values v Back: Back to the last page viewed v Refresh: Only used on the System Information page to display the system

information

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High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway: User’s Guide

v Help: Displays related help information v Delete: Deletes an entry in the configuration table

Saving configurations

The configuration changes made through the Web-based setup utility are automatically saved into the flash memory within 30 seconds after clicking Apply.

For more information, see “Part 5: Using tools for advanced configuration” on page 5-1.

Part 2: Configuration 2-3

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High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway: User’s Guide

Part 3: Setting up the wireless access point in the IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway

The IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway is a multifunctional device with an integrated IEEE 802.11b-compliant WiFi certified access point. You can use it as a base station for your wireless network. Through the following procedure, you can turn on the wireless function of the Gateway and connect your wireless devices with other Ethernet nodes such as a DSL/Cable modem, printer, file server, or other wireless clients.

Click Wireless settings on the home page.

These three items are displayed in the left-hand navigation bar:

v Advanced v MAC control setup v Status monitor

The Network Name or SSID (ESSID) window is displayed in the right frame. Devices must use the same SSID, for example ″ANY″, before they can communicate with or through the Gateway. The default SSID is ″ANY″, which means that if the SSID of your device is something other than ″ANY″ (or is blank), you cannot access this Gateway through a wireless connection. The SSID can have up to 13 characters.

Channels are the spectrum range where your wireless signals are transmitted. The clearer the channel, the better your network performance. You can select the desired channel from the pull-down menu.

Wired equivalency privacy (WEP) encrypts the packets sent by the wireless Gateway. The security settings can affect performance, and must be balanced to your needs.

Note: A higher encryption setting is more secure but will not perform as well

as a less secure setting. A 128-bit WEP encryption setting gives the most security, but also produces the least effective data exchange Disabling encryption gives the highest effective data exchange, but does not offer any security.

Closed Network Function: With this function enabled, only wireless clients with the exact same ESSID are allowed access to the Gateway. When disabled, wireless clients with the WSSID of ’ANY are also allowed access.

WEP Key: You can create up to four WEP keys. After enabling WEP, you must enter the same WEP key in the client computers, otherwise they will be refused a connection.

When WEP is enabled, type the WEP key in the WEP Key 1 field. You can type your WEP key in one of two ways: v For 64-bit encryption, use either five alphanumeric characters or 10

hexadecimal digits.

v For 128-bit encryption, use 13 alphanumeric characters or 26 hexadecimal

digits. The range of digits is ″0-9″ and ″A-F″. The range of characters is ″a-z, ″A-Z″,or ″0-9″. You can also type a WEP key in the Key 2, Key 3, or Key 4 fields. WEP only uses one key. You must select one WEP key as an active key before enabling encryption. The keys must be defined the same on the client and the Wireless Gateway.

Note: The configuration changes made through the Web-based setup utility are

automatically saved into the flash memory within 30 seconds after clicking Apply.

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High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway: User’s Guide

Wireless Settings - Advanced

Request to send (RTS) Threshold: In some situations, not all clients in a WLAN are aware of each other (hidden node problem). That can lead to different WLAN clients transmitting to the Gateway at the same time, therefore jamming both transmissions. RTS Threshold is a packet size above which the Gateway will expect to use the RTS mechanism. This is negotiated with the client.

The client issues an RTS signal (before data packets were sent) to advise the Gateway nearby that it has a large packet to send. The Gateway then issues a clear to send (CTS) signal to all clients, which keeps the other clients waiting while the requesting client sends its data.

The default value for the IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway is 2432, which is large so that RTS does not activate in most cases. In most network environments, RTS is not necessary or desired, since it reduces performance.

The Fragmentation Threshold figure determines whether a long packet is split into several shorter packets. This is done for efficiency reasons. Packets longer than the Fragmentation Threshold are split, resulting in better network performance.

Part 3: Setting up the wireless access point in the IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway 3-3

Wireless Settings - MAC Control Setup

After you enable the MAC access limit function, then you can determine the access mode.

In IEEE 802.11b-compliant devices, the MAC address is a means of controlling network access. MAC addresses can be found in the package of the network interface card (NIC). The following is an example of a MAC address:

v 00:30:AB:00:00:01 After you have entered the MAC address, click Apply to save your settings.

If you choose Disable MAC Address Limit, any user with the correct ESSID, correct WEP settings, and within range of your access point can access your Gateway. Enabling this mechanism provides protection to your Gateway and LAN.

Enable MAC Address Control: In this field, you can type the MAC address of the wireless clients whose access you want to control.

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High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway: User’s Guide

Block or Allow: You can list specific MAC addresses to block or allow in this window. Blocking a specific MAC address will allow everyone else with the correct settings to access the LAN and the Gateway. Allowing a specific MAC address will allow only that MAC address access to the LAN and Gateway as long as WEP and ESSID are correct.

Wireless Settings - Status Monitor

The Status monitor is an advanced function for experts only. Click Status monitor in the left-hand navigation bar to display the following window.

IEEE 802.11b Wireless LAN Access Point General Information

v MAC Address (BSS ID): 00-00-00-00-00-00 v Frequency Domain v Statistics v Wireless Transmit v Wireless Receive v Fragments: 0 v Fragments: 0 v Unicast Packets: 0 v Unicast Packets: 0 v Unicast Bytes: 0 v Unicast Bytes: 0

Part 3: Setting up the wireless access point in the IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway 3-5

+ 43 hidden pages

IBM 22P6415 User Manual

Contents

Preface

About this book

Registering your option

Part 1: Product description

Part 2: Configuration

Web-based interface

Saving configurations

Part 3: Setting up the wireless access point in the IBM High Rate Wireless LAN Gateway

Wireless Settings - Advanced

Wireless Settings - MAC Control Setup

Wireless Settings - Status Monitor

IEEE 802.11b Wireless LAN Access Point General Information