Linksys WM54G User Manual

Wireless-G MiniPCI

Module

User Manual

Rev 0.9

Federal Communication Commission Interference Statement

This equipment has been tes ted and found to c omply with the limits for
a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. T hese
limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful
interference in a residential installation. T his equipment generates, uses
and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in
accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to
radio communic ations. However, ther e is no guarantee that inter f erenc e
will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipm ent does cause
harmful interferenc e to radio or television reception, which can be de­termined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encour aged to
try to correct the interference by one of the following measures:

- Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.

- Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.

- Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that
to which the receiver is connected.

- Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
FCC Caution: To assure continued compliance, (example - use only

shielded interface cables when connecting to computer or peripheral
devices). Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the
party responsible for compliance could void the user 's authority to oper­ate this equipment.

This device com plies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is sub­ject to the following two conditions: (1) This device may not cause
harmful interf erence, and (2) this device must accept any interference
received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
FCC Radiation Exposure Statement:

This equipment complies with FCC radiation exposure limits set
forth for an uncont r olled environm ent . This equipment should be
installed and operated with minimum distance 20cm between the
radiator & your body.
This transmitter must not be co- locat ed or oper at ing in conjunc­tion with any other antenna or transmitter.

Wireless-G MiniPCI Module

This device is intended only for OEM integrators under t he fol­lowing conditions:

1) The antenna must be installed such that 20 cm is m aintained
between the antenna and users, and

2) The transmitter module m ay not be co-locat ed with any other
transmitter or antenna.
As long as 2 conditions above are met, further transmitter test
will not be required. However, the OEM integrator is still respon­sible for testing their end- pr oduct for any additional compliance
requirements required with this m odule installed (for example,
digital device emissions, PC peripheral requirements, etc.).

IMPORTANT NOTE:

be met (for example certain laptop configurations or co-location
with another transmitter), then the FCC authorization is no longer
considered valid and the FCC ID can not be used on the final
product. In these circumstances, t he OEM integrator will be re­sponsible for re-evaluating the end product (including the
transmitter) and obtaining a separate FCC authorization.

In the event that these conditions can not

End Product Labeling

This transmitter module is authorized only for use in device
where the antenna may be installed such that 20 cm may be
maintained between the antenna and users (for example access
points, routers, wireless ADSL modems, and similar equipment).
The final end product must be labeled in a visible area with the
following: “Contains TX FCC ID: PKW- WM54G”.

Manual Information That Must be Included

The users manual for end users must include the following in­formation in a prominent location “ IMPORTANT NOTE: T o
comply with FCC RF exposure compliance requirements, the
antenna used for this transmitter must be installed to provide a

ii

Preface

separation distance of at least 20 cm from all persons and must
not be co-located or operating in conjunct ion with any other an­tenna or transmitter.

iii

Wireless-G MiniPCI Module

Table of contents

CHAPTER 1 ....................................................................................................1

Introduction 1

Features...............................................................................................1

What is Wireless LAN?......................................................................... 2

LAN Modes...........................................................................................3

Notes on wireless LAN configuration...................................................4

CHAPTER 2 ....................................................................................................5

Hardware installation 5

Hardware description..........................................................................5

Product Outlook.................................................................................5

CHAPTER 3 ....................................................................................................7

Using the Wireless Utility 7

Configuration Utility............................................................................ 7

APPENDIX A ................................................................................................10

Specifications..................................................................................... 10

iv

Chapter 1

Introduction

Thank you for using the Wireless MiniPCI Module. This high-speed
54Mbps Wireless MiniPCI Module provides you with an innovative
wireless networking solution for your embedded system. The module
is easy to set up and use. With this innovative wireless technology,
you can share files and printers on the network—without inconvenient
wires! Now you can carry the LAN in your pocket!

This module is designed for

1. Wireless LAN Printer Server

2. Wireless LAN Ethernet Adapter

3. Wireless LAN Access Point

4. Wireless LAN Router / Gateway / Cable Modem

5. Wireless LAN Broadband Router

6. Wireless LAN Presentation Gateway

Features

• Wire-free access to networked resources from anywhere beyond
the desktop

• Low interference & high susceptibility guarantee reliable per­formance

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Wireless-G MiniPCI Module

• Delivers data rate up to 54 Mbps

• Dynamically shifts between 11G (draft) & 11B network speed,

based on signal strength, for maximum availability and reliability
of connection

• Uses 2.4GHz frequency band, which complies with worldwide
requirement

• Used on embedded operating systems

• Ensures great security by providing the Wired Equivalent Privacy

(WEP) defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard

What is Wireless LAN?

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) systems offer a great num­ber of advantages over traditional wired systems. WLANs are
flexible and easy to setup and manage. They are also more eco­nomical than wired LAN systems.

Using radio frequency (RF) technology, WLANs transmit and re­ceive data through the air. WLANs combine data connectivity
with user mobility. For example, users can roam from a confer­ence room to their office without being disconnected from the
LAN.

Using WLANs, users can conveniently access shared information,
and network administrators can configure and augment networks
without installing or moving network cables.

WLAN technology provides users with many convenient and cost
saving features:

• Mobility: WLANs provide LAN users with access to real-
time information anywhere in their organization, providing
service opportunities that are impossible with wired net­works.

2

—Introduction

• Ease of Installation: Installing is easy for novice and ex-
pert users alike, eliminating the need to install network
cables in walls and ceilings.

• Scalability: WLANs can be configured in a variety of to-
pologies to adapt to specific applications and installations.
Configurations are easily changed and range from peer-to­peer networks suitable for a small number of users to full
infrastructure networks of thousands of users roaming over
a broad area.

LAN Modes

Wireless LANs can be configured in one of two ways:

Ad-hoc
Networking

Infrastructure
Networking

Also known as a peer-to-peer network, an ad-hoc net­work is one that allows all workstations and computers
in the network to act as servers to all other users on
the network. Users on the network can share files,
print to a shared printer, and access the Internet with a
shared modem. However, with ad-hoc networking,
users can only communicate with other wireless LAN
computers that are in the wireless LAN workgroup, and
are within range.

Infrastructure networking differs from ad-hoc network­ing in that it includes an access point. Unlike the ad­hoc structure where users on the LAN contend the
shared bandwidth, on an infrastructure network the
access point can manage the bandwidth to maximize
bandwidth utilization.

Additionally, the access point enables users on a wire­less LAN to access an existing wired network, allowing
wireless users to take advantage of the wired networks
resources, such as Internet, email, file transfer, and
printer sharing.

Infrastructure networking has the following advantages
over ad-hoc networking:

•

Extended range: each wireless LAN computer

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Wireless-G MiniPCI Module

within the range of the access point can commu­nicate with other wireless LAN computers within
range of the access point.

• Roaming: the access point enables a wireless
LAN computer to move through a building and
still be connected to the LAN.

• Wired to wireless LAN connectivity: the access
point bridges the gap between wireless LANs and
their wired counterparts.

Notes on wireless LAN configuration

When configuring a wireless LAN (WLAN), be sure to note the
following points:

• Optimize the performance of the WLAN by ensuring that
the distance between access points is not too far. In most
buildings, WLAN cards operate within a range of 100 ~
300 feet, depending on the thickness and structure of the
walls.

• Radio waves can pass through walls and glass but not
metal. If there is interference in transmitting through a wall,
it may be that the wall has reinforcing metal in its structure.
Install another access point to circumvent this problem.

• Floors usually have metal girders and metal reinforcing
struts that interfere with WLAN transmission.

4

Chapter 2

Hardware installation

This chapter covers how to installing the Wireless MiniPCI Module in
your embedded system.

Hardware description

The Wireless MiniPCI Module has a standard MiniPCI interface
for attaching to the MiniPCI connector on embedded system.

And this module has MMCX connector to connect to external an­tenna.

Outlook

Following is the MiniPCI module outlook

5

Wireless-G MiniPCI Module

6

Chapter 3

Using the Wireless Utility

This module also come with a wireless utility, following describe
how to use the utility.

Configuration Utility

The following table describes the configuration utility:

State: displays the connection status.
Current Channel: displays the chan-

nel.
Current Tx Rate: displays the wire-

less bandwidth in megabits per
second.

Throughput: displays the transfer
and receive rates in bytes per second.

Link Quality: when connected to the
wired LAN, displays the connection
integrity.

Signal Strength: when connected to
the wired LAN, displays the signal
strength.

Note: Link quality and signal strength
are not available when using a peer­to-peer connection.

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Wireless-G MiniPCI Module

Mode: displays the current LAN
mode, either AdHoc or Infrastructure.

SSID: displays a list of Service Set
Identifications.

Ethernet Conversion: displays a list
of Ethernet conversion protocols.

Tx Rate: displays a list of transfer
rates.

WEP: allows you to enable or disable
Wired Equivalency Privacy (WEP) for
encryption, with either 64- or 128-bit
encryption.

PS Mode: allows you to enable or
disable power saving mode.

Channel: enables you to select a
transmission channel.

The Encryption window enables you
to create an encryption scheme for
Wireless LAN transmissions. Enter a
passphrase and press Generate to
automatically generate a 64- or 128­bit key (selected from the WEP drop­down menu in the Configuration
screen).

You can also manually enter a set of
values for each key.

Note: 128-bit encryption requires
more system resources than 64-bit
encryption. Use 64-bit encryption for
better performance.

8

Appendix B Error Messages of Enabler Program

This screen displays the version num­ber of the Wireless LAN card and the
Configuration Utility.

9

Specifications

Appendix A

Standards Compliance:

Type:
Data Rate:

Frequency:
External Antenna:
Roaming:
Network Architectures:
Modulation Technique:

Coverage Area:
Power:

Output Power:
Receiver Sensitivity:
Operating Environment:

IEEE802.11b WLAN Standard,
IEEE802.11g Draft Standard
MiniPCI

802.11b: 11, 5.5, 2, 1 Mbps

802.11g: 54, 48, 36, 24, 18, 12, 9, 6 Mbps

2.412 to 2.497GHz
Dipole Antenna

802.11 compliant
Infrastructure and Ad Hoc

802.11b: CCK (11 Mbps, 5.5 Mbps), DQPSK (2
Mbps), DBPSK (1 Mbps)

802.11g: OFDM

802.11g: 54Mbps up to 50m LOS, 20m indoors
Tx: 550mA @ 3.3V max.

Rx: 350mA @ 3.3V max.
15dBm

-82dBm

o

Temperature: 0
Humidity: 10% to 90%

to 55oC

10