National Datacomm 1022S01 User Manual

CardBus

Enhanced Wireless Network Adapter

User’s Guide

Version A1

August 2002

TRADEMARKS

All names mentioned in this document are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

DISCLAIMER

This document is provided “as is,” without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. The manufacturer may release improved or modified versions of this manual or any product or program described in this manual at any time. This document could include technical inaccuracies or typographical errors.

FCC WARNING

This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B Digital device pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This 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 communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

•

Reorient or relocate the receiv ing antenna.

•

Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver.

•

Connect the equipment to 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.

You are cautioned that changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void your authority to operate the equipment.

This device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

•

This device may not cause harmful interference, and

•

This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

This transmitter must not be co-located or operated in conjunction with any other antenna or transmitter.

Packing List

Your CardBus Enhanced Wireless Network Adapter package should contain the following items:

•

One CardBus Enhanced Wireless Network Adapter

•

One Wireless Adapter Driver disk

•

One Wireless Adapter Utility disk

•

One User’s Guide disk

Quick Installation and Operation Guide

1. Exit all application programs and shut the computer down.

2. Insert the adapter in the CardBus slot.

See chapter 3 of this user’s guide for detailed instructions.

3. If the computer requires an external disk drive to access floppy disks, connect the drive.

4. Turn on the computer.

5. Install a driver from the Wireless Adapter Driver disk.

Follow the instructions on the screen and in chapter 4 of this user’s guide.

6. Remove the Wireless Adapter Driver disk and insert the Wireless Adapter Utility disk.

7. Install the Wireless Adapter Utility.

Open the and follow the instructions on the screen and in

8. Create and apply a connection profile for a wireless network.

See chapter 6 of this user’s guide for detailed instructions.

Start

menu, choose

Run

, type “a:\setup” (without quotation marks), press

chapter

5 of this user’s guide.

Enter

Contents

Introduction System Requirements

1.1 Hardware 2

1.2 Software 2

Terminology Used in this Guide

Familiarization and Installation

3.1 The Parts of the Adapter 5

3.2 Adapter Installation 5

Driver Installation and Operation

4.1 Installation Preview 7

4.2 Installation Details 8

4.3 Controlling the Driver 10

4.4 Removing the Driver 11

Utility Installation, Start up, and Shutdown

5.1 Installation 12

5.2 Controlling the Utility 13

Operation

6.1 The Utility’s Panels 15

6.1.1 The

6.1.2 The

6.1.3 The

Information Settings About

Panel 15

Panel 16

Panel 17

6.2 Connecting for the First Time 18

6.2.1 Required Information 18

6.2.2 Connection Steps 19

7.1

7.1.1

7.1.2

Utility Command Reference

Settings Site Survey Connection Profiles

Panel 22

Section 22

Section 23

7.2 The Profile Editor 24

7.2.1

7.2.2

7.2.3

7.2.4

7.2.5

7.2.6

7.2.7

7.2.8

7.2.9

Profile Name

SSID Transmission Rate Network Mode Channel Power Saving Mode Auth. Mode Passphrase Method

Appendixes

A Character Conversion Charts 28 B Troubleshooting 29 C Technical Support 31 D Limited Warranty 32 E Specifications 34

F Channels and Regulations 35

3 5

Figures

1. Ad-hoc network 3

2. Infrastructure network 3

3. Roamable multi-AP infrastructure network 4

4. CardBus En hanced Wireless Network Adapter 5

5. Microsoft Windows 98

6. Driver icon in system tray/notification area 10

7. Driver icon menus (1): main button 10

8. Driver icon menus (2): secondary button 11

9. Utility icons in the

10. Utility icon in the system tray/notification area 13

11. Closing the utility’s mai n window 14

12. Shutting down the utility 14

13. Typical

14. The

15. The

16. The

Information Settings About New Profile

panel in a multi-network environment 17

panel 18

dialog box 20

Add New Hardware Wizard

menu and on the desktop 13

Start

panel display on first startup 16

17. 64-bit WEP key input boxes and controls 21

wind ow 7

Introduction

Congratulations on choosing an outstanding wireless networking product. Your CardBus Enhanced Wireless Network Adapter conforms to Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 802.11b and the Wi-Fi specification of the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA). It supports data rates of up to 11 megabits per second (Mbps) and 40- and 128-bit Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption, and will interoperate seamlessly with all other 802.11b and Wi-Fi compliant products.

Your adapter also supports Packet Binary Convolutional Code (PBCC) modulation and 256-bit encryption. It can therefore provide a higher data rate (22 Mbps), increased throughput, up to 30 percent greater range, and stronger security than other 802.11b-compliant adapters. These capabilities can be used on wireless links to products in the same family as your adapter.

This guide contains detailed instructions on installing and using your adapter and the software included with it. Basic terms and concepts of wireless networking are also introduced. Follow the instructions in this guide carefully to ensure that your CardBus Enhanced Wireless Network Adapter will give you many years of trouble-free, high-performance operation.

1 System Requirements

Before installing the adapter and related software, make sure the computer system meets the minimum requirements described below.

1.1 Hardware

The adapter can be installed in any recent-model IBM-type microcomputer with a CardBus slot, also known as a PCMCIA or PC Card slot. The adapter is a Type II CardBus card, and can be installed in a Type II or Type III CardBus slot.

The computer must have a 3.5-inch floppy-disk drive to allow installation of the driver and utility software for the adapter.

1.2 Software

The drivers included with the adapter allow the adapter to be used in Microsoft Windows 98, ME, 2000, and XP. Third-party drivers may allow the adapter to be used, with reduced functionality, in other operating systems.

2 Terminology Used in this Guide

Ad-hoc Network

An ad-hoc network is a wireless local-area network (WLAN) made up of stations communicating directly with each other through their wireless interfaces. There is no central relay point, and normally no connection to a wired network. Ad-hoc mode is sometimes referred to as mode. Figure 1 shows a typical ad-hoc network.

peer-to-peer, computer-to-computer

Independent Basic Service Set

, or

(IBSS)

Figure 1. Ad-hoc network

Infrastructure Network

An infrastructure network is a WLAN made up of wireless stations and at least one wireless relay point, known as a to a wired network, allowing wireless stations to use resources on that network. The AP also relays all communications between wireless stations in its coverage area; these stations never communicate directly with each other. Infrastructure mode is sometimes referred to as

managed

Basic Service Set

base station

(BSS) mode. Figure 2 shows a typical infrastructure network.

access point

(AP). The AP usually has a connection

Figure 2. Infrastructure network

BSSID/MAC Address

A Basic Service Set (BSS) is two or more wireless devices that are in communication with each other. Like every wired Ethernet device, every wireless device has a fixed, unique “medium access control” (MAC) address. When wireless devices establish communication,

they automatically select the MAC address of one BSS member as an identifier for the group; this is the BSSID.

It has become customary to refer to a wireless device’s MAC address as its BSSID even when the address is not being used to identify an active BSS.

A BSS that includes an access point is often referred to as a

cell

SSID/Domain Identifier

A Service Set Identifier (SSID) is a shared name, usually assigned by a network administrator, that identifies wireless devices that are allowed to communicate with each other. This is one way of providing basic security on a wireless network. An SSID can be up to 32 characters long, and can include letters and numbers.

Giving multiple access points the same SSID and encryption settings allows mobile stations that also share those settings to “roam” from one AP to another. When at least one AP is among the devices sharing an SSID, the name may be referred to as an

Identifier

(ESSID).

An SSID is sometimes called a “domain name,” but it is unrelated to the domain names used to identify machines and networks on the Internet. Other terms for SSID are

ID, network name, extended network ID

an SSID identifies is sometimes called a

wireless network name

, and

communication domain

Figure 3 shows a common wireless network setup. If the APs share SSID and encryption settings, mobile devices that also share those settings can roam among them.

Extended Service Set

domain ID, net

. The set of devices that

wireless domain

Figure 3. Roamable multi-AP infrastructure network

Roaming

When APs covering adjacent areas have the same SSID and encryption settings, a mobile device that also shares those settings can communicate through the APs continuously while moving from one coverage area to another. This is known as signal begins to weaken, the mobile device automatically searches for another AP that it is authorized to “associate with” (that is, connect to); when the second AP’s signal quality is better than that of the first, the station automatically switches over.

roaming

. When one AP’s

3 Familiarization and Installation

This chapter describes the adapter and gives instructions on inserting it for the first time.

3.1 The Parts of the Adapter

The adapter has a thin, rectangular end with 68 connector holes, and a thick, rounded end that contains the antenna and two light-emitting diode (LED) indicators.

Figure 4. CardBus Enhanced Wireless Network Adapter

The connector end will fit only in a Type II or Type III CardBus slot (also called a “PCMCIA” or “PC Card” slot) that provides the correct voltage level for the adapter.

The antenna housing will extend outside the slot when the adapter is fully inserted. The LEDs indicate power and wireless network activity. When the antenna housing faces right like a capital letter D, the power LED is above the activity LED. The LEDs work as follows:

•

The power LED shines green when the adapter is receiving power from the computer. Note that power to the adapter can be turned off and on through software.

•

The activity LED shines orange when the adapter is transmitting or receiving.

3.2 Adapter Installation

On most computer systems, the adapter can be safely inserted or removed at any time. Certain cautions should, however, be noted:

•

If the adapter is inserted or removed while the computer is running, the operating system may beep very loudly even if the sound control has been set to

Mute

Muted

•

If the adapter will be connected to an extender card installed in a desktop computer, make sure the extender card is firmly bolted to the com puter’ s housing befo re inse rting o r removing the adapter. Shifting or rocking of a loose extender card can result in momentary loss of contact, which can permanently damage sensitive electronic components.

•

Microsoft Windows lets you turn off power to the adapter before removing it. Depending on your version of Windows, this may be called “stopping” or “disabling” the adapter. It is strongly recommended that you use this function and avoid removing the adapter while it is operating.

For installation of adapter software to go smoothly, follow the steps below when inserting the adapter for the first time.

1. Have the Wireless Adapter Driver disk, the Wireless Adapter Utility disk, and your Microsoft Windows CD-ROM ready.

The operating system might request the CD-ROM so it can install networking components. The CD-ROM’s contents may have been copied to the hard disk during system installation; if you know the path to the copy on the hard disk, you will be able to supply that path instead of inserting the CD-ROM.

2. Exit all application and utility programs and shut down the computer.

3. If the computer uses an external floppy-disk drive, connect the drive as described in the manual for the computer.

4. With the computer turned off, insert the adapter in the CardBus slot.

The location of the CardBus slot depends on the make and model of the computer. See your computer manual for details. The manual might refer to the slot as a PCMCIA or PC Card slot.

Most CardBus slots have a button for removing adapters. The button is normally flush with the housing of the computer. Press and release it to make it extend outside the housing; press it again to eject an adapter from the slot. A third press will return it to its original position.

4 Driver Installation and Operation

After physically installing the adapter in the computer as described above, you are ready to install a driver. This is software that lets the adapter be used in a specific operating system. The Wireless Adapter Driver disk included with your adapter contains drivers for Microsoft Windows 98, ME, 2000, and XP.

The following note is for technicians experienced at installing drivers in Microsoft Windows. Other readers should go directly to section 4.1, “Installation Preview,” immediately following the note.

Note to technicians:

according the version of Windows the files are for: \WIN2K, \WIN98, and \WINXP. For Windows ME, use the files in \WIN98. Although Windows XP has a built-in driver for the adapter, the supplied utility program will work only if the supplied driver is installed and activated.

The files on the driver disk reside in directories named

4.1 Installation Preview

When Microsoft Windows detects a newly installed adapter, it starts up a special program to help you install a driver. Below is the opening window of the program that runs in Windows 98:

Figure 5. Microsoft Windows 98 Add New Hardware Wizard window

Each version of Windows has a different “wizard” for installing new drivers. To explain and illustrate all the steps required in each version would fill up this entire manual. The following tips apply to all supported versions of Windows; keep them firmly in mind, and you will have no trouble installing the driver:

+ 28 hidden pages