NetComm NP643 User Manual

Contents

INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 3

Wireless Terminology .......................................................................... 5

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR NP643 ............................................................... 7

Package Contents ............................................................................... 7

NP643 LED Indicators .......................................................................... 8

SOFTWARE INSTALLATION ........................................................................ 9

Windows 98se/ME/2000/XP Utility and Driver Installation ......................... 9

HARDWARE INSTALLATION ..................................................................... 11

Installation Check ............................................................................. 11

USING THE WIRELESS UTILITY ............................................................... 12

I. Link Information ............................................................................ 12

II. Configuration............................................................................... 14

III. Advanced ................................................................................... 17

IV. Site Survey ................................................................................. 20

V. About ......................................................................................... 22

APPENDIX A: Glossary .......................................................................... 23

APPENDIX B: Registration and Warranty Information ................................. 31

Copyright Information ....................................................................... 32

Customer Information ....................................................................... 33

Product Warranty .............................................................................. 34

Limitations of Warranty ..................................................................... 35

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INTRODUCTION

Congratulations on your purchase of the NP643 108Mbps IEEE 802.11g Wireless PC
Card Adapter.

This manual is designed to help familiarise users with the product and offers detailed
operational and installation instructions, so please keep it for future reference.

With the NP643 Wireless (IEEE 802.11g) PC Card Adapter, a laptop or notebook
computer can communicate with another computer wirelessly. User friendly Utility
software is bundled with the NP643 product providing configuration, monitoring and
diagnostic options.

The NP643 can wirelessly transmit and receive data at a speed of 108 megabits per
second, which is up to 15 times the speed of previous wireless devices. The NP643 is
designed to handle bandwidth intensive applications and heavy multimedia content. Its
compact design reduces cable and wire clutter around the workspace while providing fast
secure network transfer rates.

The NP643 has the most advanced security features available today with 128 Bit WEP
encryption and WPA security.

The Wireless PC Card Adapter is easy to configure for peer-to-peer networks, suitable for
a small number of users, or for full infrastructure networks that allow broad area roaming.

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System Requirements

• Laptop computer with an available 32 bit Cardbus slot

• Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP/2003

• 128 MB memory and a 500MHz Processor

• CR-ROM Drive

• 20Mb spare disk storage

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Wireless Terminology

Wireless Standards

802.11, 802.11b and 802.11g all refer to a series of standards which govern a common
method of creating wireless local area networks (WLANs).

802.11b and 11g are the most common WLAN types, with 11g being the later and faster
of the two standards with a maximum transmission rate of 54Mbps.

The NP643 is faster again as it is built around a processor which ‘turbo-charges’
transmission rates up to 108Mbps.

802.11g is ‘backward compatible’ with 802.11b, which means that the two standards are
able to communicate, albeit at the lower 11Mbps rate of the 11b standard.

The NP643 can communicate with both kinds of device at their maximum rate, and with
other ‘turbo-charged’ devices at the much higher rate of 108Mbps.

Wireless Security Terms

The Advanced Features of the NP643 include the ability to select from several types of
Wireless Security.

WEP WEP stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy. Introduced with

802.11b, WEP uses encryption to protect data confidentiality
by way of pre-shared keys (passwords or pass-phrases) that are
entered at both ends. Superseded by WPA and 802.11i but still in
use.

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WPA WPA stands for Wi-Fi Protected Access - authorizes and

identifies users based on a secret key that changes automatically
at a pre-defined interval. This is called TKIP (Temporal Key
Integrity Protocol) to change the temporal key every 10,000
packets (= unit of data.) Keys can either be pre-shared or
established by a RADIUS Server.

RADIUS RADIUS is part of 802.11i security; this is a wireless standard

which is only concerned with wireless security standards.
Authentication is based around a secure server with a challenge­and-response method of interaction which verifies the identity
of the client wishing to connect to the network. If you wish to
connect to a RADIUS server ask the Network Administrator for
details. RADIUS servers are not usually used as part of home
networks.

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GETTING TO KNOW YOUR NP643

This chapter provides unpacking and setup information for the NP643 Wireless PC Card
Adapter.

Package Contents

Open the box of the Wireless PC Card Adapter and carefully unpack it. The box should
contain the following items:

� One 108Mbps IEEE 802.11g Wireless PC

Card Adapter

� One Driver & Utility with User’s Guide

CD-ROM

If any item is found missing or damaged, please contact your local reseller for
replacement.

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NP643 LED Indicators

LED Indicator

Power (PWR) The PWR indicator lights green to indicate that it is receiving

power from the PC Card slot. If the PWR indicator light is off, it is
not receiving power.

ACT (Activity) The ACT indicator blinks green while the Wireless PC Card is

transmitting data.

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SOFTWARE INSTALLATION

This section will guide you through the driver and utility installation procedure for the
NP643.

Windows 98se/ME/2000/XP Utility and Driver Installation

1. Insert the Driver & Utility CD-ROM into the CD-ROM Drive. The driver and utility

setup menu should start up and install the driver. In some cases you may need to

install the software manually. This depends on your operating system settings. Go to

your Windows Start menu and choose Run, type “D:\Utility\Setup.exe” in the dialog

box (where D:\ will depend on where your CD-ROM drive is located) and click OK.

2. If you need to install the driver manually, refer your Windows Operating System (OS)

to the following CD-Rom directory path: D:\Driver\<Windows OS>\net5211.inf.

Note: (D:\ will depend on where the CD-ROM drive is located and

<Windows OS> will depend on the Windows OS you are using).

3. The Install Shield Wizard screen will appear. Click “Next” to continue.

4. The installation program will help you setup the Wireless PC Card utility.

Note: Windows XP has its own Wireless Utility; you can either use the

utility of Windows XP or the provided utility.

5. Once the Wireless PC Card Adapter is installed, you will find a new icon on the win-

dows task bar. The colour of the icon represents the strength of the wireless signal.

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Icon Description

If the icon is completely green, you have excellent coverage and

performance.

If the icon is yellow, the signal strength has a fair coverage and

performance.

If the icon has no color, signal strength is poor.

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HARDWARE INSTALLATION

Installation Check

The LEDs of the Wireless PC Card Adapter are clearly visible and the status of the
network link can be seen instantly:

1. Once the device is plugged in to the PC Card slot, the Power LED will light up indi-

cating a normal status.

2. Once the driver is installed, the ACTIVE and POWER LED’s will start flashing. This

means the adapter is starting to scan for other wireless devices within its range.

3. While the Wireless PC Card Adapter is connected and transmitting data to an Access

Point or to another Wireless LAN station, the Active LED will start blinking.

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