Netgear HA501 Reference Manual
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© 2002 by NETGEAR, Inc. All rights reserved.
Trademarks
NETGEAR is a registered trademark of NETGEAR, INC. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Other brand and
product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Information is subject to change without notice. All
rights reserved.
Statement of Conditions
In the interest of improving internal design, operational function, and/or reliability, NETGEAR reserves the right to make changes to the
products described in this document without notice. NETGEAR does not assume any liability that may occur due to the use or application of
the product(s) or circuit layout(s) described herein.
Certificate of the Manufacturer/Importer
It is hereby certified that the Model HA501 Wireless Adapter has been suppressed in accordance with the conditions set out in the BMPTAmtsblVfg 243/1991 and Vfg 46/1992. The operation of some equipment (for example, test transmitters) in accordance with the regulations
may, however, be subject to certain restrictions. Please refer to the notes in the operating instructions.
Federal Office for Telecommunications Approvals has been notified of the placing of this equipment on the market and has been granted
the right to test the series for compliance with the regulations.
Federal Commu nications Commis sion (FCC) Compliance Notice : Radio Frequency Notice
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.
This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.
Note: 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
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Radiation Exposure Statement
This equipment complies with FCC radiation exposure limits set forth for an uncontrolled environment. In order to avoid the possibility of
exceeding the FCC radio frequency exposure limits, human proximity to the antenna shall not be less than 20 cm (8 inches) during normal
operation.
Radio Frequency Interference Requirements
This device is restricted to indoor use due to its operation in the 5.15 to 5.25 GHz frequency range. FCC requires this product to be used
indoors for the frequency range 5.15 to 5.25 GHz to reduce the potential for harmful interference to co-channel Mobile Satellite systems.
High power radars are allocated as primary users of the 5.25 to 5.35 GHz and 5.65 to 5.85 GHz bands. These radar stations can cause
interference with and /or damage this device.
Canadian Department of Communications Radio Interference Regulations
This digital apparatus (Model HA501 Wireless Adapter) does not exceed the Class B limits for radio-noise emissions from digital apparatus
as set out in the Radio Interference Regulations of the Canadian Department of Communications.
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: (1) Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna, (2) Increase the separation between the
equipment and receiver, (3) Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is
connected, (4) Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
SM-HA501NA-0
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CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ...........................................................................................................................4
BENEFITS....................................................................................................................................................... 4
FEATURES...................................................................................................................................................... 4
RELATED NETGEAR IEEE 802.11A PRODUCTS ..................................................................................................4
CHAPTER 2: WIRELESS NETWORK FUNDAMENTALS ......................................................................................5
WIRELESS NETWORK CONFIGURATION ................................................................................................................5
SERVICE SET IDENTIFICATION (SSID).................................................................................................................. 6
AUTHENTICATION AN D WEP ENCRYPTION............................................................................................................6
WIRELESS CHANNEL SELECTION ........................................................................................................................7
CHAPTER 3: HARDWARE INSTALLATION.........................................................................................................9
PACKAGE CONTENTS .......................................................................................................................................9
HARDWARE DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................................................9
WIRELESS ADAPTER INSTALLATION ....................................................................................................................9
CHAPTER 4: DRIVER INSTALLATION.............................................................................................................. 10
WINDOWS 98 DRIVER SOFTWARE..................................................................................................................... 10
WINDOWS MILLENNIUM DRIVER SOFTWARE........................................................................................................11
WINDOWS NT 4.0 DRIVER SOFTWARE...............................................................................................................12
WINDOWS 2000 DRIVER SOFTWARE.................................................................................................................13
WINDOWS XP DRIVER SOFTWARE.................................................................................................................... 14
CHAPTER 5: WIRELESS LAN CONFIGURATION.............................................................................................. 15
WIRELESS ADAPTER CONFIGURATION UTILITY.................................................................................................... 15
CHAPTER 6: TROUBLESHOOTING ................................................................................................................. 22
HARDWARE SPECIFICATIONS....................................................................................................................... 23
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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Congratulations on your purchase of NETGEAR’s HA501 802.11a Wireless 32-bit CardBus Adapter, which gives
you the ultimate in office mobility. This high-speed wireless device lets you quickly network multiple PCs together
without laying any new cabling, and gives users the freedom to roam throughout the workplace and stay connected
to corporate resources, e-mail, and the intranet. It provides built-in capacity and flexibility for growing networks so
it’s easy to add new clients and/or move your entire network to a new office site. Equipped with auto-sensing
capability, it allows packet transfer at up to 54 Mbps for maximum throughput, or speed reduction to the lower 6
Mbps speed for distance or for operating in a noisy environment.
Benefits
Blazing speeds – up to 54 Mbps, 72 Mbps in turbo mode
Ultra-reliable, standards-based IEEE 802.11a wireless LAN networking
Free from interference, it coexists with IEEE 802.11b and Bluetooth™ devices
Supports the vast majority of notebook PCs equipped with a CardBus slot
Features
The key features of the HA501 Wireless Adapter are:
Reliable IEEE 802.11a standards-based wireless technology
Roaming support between access points when configured in infrastructure mode
Up to 72 Mbps high-speed rate in Turbo mode. Wireless nodes negotiate to operate in the optimal data
transfer rate. In a noisy environment or when the distance between the wireless nodes is far, the wireless
nodes automatically fall back to operate at the lowest transfer rate of 6 Mbps
Highest level of data encryption using 152-bit Shared Key data encryption method. Lower level of data
encryption or no data encryption is available to simplify your network setup or to improve data transfer rate
Designed for notebook PCs running Microsoft Windows
Extensive coverage and available bandwidth with eight (8) non-overlapping channels in the 5 GHz band (5.15
to 5.35 GHz)
®
98, Me, NT 4.0, 2000, and XP operating systems
Related NETGEAR IEEE 802.11a products
HE102 802.11a Wireless Access Point
HE301 802.11a PCI Wireless Adapter
HR814 802.11a Cable/DSL Router
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CHAPTER 2: WIRELESS NETWORK FUNDAMENTALS
Wireless Network Configuration
Ad-hoc Mode (Peer-to-Peer Workgroup)
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard for wireless LANs (WLANs), 802.11- offers two
methods for configuring a wireless network — ad-hoc and infrastructure. In an ad-hoc network, computers are
brought together as needed; thus, there is no structure or fixed points to the network — each node can generally
communicate with any other node. There is no access point involved in this configuration. It enables you to quickly
set up a small wireless workgroup and allows workgroup members to exchange data or share printers as supported
by Microsoft Networking in the various Windows operating systems. Some vendors also refer to ad-hoc networking
as peer-to-peer workgroup networking.
In this configuration, network packets are directly sent and received by the intended transmitting and receiving
stations. As long as the stations are within range of one another, this is the easiest and least expensive way to set
up a wireless network.
To set up an ad-hoc workgroup operating with standard protocols, do the following:
Set all stations to connect in Ad-hoc mode (or Peer-to-Peer workgroup mode).
Set all stations to use the same network name (or SSID).
Set all stations to use no WEP encryption key or an identical WEP encryption key.
Set all stations to use the same wireless channel for communication.
Infrastructure Mode
With a wireless access point, you can put the wireless LAN into the infrastructure mode. It provides wireless
connectivity to multiple wireless network devices within a fixed range or area of coverage, interacting with a wireless
node via an antenna.
In the infrastructure mode, the wireless access point converts airwave data into wired Ethernet data, acting as a
bridge between the wired LAN and wireless clients. Connecting multiple HA501 Access Points via a wired Ethernet
backbone can further extend the wireless network coverage. As a mobile computing device moves out of the range
of one access point, it moves into the range of another. As a result, wireless clients can freely roam from one
Access Point domain to another and still maintain seamless network connection.
To set up an infrastructure network operating with standard protocols, do the following:
Set all wireless stations to connect in infrastructure mode
Set all stations to use the same network name (or SSID).
Set all wireless access points to use the same network name (or ESSID).
Set all stations to use no WEP encryption key or an identical WEP encryption key as the one used in Access
points.
Set up wireless channels used by individual access points. (It is not necessary to set channels on the stations
as the stations will automatically scan through all channels for the nearest access point.)
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Service Set Identification (SSID)
The Service Set Identification (SSID) is a thirty-two alphanumeric character (maximum) string identifying the
wireless local area network. Some vendors refer to the SSID as “network name”. In order for stations to
communicate with each other, all stations must be configured with the same SSID.
A wireless LAN consisting of nodes operating in ad-hoc configuration without an access point is called a Basic
Service Set (BSS). All nodes in a BSS must use the same Basic Service Set ID (BSSID).
In an infrastructure configuration with access points, multiple BSS can be configured to form an Extended Service
Set (ESS). In this configuration, the access points are configured with the same Extended Service Set ID (ESSID).
Wireless clients configured with the same ESSID can freely roam from one Access Point domain to another and still
maintain seamless connection to the network
Authentication and WEP Encryption
The absence of a physical connection between nodes makes the wireless links vulnerable to information theft. To
provide a certain level of security, IEEE 802.11 standard has defined two types of authentication methods, Open
System and Shared Key. Open System authentication is a null algorithm. Shared Key authentication is an algorithm
where both the transmitting node and the receiving node share an authentication key to perform a checksum on the
original message. By default, IEEE 802.11 wireless devices operate in an open system network.
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) data encryption is utilized when the wireless nodes or access points are configured
to operate in Shared Key authentication mode. There are three shared key methods implemented in Netgear’s
802.11a solutions: the standard based forty-bit WEP data encryption and 128-bit WEP data encryption plus the
extended 152-bit WEP data encryption.
The forty-bit WEP data encryption method allows for a five-character (forty-bit) input. Additionally, 24 factory-set bits
are added to the forty-bit input to generate a 64-bit encryption key. (The 24 factory-set bits are not user
configurable.) This encryption key will be used to encrypt/decrypt all data transmitted via the wireless interface.
Some vendors may refer to the forty-bit WEP data encryption as 64-bit WEP data encryption since the actual
encryption key used in the encryption process is 64 bits wide.
The 128-bit WEP data encryption method consists of 104 configurable bits and the 152-bit WEP data encryption
method consists of 128 configurable bits Similar to the forty-bit WEP data encryption method, the remaining 24 bits
are factory set and not user configurable.
EncryptionKey Size
64-bit
(24+40)
128-bit
(24+104)
152-bit
(24+1280)
# of
Hexadecimal Digits
10 4C72F08AE1
26 4C72F08AE19D57A3FF6B260037
32 4C72F08AE19D57A3FF6B26003715DAC2
Example of Hexadecimal Key Content
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Wireless Channel Selection
IEEE 802.11a utilizes 300 MHz of bandwidth in the 5 GHz Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII)
band. Though the lower 200 MHz is physically contiguous, the FCC has divided the total 300 MHz into three distinct
domains, each with a different legal maximum power output.
U-NII Band Low Middle High
Frequency (GHz) 5.15 – 5.25 5.25 – 5.35 5.725 – 5.825
Max. Power Output 50 mW 250 mW 1W
Note: The high band is not supported in HA501 Wireless Adapter.
IEEE 802.11a uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), a new encoding scheme that offers certain
benefits over a spread spectrum in channel availability and data rate. The 802.11a uses OFDM to define a total of 8
non-overlapping 200 MHz channels across the 2 lower bands; each of these is divided into 52 subcarriers and each
carrier is approximately 300 KHz wide. By comparison, 802.11b uses only 3 non-overlapping channels.
The HA501 user can use eight channels in non-turbo mode.
Turbo mode: OFF
Channel Frequency
36 5.18 GHz
40 5.20 GHz
44 5.22 GHz
48 5.24 GHz
52 5.26 GHz
56 5.28 GHz
60 5.30 GHz
64 5.32 GHz
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