Sony VAIO PCWA-A500 User Manual

4-658-124-11(1)

Operating Instructions

5GHz Wireless LAN Access Point

PCWA-A500

WARNING

To prevent fire or shock hazard, do not expose the unit to rain or moisture.

To avoid electrical shock, do not open the cabinet. Refer servicing to qualified personnel only.

– 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.

Owner’s Record

The model and serial numbers are located on the bottom of the product. Record the serial number in the space provided below. Refer to them whenever you call upon your Sony dealer regarding this product.

Model No. PCWA-A500 Serial No.______________

CAUTION

You are cautioned that any changes or modifications not expressly approved in this manual could void your warranty.

FCC ID: AK8PCWAA500 Exposure to Radio Frequency Radiation. The radiated output power of the Wireless LAN

Access Point is far below the FCC radio frequency exposure limits.

Nevertheless, the Wireless LAN Access Point shall be used in such a manner that the potential for human contact during normal operation is minimized.

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 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 or communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, you are encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

You are cautioned that any changes or modifications not expressly approved in this manual could void your authority to operate this equipment.

If you have questions about this product, call the Sony Customer Information Center at 1-877-760-7669; or write to the Sony Customer Information Center at 12451 Gateway Boulevard, Fort Myers, FL 33913. The number below is for FCC-related matters only.

Declaration of Conformity

Trade Name: Sony Model No: PCWA-A500 Responsible Party: Sony Electronics Inc. Address: 680 Kinderkamack Road,

Oradell, NJ 07649 USA Telephone: 201-930-6972 This phone number is for FCC-related matters

only. This device complies with part 15 of the FCC

Rules. Operation is subject to the following two

conditions: (1) This device may not cause harmful

interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference

received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

The supplied interface cable must be used with the equipment in order to comply with the limits for a digital device pursuant to Subpart B of Part 15 of FCC Rules.

Note

The power outlet should be installed near the equipment and should be easily accessible.

Safety Information WARNING

• Opening the unit, for whatever reason, could lead to damages that are not covered by the warranty.

• Do not touch the device or accessories during thunder storms. Electrical shock could result.

• This device is made for use in the USA only.

• For indoor use only.

• While using the Access Point, do not cover it or turn it on its side. Do not cover the Access Point with objects such as magazines or newspapers or use it in confined, enclosed places, such as the spaces between walls and furniture. Further, do not turn the Access Point on its side while using it. Either situation could cause heat to build up inside the Access Point, leading to overheating and possible fire.

• Carefully place the Ethernet cable, AC adapter, and other wiring. Personal injury or damage to the Access Point could result from people tripping over the Ethernet cable, AC adapter, or power cord. Protect wiring by locating it in places where people do not walk.

• Do not swing the AC adapter. Injury could result if the adapter strikes a person or fragile material, such as glass.

• Keep the Access Point out of the reach of children. Unforeseeable injury could result from swallowing loose parts, etc.

• Place the Access Point on a stable surface. Do not place the Access Point on wobbly or tilted surfaces. Tipping or falling could result in injury.

• When using wall mounting, make sure that the wall is strong enough to support the Access Point. The Access Point could fall if the wall is not strong enough, leading to unforeseeable accidents. Further, be careful not to drop the unit or the tools used for mounting it. Doing so could result in unforeseeable accidents.

• Avoid locations that are directly exposed to sunlight or heaters.

• Internal overheating could result in fire or damage to the unit.

• Make sure connectors are properly connected. – Do not insert any metallic objects inside the

connectors. Short-circuiting the pins could cause fire or damage to the unit.

– Be careful to insert connectors squarely.

Crooked insertion could cause pins to shortcircuit, possibly causing fire or damage to the unit.

• Use only the supplied AC adapter with your Sony Wireless LAN Access Point. To disconnect your Wireless LAN Access Point from the power supply, unplug the AC adapter.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

1 Redistributions of source code must retain the

above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

2 Redistributions in binary form must reproduce

the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

3 All advertising materials mentioning features or

use of this software must display the following acknowledgement: This product includes software developed by the NetBSD Foundation, Inc. and its contributors.

4 Neither the name of The NetBSD Foundation

nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE NETBSD FOUNDATION, INC. AND CONTRIBUTORS “AS IS” AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE FOUNDATION OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

this software and provides it on an “as is” basis without express or implied warranty.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms are permitted provided that this notice is preserved and due credit is given to the original author and the contributors.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

material licensed to the University of California by American Telephone and Telegraph

Co. or Unix System Laboratories, Inc. and are reproduced herein with the permission of UNIX System Laboratories, Inc.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

1 Redistributions of source code must retain the

above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

2 Redistributions in binary form must reproduce

the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

3 All advertising materials mentioning features or

use of this software must display the following acknowledgement: This product includes software developed by the University of California, Berkeley and its contributors.

4 Neither the name of the University nor the

names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE REGENTS AND CONTRIBUTORS “AS IS” AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR

A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE REGENTS OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

rights reserved. Redistribution and use in source and binary forms,

with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

1 Redistributions of source code must retain the

above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

2 Redistributions in binary form must reproduce

the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

3 Neither the name of The Internet Software

Consortium - DHCP nor the names of its contributors may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE INTERNET SOFTWARE CONSORTIUM AND CONTRIBUTORS “AS IS” AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE INTERNET SOFTWARE CONSORTIUM OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS

INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:

1 Redistributions of source code must retain the

above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.

2 Redistributions in binary form must reproduce

the above copyright notice, this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation and/or other materials provided with the distribution.

THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE AUTHOR AND CONTRIBUTORS “AS IS” AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR OR CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

Sony, VAIO, and the VAIO logo are trademarks of Sony Corporation.

Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.

Ethernet is a registered trademark of Xerox Corporation.

All other trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners.

• In this manual, Microsoft® Windows Millennium Edition is referred to as Windows Me.

• In this manual, Microsoft® Windows® 2000 Professional is referred to as Windows 2000.

Getting started

Overview ............................................... 7

What you can do with your Wireless

LAN Access Point ..................... 7

System requirements ..................... 8

About the manuals and Help files ...

Names of parts and functions ................ 9

About the Access Point initial settings 12

To return the Access Point settings

to the factory default settings .. 13

MAC address...............................13

Setting and connections

Configuring the Access Point

settings ............................................14

Before configuring the Access Point

settings ..................................... 14

Displaying the Access Point setup

page..........................................16

About the Access Point

password .................................. 18

Configuring and changing settings

for the Access Point ................. 19

Confirming the firmware version for

the Access Point ...................... 20

Confirming the status of the Access

Point.........................................21

Connecting...........................................22

Connecting to a DSL modem, cable

modem, or ISDN router ........... 22

Precautions when mounting the Access

Point on a wall ................................ 24

Additional information

Precautions .......................................... 26

Specifications ...................................... 27

Getting help ......................................... 28

Glossary ............................................... 29

Troubleshooting...................................31

Overview

What you can do with your Wireless LAN Access Point

The 5GHz Wireless LAN Access Point PCWA-A500 is designed for constructing a wireless LAN (Local Area Network) environment. Because the wireless LAN does not require cable connections, client computers can operate anywhere within a specified range.

Connect your Access Point to a power outlet, insert the 5GHz Wireless LAN PC Card PCWA-C500 (sold separately) into your computer, and use the provided software together with the Access Point to construct a wireless LAN environment on multiple client computers (16 or fewer is recommended). In a wireless LAN environment, you can share files and folders on other client computers and let others share files and folders on your computer.

Further, you can connect the Access Point to a DSL modem, cable modem, or ISDN router to access the Internet from a client computer that is equipped with wireless LAN or from a client computer on an Ethernet LAN that is connected to the NETWORK 2 connector.

Internet

P O

W ER

M E

S S

A G

W I R

E L

E S

N E T

W O

K 1

N E

T W

O R

Getting started

Internet service provider

To the NETWORK 1

connector

DSL modem/ cable modem/ ISDN router

To the

NETWORK 2

connector

Hub

System requirements

In order to configure the Access Point or check Access Point settings, your computer must satisfy the following hardware and software requirements.

❑A computer installed with a 5GHz Wireless LAN PC Card

(Make sure that the driver required to operate the PC card is installed correctly.)

❑Web browser (The following browsers are recommended.)

– Microsoft – Netscape

Notes

• Sony cannot assure trouble-free operation for all computers satisfying the specified system requirements.

• To construct a wireless LAN environment, the 5GHz Wireless LAN PC Card PCWA-C500 (sold separately) is required.

• Internet access requires the separate purchase of an Internet connection from an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

Internet Explorer 5 or later

Communicator 4.75 or later

About the manuals and Help files

The following manuals and Help files are provided with this product.

• 5GHz Wireless LAN Access Point PCWA-A500 Quick Start Guide

This guide contains simple explanations on how to set up and configure the Access Point. We recommend reading the guide before using this product.

• 5GHz Wireless LAN Access Point PCWA-A500 Operating Instructions

(this manual) These instructions contain detailed explanations on how to setup and configure the Access Point.

• Access Point Online Help

Online help explains how to set up and use the Access Point. To configure an Access Point, go to the Access Point setup page. For information on how to display the Access Point setup page and online help, see “Displaying the Access Point setup page” (page 16).

Names of parts and functions

Front view Side view

POWER

MESSAGE

WIRELESS

NETWORK 1

NETWORK 2

Getting started

5 6

1 Built-in antenna (not externally

visible)

2 Indicators

POWER

Lights green while power is supplied to the Access Point.

MESSAGE

Lights when unread logs exceed a certain size. The indicator goes out when the log is displayed.

WIRELESS

Lights green when data can be exchanged on a wireless LAN. Flashes orange while data is being exchanged on a wireless LAN.

NETWORK 1

Lights green when an Ethernet cable is connected to the NETWORK 1 connector. Flashes orange while data is being exchanged using the NETWORK 1 connector.

NETWORK 2

Lights green when an Ethernet cable is connected to the NETWORK 2 connector. Flashes orange while data is being exchanged using the NETWORK 2 connector.

z Hint

All indicators except the POWER indicator flash while the Access Point settings are being changed.

3 Stand/wall-mount adapter

The stand/wall-mount adapter is retractable and can be used with the arm extended straight down as a stand or with the arm retracted as a wallmount adapter.

When extending the arm straight down, it must not be fixed in a position other than that shown in the illustration above.

To get the best performance from the built-in antenna, position the Access Point so that the front of the unit creates a right angle with the supporting surface.

4 NETWORK 1 connector

Use an Ethernet cable to connect the Access Point to a DSL modem, cable modem, or ISDN router.

5 NETWORK 2 connector

Use an Ethernet cable to connect the Access Point to an Ethernet LAN hub.

6 DC IN 10 V jack

Connects to the AC power adapter.

Rear view

NETWORK 1

NETWORK 2

DC IN 10V

7 Ferrite core storage recess

Insert the ferrite core of the AC adapter cable qd (on page 11) into this recess, then insert the cable into the AC adapter cable securing groove 8 to fix it in place. For details, refer to the Quick Start Guide.

8 AC adapter cable securing groove

Insert the ferrite core of the AC adapter cable qd (on page 11) into the ferrite core storage recess 7, then insert the cable into this groove to fix it in place. For details, refer to the Quick Start Guide.

9 Serial number label

The serial number (SERIAL NO.) is printed on this label. The numbers printed below “NO.” are the serial number.

NETWORK 1

NETWORK 2

DC IN 10V

0 Wall-mounting holes

When using the stand/wall-mount adapter as a wall-mount adapter, you can mount the Access Point onto the wall by screwing two screws into the holes. (The screws for mounting the Access Point are not provided. Make sure you use a product that is rated to support the weight of the Access Point.)

When mounting the Access Point on a wall, see “Precautions when mounting the Access Point on a wall” (page 24).

qa ID label

This label is printed with the ID assigned to the Access Point at the time of shipping. (This ID is also referred to as the Network Name (SSID).) This ID is required when configuring Access Point settings.

+ 22 hidden pages

Sony VAIO PCWA-A500 User Manual

Table of contents

Overview

What you can do with your Wireless LAN Access Point

Getting started

System requirements

About the manuals and Help files

Names of parts and functions