Zebra Technologies W2WLAN11G User Manual
Cover
P1035089-001 Rev A
Zebra® ZXP Series 8
Card Printer
Wireless
Reference Manual
Working Draft
March 31, 2011
™
© 2010 ZIH Corp. The copyrights in this manual and the software and/or firmware in the
printer described therein are owned by ZIH Corp. and Zebra’s licensors. Unauthorized
reproduction of this manual or the software and/or firmware in the printer may result in
imprisonment of up to one year and fines of up to $10,000 (17 U.S.C.506). Copyright violators
may be subject to civil liability.
Proprietary Statement This manual contains proprietary information of Zebra Technologies
Corporation and its subsidiaries. It is intended solely for the information and use of parties
operating and maintaining the equipment described herein. Such proprietary information may
not be used, reproduced, or disclosed to any other parties for any other purpose without the
express, written permission of Zebra Technologies.
Product Improvements Continuous improvement of products is a policy of Zebra Technologies.
All specifications and designs are subject to change without notice.
Liability Disclaimer Zebra Technologies takes steps to ensure that it’s published Engineering
specifications and manuals are correct; however, errors do occur. Zebra Technologies reserves
the right to correct any such errors and disclaims liability resulting there from.
Limitation of Liability In no event shall Zebra Technologies or anyone else involved in the
creation, production, or delivery of the accompanying product (including hardware and
software) be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, consequential
damages including loss of business profits, business interruption, or loss of business
information) arising out of the use of, the results of use of, or inability to use such product,
even if Zebra Technologies has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some
jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so
the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you.
Important Use only the supplied antenna. Unauthorized
antennas, modifications or attachments could damage the
transmitter and may violate FCC regulations or local regulatory
requirements in your country.
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Table of Contents
1 Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 5
2 Networking Basics ................................................................................................................................. 6
Channels and communication modes ....................................................................................................... 6
Security ..................................................................................................................................................... 7
Authentication .......................................................................................................................................... 8
Network name (SSID) ................................................................................................................................ 8
Encryption ................................................................................................................................................. 8
Media access control address authentication .......................................................................................... 9
3 Installing Printer .................................................................................................................................. 10
4 Configuring the Printer ....................................................................................................................... 11
Network Settings ..................................................................................................................................... 12
Configuring the Printer through the Operator Control Panel ................................................................. 12
Configuring Wireless through the Printer Web Page ............................................................................. 22
Configuring Wireless through the Driver Toolbox .................................................................................. 25
Using ZXP Toolbox Wireless Settings Load/Save Buttons ....................................................................... 30
Using RADIO CONTROL Menu ................................................................................................................. 31
Using SET DEFAULTS Menu ..................................................................................................................... 32
Simple Roaming Used During Connection .............................................................................................. 32
Setting Up an Ad-Hoc (Peer) Network .................................................................................................... 33
Multi-homing Considerations ................................................................................................................. 37
5 Monitor Wireless Performance .......................................................................................................... 39
Wireless Info Pages ................................................................................................................................. 39
Signal Strength ........................................................................................................................................ 40
Noise Floor .............................................................................................................................................. 41
Data Rate................................................................................................................................................. 41
DHCP & MAC Address Info Page ............................................................................................................. 41
Wireless Statistics Info Page ................................................................................................................... 42
Wireless Statistics Success and Failure Rates ......................................................................................... 43
Main Status Display Wireless Errors ....................................................................................................... 43
Viewing Wireless Information through Printer Web Page ..................................................................... 45
Viewing Wireless Information through Windows Printer Driver Toolbox .............................................. 46
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6 Troubleshooting .................................................................................................................................. 49
Wireless Troubleshooting Checklist ........................................................................................................ 49
Cannot Print Over Wireless Network ...................................................................................................... 50
Improve Wireless Signal Strength ........................................................................................................... 52
7 Technical Specifications ...................................................................................................................... 55
8 Glossary ............................................................................................................................................... 59
9 Compliance Information ..................................................................................................................... 64
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1 Introduction
This manual is a supplementary document to the Zebra ZXP Series 8 Printer User Guide. This
manual provides the following information about installing and connecting the printer to a
wireless network:
1. The Networking basics chapter contains overview information about wireless
networking and the wireless features of the Zebra ZXP Series 8 printer.
2. The information for installing to a wireless network will be useful if you are installing the
printer to a wireless network, or if you wish to change printer or network settings after
you have installed the printer.
3. The Troubleshooting chapter contains troubleshooting information.
In addition, this manual contains a chapter of regulatory information and a glossary of wireless
terms.
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2 Networking Basics
The Zebra ZXP Series 8 printer has an internal print server that supports both wired and
wireless Ethernet connectivity. The wired Ethernet capability is standard with the printer while
the wireless capability is an option that can be ordered through the factory. The wireless option
is field upgradeable, but requires partial disassembly of the printer covers to remove the wired
daughter card and replace it with a wired/wireless daughter card (see separate document that
describes daughter card installation in the printer). The printer supports simultaneous wired
and wireless connections, a capability referred to as multi-homing, in this case having two
separate interfaces with separate IP addresses. To connect to a wireless network, the printer
uses wireless protocol IEEE 802.11b/g that communicates data through radio transmission.
After installing the printer to a wireless network, cables are not required to communicate with
the computers or devices that are part of the network.
A wireless local area network (WLAN) is a collection of two or more computers, printers, and
other devices linked by radio waves. A WLAN uses high-frequency airwaves (radio) to
communicate information from one point to another.
To connect a computer or device to a wireless network, the computer or device must have a
wireless network adapter. The Zebra ZXP Series 8 printer uses an internal networking
component that contains a wireless radio. No cabling is necessary between networked devices
that use wireless technology, although it is possible to use a USB or wired Ethernet cable to
configure your printer for a wireless network.
Common wireless network adapters include the following:
• USB adapter: An external device that connects to a USB port on the computer.
• Notebook adapter: A PCMCIA card that plugs directly into one of the PCMCIA slots on
your laptop or other portable computer.
• Desktop computer adapter: A dedicated ISA or PCI card, or a PCMCIA card with a special
adapter that plugs into your desktop computer.
Channels and communication modes
The band of radio signals used for IEEE 802.11b/g wireless networking is segmented into
specific frequencies, or channels. For IEEE 802.11b/g wireless networks, 14 channels are
available. Each country/region specifies the channels that are authorized for use. For example,
in North America, only channels 1 through 11 are allowed. In Japan, channels 1 through 14 can
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be used (channel 14 – 802.11b only). In Europe, channels 1 through 13 are allowed. Because
existing standards change frequently, you should check with your local regulatory agencies for
authorized channel use. In most countries/regions channels 10 and 11 may be used without
restriction.
Channel selection depends on the communication mode of the network. The communication
mode defines how devices, such as computers and printers, communicate on a wireless
network. There are two primary types of wireless communication modes: infrastructure and adhoc.
In infrastructure mode, the printer communicates with network computers through a wireless
access point (AP) or a base station. The access point acts as a central hub or gateway
connecting wireless and, optionally, wired devices (most access points have an integrated
Ethernet controller to connect to an existing wired-Ethernet network).
In ad-hoc mode, which is sometimes called peer-to-peer mode, the printer communicates with
your computer directly, rather than through an access point or base station. Each device on an
ad-hoc network must have a wireless network adapter. The adapter enables each device to
communicate with the other devices on the network. Ad-hoc mode is usually limited to simple,
small wireless networks because performance degrades significantly after connecting too many
network devices. This option is most often used if you are connecting only two network devices
that are not sharing an Internet connection. Only WEP security is available in ad-hoc mode.
Security
As with other networks, security for wireless networks focuses on access control and privacy.
Traditional wireless network security includes the use of Service Set Identifiers (SSIDs), open or
shared-key authentication and static Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) keys or Wi-Fi protected
access (WPA or WPA2).
It is highly recommended that you implement a wireless security scheme (preferably WPA2)
prior to setup. While the printer can connect to an open AP, running an open wireless AP will
allow anyone within range of the AP full access to all devices connected to the AP with
potentially damaging results. While WEP security is still in use today, WEP security has been
broken for many years. There are tools available on the internet that will allow anyone with
even basic networking knowledge to break the WEP security and derive the WEP key within 3
minutes, giving them full access to devices on your network. The best security is obtained by
using WPA2 security with AES encryption.
Authentication and encryption are two different approaches to network security.
Authentication verifies the identity of a user or device before granting access to the network,
making it more difficult for unauthorized users to access network resources. Encryption
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