ZyXEL Communications nwd2205 User Manual
NWD2205
Wireless N USB Adapter
Version 1.8.1
Edition 1, 09/2010
www.zyxel.com
www.zyxel.com
Copyright © 2010
ZyXEL Communications Corporation
About This User's Guide
About This User's Guide
Intended Audience
This manual is intended for people who want to configure the NWD2205 using the
ZyXEL utility.
Tips for Reading User’s Guides On-Screen
When reading a ZyXEL User’s Guide On-Screen, keep the following in mind:
• If you don’t already have the latest version of Adobe Reader, you can download
it from http://www.adobe.com.
• Use the PDF’s bookmarks to quickly navigate to the areas that interest you.
Adobe Reader’s bookmarks pane opens by default in all ZyXEL User ’s Guide
PDFs.
• If you know the page number or know vaguely which page-range you want to
view, you can enter a number in the toolbar in Reader, then press [ENTER] to
jump directly to that page.
• Type [CTRL]+[F] to open the Adobe Reader search utility and enter a word or
phrase. This can help you quickly pinpoint the information you require. You can
also enter text directly into the toolbar in Reader.
• To quickly move around within a page, press the [SP ACE] bar. This turns your
cursor into a “hand” with which you can grab the page and move i t around freely
on your screen.
• Embedded hyperlinks are actually cross-references to related text. Click them to
jump to the corresponding section of the User’s Guide PDF.
Related Documentation
•Quick Start Guide
The Quick Start Guide is designed to help you get up and running right away. It
contains information on setting up your network and configuring for Internet
access.
• Online Help
Embedded web help for descriptions of individual screens and supplementary
information.
• Support Disc
Refer to the included CD for support documents.
Documentation Feedback
Send your comments, questions or suggestions to: techwriters@zyxel.com.tw
NWD2205 User’s Guide
3
About This User's Guide
Thank you!
The Technical Writing Team, ZyXEL Communications Corp.,
6 Innovation Road II, Science-Based Industrial Park, Hsinchu, 30099, Taiwan.
Need More Help?
More help is available at www.zyx el.com.
• Download Library
Search for the latest product updates and documentation from this link. Read
the Tech Doc Overview to find out how to efficiently use the documentation in
order to better understand how to use your product.
• Knowledge Base
If you have a specific question ab o ut your product, the answer may be here.
This is a collection of answers to previously asked questions about ZyXEL
products.
•Forum
This contains discussions on ZyXEL prod ucts. Learn from others who use ZyXEL
products and share your experiences as well.
Customer Support
Should problems arise that cannot be solved by the methods listed above, you
should conta ct your vendor. I f you cannot con tact your vendor, then contact a
ZyXEL office for the region in which you bought the device.
See http://www.zyxel.com/web/contact_us.php for contact information. Please
have the following informatio n ready when you contact an office.
4
• Product model and serial number.
•Warranty Information.
• Date that you received your device.
• Brief description of the problem and the steps you took to solve it.
NWD2205 User’s Guide
Document Conventions
Document Conventions
Warnings and Notes
These are how warnings and notes are shown in this User’s Guide.
Warnings tell you about things that could harm you or your
NWD2205.
Note: Notes tell you other important information (for example, other things you may
need to configure or helpful tips) or recommendations.
Syntax Conventions
• The NWD2205 may be referred to as the “NWD2205”, the “device” , the “system”
or the “product” in this User’s Guide.
• Product labels, screen names, field labels and field choices are all in bold font.
• A key stroke is denoted by square brackets and uppercase text, for example,
[ENTER] means the “en t er” or “return” key o n your keyboard.
• “Enter” means for you to type one or more characters and then press the
[ENTER] key. “Select” or “choose” means for you to use one of the predefined
choices.
• A right angle bracket ( > ) within a screen name denotes a mouse click. For
example, Maintenance > Log > Log Setting means you first click
Maintenance in the navigation panel, then the Log sub menu and finally the
Log Setting tab to get to that screen.
• Units of measurement may denote the “metric” value or the “scientific” value.
For example, “k” for kilo may denote “1000” or “1024”, “M” for mega may
denote “1000000” or “1048576” and so on.
• “e.g.,” is a shorthand for “for instance”, and “i.e.,” means “that is” or “in other
words”.
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Document Conventions
Icons Used in Figures
Figures in this User’s Guide may use the following generic icons.
Wireless Access Point Computer Notebook computer
Server Modem Telephone
Internet Wireless Signal
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NWD2205 User’s Guide
Safety Warnings
Safety Warnings
• Do NOT use this product near water, for example, in a wet basement or near a swimming
pool.
• Do NOT expose your device to dampness, dust or corrosive liquids.
• Do NOT store things on the device.
• Do NOT install, use, or service this device during a thunderstorm. There is a remote risk
of electric shock from lightning.
• Connect ONLY suitable accessories to the device.
• Ground yourself (by properly using an anti-static wrist strap, for example) whenever
working with the device’s hardware or connections.
• ONLY qualified service personnel should service or disassemble this device.
• Antenna Warning! This device meets ETSI and FCC certification requirements when using
the included antenna(s). Only use the included antenna(s).
Your product is marked with this symbol, which is known as the WEEE mark.
WEEE stands for Waste Electronics and Electrical Equipment. It means that
used electrical and electronic products should not be mixed with general waste.
Used electrical and electronic equipment should be treated separately.
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Safety Warnings
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NWD2205 User’s Guide
Contents Overview
Contents Overview
Introduction and Configuration ............................................................................................17
Getting Started ........................................................................................................................... 19
Wireless LANs ....................................... .................................................................................... 27
ZyXEL Utility .............................................................................................................................. 39
Troubleshooting and Specifications ....................................................................................53
Troubleshooting ..................................................... .................................................................... 55
Product Specifications ............................................................................................................... 59
Appendices and Index ...........................................................................................................63
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Contents Overview
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NWD2205 User’s Guide
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
About This User's Guide..........................................................................................................3
Document Conventions............................................................................................................5
Safety Warnings ........................................................................................................................7
Contents Overview ...................................................................................................................9
Table of Contents....................................................................................................................11
Chapter 1
Getting Started........................................................................................................................13
1.1 Overview ............. ................................................................................................................. 13
1.1.1 What You Need to Know ............................................ ... ... ... ... .................................... 13
1.1.2 Before You Begin ................ .......................................... ... .......................................... 13
1.2 Features ............................................. ... .... ... ....................................................................... 14
1.3 Software Installation ..... ....................................................................................................... 15
1.3.1 Minimum System Requirements ................................................................................ 15
1.3.2 Installing the ZyXEL Utility ......................................................... ... ... ... ....................... 15
1.3.3 Uninstalling the ZyXEL Utility ..................................................................................... 19
1.4 Hardware Installation ....................................... ............................................................. .......21
1.5 Device Applications ...... ... ... .......................................... ... .......................................... ... ....... 22
Chapter 2
Wireless LANs.........................................................................................................................25
2.1 Overview ............. ................................................................................................................. 25
2.1.1 What Yo u Can Do in This Section .............................................................................. 25
2.1.2 What You Need to Know ............................................ ... ... ... ... .................................... 25
2.1.3 Before You Begin ................ .......................................... ... .......................................... 26
2.2 Wireless LAN Overview .................. ... ... .... ... ... ... .... ... .......................................... ... ... .......... 26
2.3 Wireless LAN Security ................. ... ... ... .... ... ... ... .... .......................................... ... ... ............. 27
2.3.1 User Authentication and Encryption ....................... .... ... ... ... ... .... ... ... ... ....................... 27
2.4 WiFi Protected Setup ........................................................................................................... 29
2.4.1 Push Button Configuration ........... .... ... ... ... .... ... ... .......................................... ... .......... 30
2.4.2 PIN Configuration ................................ ... ... .......................................... .... ................... 30
2.4.3 How WPS Works ........................................................................................................ 32
2.4.4 Limitations of WPS ........................... ... ....................................................................... 35
Chapter 3
ZyXEL Utility - Mac OS X........................................................................................................37
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Table of Contents
3.1 Overview ............. ................................................................................................................. 37
3.1.1 What You Can Do in This Chapter ............................................................................. 37
3.1.2 What You Need to Know ............................................ ... ... ... ... .................................... 37
3.1.3 Before You Begin ................ .......................................... ... .......................................... 38
3.2 ZyXEL Utility Screen Summary ........................................................................................... 38
3.3 The Link Status Screen ....................................................................................................... 39
3.4 The Profile Screen ............................................................................................................... 40
3.4.1 The Profile Properties Screen .................................................................................... 42
3.5 The Available Network Screen ............................................................................................ 44
3.6 The Advanced Setting Screen ............................................................................................. 45
3.7 The WPS Screen ............................. ... ... .... ... .......................................... ... ... .... ... ... ............. 46
3.8 The Information Screen .......................................... ... ... ... .... ... ... ... ... .... ... ... ... .... ................... 48
Chapter 4
Troubleshooting......................................................................................................................49
4.1 Overview ............. ................................................................................................................. 49
4.2 Power, Hardware Connections, and LEDs .......................................................................... 49
4.3 Accessing the ZyXEL Utility ................................................................................................. 50
4.4 Link Quality .......................................................................................................................... 50
4.5 Problems Communicating with Other Computers ............................................................... 51
Chapter 5
Product Specifications...........................................................................................................53
Appendix A Wireless LANs ....................................................................................................57
Appendix B Legal Information................................................................................................73
Index.........................................................................................................................................79
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NWD2205 User’s Guide
CHAPTER 1
Getting Started
1.1 Overview
The ZyXEL NWD2205 wireless N USB adapter brings you a better Internet
experience over existing IEEE 802.11 b/g/n networks. With data rates of up to
300 Mbps, you can enjoy a high-speed connection at home or in the office. It is an
excellent solution for daily activities such as file transfers, music downloading,
video streaming and online gaming.
1.1.1 What You Need to Know
The following terms and concepts may help as you read through this section, and
subsequently as you read through the rest of the User’s Guide.
Access Point
An Access Point (AP) is a network device that acts as a bridge between a wired
and a wireless network. Outside of the home or office, APs can most often be
found in coffee shops, bookstores and other businesses that offer wireless
Internet connectivity to their customers.
Infrastructure
An infrastructure network is one that seamlessly combines both wireless and
wired components. One or more APs often serve as the bridge between wireless
and wired LANs.
Ad-Hoc
An Ad-Hoc wireless LAN is a self-contained group of computers connected
wirelessly and which is independent of any other networks and Access Points.
1.1.2 Before You Begin
Read the Quick Start Guide for information on making hardware connections and
using the ZyXEL utility to connect your NWD2205 to a network.
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Chapter 1 Getting Started
1.2 Features
Your NWD2205 is an IEEE 802.11n 2.0 compli ant wireless LAN adapter. It can also
connect to IEEE 802.11b/g wireless networks. The NWD2205 is WPS (Wi-Fi
Protected Setup) compliant. WPS allows you to easily set up a secure connection
with another WPS-enabled device.
The NWD2205 is a USB adapter which connects to an empty USB port on your
computer.
Figure 1 The NWD2205
A
B
The following table describes the NWD2205.
Table 1 NWD2205 External View
LABEL DESCRIPTION
A LED and also a WPS button
BUSB connector
The following table describes the operation of the NWD2205’s LEDs.
Table 2 NWD2205 LEDs
LED COLOR STATUS DESCRIPTION
Amber Slow
Blinking
Rapid
Blinking
Off The NWD2205 is either not connected or the device to
The NWD2205 is turned on, connected to an AP, and is
not transmitting or receiving data.
The NWD2205 is turned on, connected to an AP, and is
transmitting or receiving data. It also blinks when the
WPS feature is being used or a WPS connection is being
initiated.
which it is connected is turned off.
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NWD2205 User’s Guide
1.3 Software Installation
This section shows you how to install the Mac OS X version of the ZyXEL Utility.
For detailed information on using it, see Chapter 3 on page 37.
1.3.1 Minimum System Requirements
In order to install the ZyXEL Utility for Mac OS X, your computer must meet the
following minimum system requirements:
• 20 MB of free hard drive space
• 128 MB RAM
• Mac OS X 10.4 and higher
1.3.2 Installing the ZyXEL Utility
Screen shots for Macintosh 10.4 are shown in the following procedure unless
otherwise specified. The screens on your computer may differ slightly from the
screens shown here depending on the version of your operating system.
Chapter 1 Getting Started
To install the ZyXEL utility:
1 Make sure the NWD2205 is dis connected from your computer before you begin the
installation process.
2 Close all programs and applications.
3 Insert the included CD into the CD-ROM drive.
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Chapter 1 Getting Started
4 Open the folder for y our v ersion of Mac OS X on the included dis c. F or example, if
you are using 10.4 then open the MacOS10.4 Driver folder. Double-click the
Installer.mpkg to run the installation program.
5 A welcome screen appears. Follow the on-screen instructions.
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NWD2205 User’s Guide
Chapter 1 Getting Started
6 When you see the Select a Destination screen, select a destinat ion (this must be
on an actual physical hard drive on the Macintosh, not a virtual drive) and click
Continue.
7 When you see the Authenticate screen, enter the administrative password you
use to log in to the Mac computer and click OK.
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Chapter 1 Getting Started
8 You then see a screen telling you that you must restart the computer after the
installation completes. Click Continue Installation. The driver will automatically
install.
9 After installing the ZyXEL utility and device driver, you must restart your
computer. Click Restart to reboot your computer and complete the driver
installation.
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NWD2205 User’s Guide
Chapter 1 Getting Started
10 Once your computer restarts, you can find the ZyXEL utility in your Applications
folder.
11 The ZyXEL utility starts automatically after you connect the NWD2205 to the
computer.
1.3.3 Uninstalling the ZyXEL Utility
You need to remove the ZyXEL utility from your computer only when you want to
upgrade the ZyXEL utility or the ZyXEL utility cannot work properly.
Note: Disconnect the NWD2205 if you are going to uninstall or upgrade the ZyXEL
utility.
While you can drag the ZyXEL Utility from your Applications folder directly to the
Trash and remove it that way, the best and safest course of action is to run the
uninstallation program bundled on the included disc. This ensures that all
components of the application are properly removed, especially the device driver.
To uninstall the ZyXEL Utility:
1 Insert the included CD into the CD-ROM drive.
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Chapter 1 Getting Started
2 Double-click your Macintosh OS’s driver folder on the included disc. Double-click
the file Uninstall.command.
3 The command screen displays. Enter the administrative password you use to log
in to the Mac computer and press [ENTER].
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NWD2205 User’s Guide
1.4 Hardware Installation
This sections shows you how to install your NWD2205.
1 Locate an available USB port on the computer.
2 Insert the NWD2205 into an available USB port on the computer.
Chapter 1 Getting Started
The NWD2205’s LED (light) turns on if it is properly inserted.
Note: Never bend, twist or force the NWD2205 into the port. If there is not enough
space to attach the NWD2205, use the included USB cable.
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Chapter 1 Getting Started
1.5 Device Applications
This section describes some network applications for the NWD2205. Y ou can either
set the network type to Infrastructure and connect to an AP or use Ad-Hoc
mode and connect to a peer computer (another wireless device in Ad-Hoc mode).
Infrastructure
To connect to a network via an access point (AP), set the NWD2205 network type
to Infrastructure. Through the AP, you can access the Internet or the wired
network behind it.
Figure 2 Application: Infrastructure
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NWD2205 User’s Guide
Chapter 1 Getting Started
Ad-Hoc
To set up a small independent wireless workgroup without an AP, use Ad-Hoc.
Ad-Hoc does not require an AP or a wired network. Two or more wireless clients
communicate directly with each other.
Note: Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) is not available in ad-hoc mode.
Figure 3 Application: Ad-Hoc
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Chapter 1 Getting Started
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NWD2205 User’s Guide
CHAPTER 2
Wireless LANs
2.1 Overview
This section provides background information on wireless Local Area Networks.
2.1.1 What You Can Do in This Section
• Connect securely to an AP using many of the strongest and most common
encryption protocols. See Section 2.3 on page 27 for details.
• Connect securely either to an AP or computer-to-computer using WPS. See
Section 2.4 on page 29 for details.
2.1.2 What You Need to Know
The following terms and concepts may help as you read through this section.
Server
When two or more devices are connected digitally to form a network, the one that
distributes data to the other devices is known as the “server”. A RADIUS (Remote
Authentication Dial-In User Service) is a kind of server that manages logins and
logout, among other things, for the network to which it is connected.
Client
When two or more devices are connected digitally to form a network, the one that
contacts and obtains data from a server is known as the “client”. Each client is
designed to work with one or more specific kinds of servers, and each server
requires a specific kind of client . Wireless adapters are clients that connect to a
network server through an AP.
Authentication
Authentication is the process of confirming a client’s or user’ s digital identit y when
they connect to a network. Turning off authentication means disabling all security
protocols and opening your network to anyone with the means to connect to it.
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