WL-127 Wireless Fidelity Card Installation Guide First Edition June 2003 No part of this documentation, including the products and software described in it, may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by any means, except documentation kept by the purchaser for backup purposes, without the express written permission of ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. (ASUS). ASUS PROVIDES THIS DOCUMENTATION AS IS WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL ASUS, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS, LOSS OF USE OR DATA, INTERRUPTION OF BUSINESS AND THE LIKE), EVEN IF ASUS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY DEFECT OR ERROR IN THIS DOCUMENTATION OR PRODUCT. Product warranty or service will not be extended if: (1) the product is repaired, modified or altered, unless such repair, modification of alteration is authorized in writing by ASUS; or (2) the serial number of the product is defaced or missing. Products and corporate names appearing in this documentation may or may not be registered trademarks or copyrights of their respective companies, and are used only for identification or explanation and to the owners benefit, without intent to infringe. For documentation updates, visit the ASUS website at www.asus.com.tw. The specifications and information contained in this documentation are furnished for informational use only, and are subject to change at any time without notice, and should not be construed as a commitment by ASUS. ASUS assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this documentation, including the products and the software described in it. Copyright 2003 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved. 2 ASUS WL-127 Card WL-127 specifications summary*
Standard Technology Data Transfer Rate Host Interface Network Types Frequency Band Security Access Point Operating Distance Supported OS Antenna IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) 11Mbps (with automatic fallback to 5.5, 2 and 1Mbps) ASUS proprietary WL-127 interface Supports Infrastructure and Ad Hoc networks 2.4 GHz ~ 2.5 GHz 64-bit/128-bit configurable WEP encryption Software access point function supports up to 31 terminals
(Windows XP only) Indoors:
Outdoors: 1000 ft (300 m) @ 11Mbps Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP Stand-alone dipole antenna 100 ft (30 m) @ 11Mbps
*Specifications are subject to change without notice. ASUS WL-127 Card 3 1. Welcome!
Thank you for buying the ASUS WL-127 Card! The WL-127 card is a wireless network interface card for ASUS motherboards with the proprietary Wi-Fi slot. This card conforms to the IEEE 802.11b standard for wireless local area network (WLAN) assuring you of seamless integration to any wireless network. The WL-127 card is sure to keep you ahead in the world of wireless computing. 2. Package contents Check the following items in your ASUS WL-127 package. Contact your retailer if any item is damaged or missing. ASUS WL-127 card ASUS WL-127 dipole antenna Installation guide Support CD 4 ASUS WL-127 Card 3. Features The WL-127 card is an easy-to-use wireless solution for desktop PCs. Compliant with the IEEE 802.11b standard, the WL-127 card gives you freedom to connect to a wireless network and the Internet without wires and cables. Employing the Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum
(DSSS) technology, the WL-127 card is capable of transmitting and receiving signals through radio waves on the 2.4 GHz band. Check out other WL-127 card advantages. Secure data transmission via Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption Reliable data transfer rates of up to 11Mbps with automatic fallback to 5.5, 2, and 1Mbps Operating distance of up to 100 ft (30 m) indoors and 1000 ft (300m) outdoors Easy installation and full management software support Software access point function supports up to 31 terminals (on Windows XP only) Supports infrastructure (WL-127 to access point) and ad-hoc (WL-127 to another Wi-Fi device) network types Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP compatible ASUS WL-127 Card 5 4. Card installation IMPORTANT! Before installing the WL-127 card, make sure that your system meets the following requirements. 4.1 System requirements ASUS motherboard with Wi-Fi slot (P4C800/P4C800 Deluxe/P4P800/
P4P800 Deluxe/P4P8X/P4S800/P4S800D/P4V800/P4V800D/P4R800-V/A7N8X-E)*
Intel Pentium 4 system Minimum 64MB system memory Windows 98 SE/2000/ME/XP operating system CD-ROM drive for software and drivers installation NOTE. Visit the ASUS website for an updated list of motherboards with WiFi slot. 6 ASUS WL-127 Card 4.2 Hardware installation Follow these steps to install the WL-127 card in your system. CAUTION! Before handling the card, touch a bare metal portion of your PC to discharge static electricity from your body. Wear a wrist strap grounded to the PC chassis when handling the card. IMPORTANT! The PCI5 and the Wi-Fi slot may not be used simultaneously on certain motherboards. Check your motherboard documentation for this limitation. 1. Make sure that the PC is turned off. Unplug the power cord from the electrical socket. 2. Remove the PC cover. 3. Locate the Wi-Fi slot. Refer to your motherboard documentation for the Wi-Fi slot location. 4. Remove the rear panel bracket opposite the Wi-Fi slot. Keep the screw for later use. 5. Carefully insert the card into the Wi-Fi slot. To prevent incorrect orientation, one pin of the WL-127 connector is removed to match the covered hole on the Wi-Fi slot. 6. Secure the card with the screw that you removed earlier. 7. Replace the PC cover and plug in the power cord. ASUS WL-127 Card 7 9. Connect the dipole antenna twist-on connector to the antenna connector (male) of the WL-127 card. 8. Turn on the computer. 4.2.1 Indicators The WL-127 card is equipped with a Data Transmission (Green AIR) and Network Link
(Yellow LINK) LED indicators. Refer to the table below for LED indications. AIR Fast Blink ON OFF LINK ON ON OFF Meaning Transmitting/receiving data and connected to the network No data activity but connected to the network No power or not connected to the network 4.2.2 Antenna Placement Place the dipole antenna at an elevated location to maintain quality signal. Avoid placing the antenna under your table or in a close compartment. 8 ASUS WL-127 Card 4.3 Software installation Follow these steps to install the WL-127 card driver and the Control Center Utility. 1. Turn on your computer. 2. 3. Click Install ASUS WLAN Card Utilities/
Insert the support CD into the CD-ROM drive. Driver when the ASUS WL-127 installation window appears. 4. Restart your computer after the device driver and the Control Center Utility are installed. NOTE. If Autorun is NOT enabled in your computer, browse the contents of the support CD and double click the Setup.exe file to run the CD. ASUS WL-127 Card 9 4.3.1 Other support CD contents The support CD also contains the following options. Uninstall ASUS WLAN Card Utilities. Click this option to uninstall the Control Center Utility from your system. Read/Install User Documentation. Click to view the installation and quick setup guides in PDF format. Explore CD-ROM. Click this option to explore the support CD contents. Browse our Web Site. Click this option to visit the ASUS website. Click EXIT to close the installation window. 10 ASUS WL-127 Card 4.4 Windows XP Wireless Options The first time that the Control Center Utility is launched in Windows XP, it will automatically show the Wireless Options window. Select Only use ASUS utilities and disable XP wireless function to avail all WL-127 card features. Click OK. 5. Using the Control Center Utility The Control Center Utility is a management software that launches applications and activate network location settings. The Control Center Utility starts automatically when the system boots and displays an icon in the Windows taskbar. The Control Center icon serves as application launcher, and indicator of signal quality and Internet connection (see next section). ASUS WL-127 Card 11 The Control Center icon indicates the quality of link to the Access Point and whether or not the system is connected to the Internet. Refer to the table below for icon meanings. Infrastructure Network Mode (WL-127 to an Access Point) Excellent link quality and connected to the Internet Good link quality and connected to the Internet Fair link quality and connected to the Internet Poor link quality but connected to the Internet Not linked but connected to the Internet Excellent link quality but not connected to the Internet Good link quality but not connected to the Internet Fair link quality but not connected to the Internet Poor link quality and not connected to the Internet Not linked and not connected to the Internet Ad-Hoc Network Mode (WL-127 to other Wi-Fi device) Linked Not Linked Connected to the Internet 12 ASUS WL-127 Card 5.1 Control Center Right-Click Menu Right-clicking the Control Center icon displays the right-click menu. The following sections describe the right-click menu items. Tabbed Property Sheets 5.1.1 Wireless Settings The Wireless Settings is the main interface that allows users to control the ASUS WL-
127. Use the Wireless Settings to view the operational and connection status, or to modify the WL-127 configuration. The Wireless Settings window is composed of the property window and tabbed property sheets. Click the icons in the property window to display their tabbed property sheets. w o d n W i I y t r e p o r P ASUS WL-127 Card 13 Status - Status Tab The Status Tab provides general information on the WL-127 card. Association State. This field displays the connection status and MAC address of the network where the system is connected. Service Set Identifier (SSID). This field displays the SSID of the network which the card is associated or is intending to join. The SSID is a group name shared by every member of a wireless network. Only client PCs with the same SSID are allowed to establish a connection. The MAC Address field displays the hardware address of a device connected to a network. The Current Channel field displays the radio channel that the card is currently tuned. The channel changes as WL-127 scans the available channels. See page 27 for channel information. The Current Data Rate field displays the data transfer rate between the WL-127 card and the access point. 14 ASUS WL-127 Card The Radio State field displays the radio communication status. Click the Disable Radio button if you wish to disable radio communication with the access point. Rescan button - Click to allow WL-127 to scan available wireless networks and to connect to the network with the best signal quality. Change SSID button - Click to change the SSID. Clicking this button opens the Config-Basic window. See page 17 for details. Search and Connect button - Click to view all wireless networks within the range of your system. Clicking this button opens the Site Survey window. See page 21 for details. Status - Connection Tab The Connection Tab provides real-time information on connection throughput, frame errors, signal strength, link quality and overall connection quality in graph representation. ASUS WL-127 Card 15 Status - IP Config Tab The IP Config tab displays the current host and ethernet adapter configurations. IP Config displays TCP/IP information including the IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, DNS and Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) configurations. Use the IP Config Tab to verify your network settings. IP Buttons IP Release. Click to release the DHCP IP address for the WL-127 card. IP Renew. Click to renew the DHCP IP address for the WL-127 card. IP Buttons NOTE. The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) allows a computer or computers on a network to be automatically assigned a single IP address from a DHCP server. 16 ASUS WL-127 Card Config - Basic Tab The Basic tab provides general information on network types and other configurations. Network Type. Select which type of network you wish to use. Select Infrastructure mode to establish a connection with an Access Point (AP). In this mode, your system can access wireless LAN and wired LAN (Ethernet) via the AP. Select the Ad Hoc mode to communicate directly with other Wi-Fi devices within the WL-127 operating range. Network Name - Displays the network SSID. The network SSID is a string use to identify a wireless LAN. Assign different SSIDs to segment the wireless LAN and increase network security. Set the SSID to a null string to allow your station to connect to any available Access Point. Null string may not be used in Ad Hoc mode. Channel. In Infrastructure mode, WL-127 automatically selects the correct frequency channel. In Ad Hoc mode, select a channel that is allowed for use in your country/region. See page 27 for channel information. ASUS WL-127 Card 17 Data Rate. Select Fully Auto to allow WiFi-b to adjust to the most suitable connection. You may also fix data transfer rates to 11, 5.5, 2 and 1 Mbps. PS Mode. This field allows control of the WL-127 card power saving features. The CAM
(Constantly Awake mode) is recommended for systems running on AC power. Others. Click the WEP or Advanced link to open the Encryption or Advanced property tab sheet. Config - EncryptionTab Wireless data transmissions between your WL-
127 and the AP are secured using the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption. Check the Data encryption (WEP enabled) option to assign the WEP keys. Check the Network Authentication (Shared Mode) option if you wish to use a network key to authenticate a preferred wireless network. Unchecking this option allows the network to operate on an Open System mode. 18 ASUS WL-127 Card Key Format allows you to set a hexadecimal digit or ASCII character WEP key. Key Length allows you to choose a 64-bit or a 128-bit WEP key. A 64-bit encryption contains 10 hexadecimal digits or 5 ASCII characters. A 128-bit encryption contains 26 hexadecimal digits or 13 ASCII characters. NOTE. 64-bit and 40-bit WEP keys use the same encryption method and can interoperate on wireless networks. This lower level of WEP encryption uses a 40-bit
(10 hexadecimal digits assigned by the user) secret key and a 24-bit Initialization Vector assign by the WL-127. 104-bit and 128-bit WEPs uses the same encryption method. Two ways to assign WEP keys Manual Assignment. For a 64-bit encryption, enter 10 hexadecimal digits (0~9, a~f, A~F) in each of the four WEP keys. Automatic Generation. Type a combination of up to 64 letters, numbers, or symbols in the Passphrase field. The Wireless Settings Utility uses an algorithm to generate four WEP keys based on the typed combination. ASUS WL-127 Card 19 NOTE. After assigning the WEP keys, Click APPLY to save and activate the encryption. Manually assigned encryptions are more secured than automatically generated encryptions. Config - Advanced The Advanced tab displays the WL-127 card advance settings. It is recommended that you do not make any changes on these settings. 20 ASUS WL-127 Card Site Survey The Site Survey tab displays the available networks within the range of the WL-127 card. The following network attributes are displayed:
BSSID - The IEEE MAC address of the network SSID - SSID (service set identifier) of the network. CH - Direct sequence channel used by the network. RSSI - Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI) in dBm. Type - wireless network mode. AP indicates an Infrastructure network type. STA indicates an Ad Hoc network type. WEP - shows whether a network has an enabled (On) or disabled (Off) WEP encryption. Select an available network and click Connect to establish connection. Click Search to rescan available networks. ASUS WL-127 Card 21 About Click the About icon to view the software version, driver version, and copyright information. Link State Displays the current connection status of the WL-
127 card to the AP or to other Wi-Fi device. 22 ASUS WL-127 Card 5.1.2 Help Menu The Control Center Utility is equipped with a Help menu to guide you in using and configuring the WL-127 card. Right-click the Control Center icon on the taskbar, then select Help. Select the Help menu you wish to browse. 5.1.3 Configuring your system as an Access Point (AP) The Control Center Utility can configure your system as soft access point (AP). The WL-127 soft AP function can support up to 31 wireless clients. Before configuring your system as soft AP, make sure your system meets the following requirements:
Connection to the Internet (cable, DSL, satellite, etc) and wired LAN Windows XP operating system ASUS WL-127 Card 23 Follow these instructions to configure your system as soft AP. Right-click the Control Center icon on the taskbar, then select Change Mode in the pop-up menu. A Change Mode window appears. Select SoftAP Mode. Click OK. The Access Point icon replaces the Control Center icon in the Windows taskbar. IMPORTANT. Make sure that the network type of wireless clients is set to Infrastructure mode. Wireless clients must also have the same SSID with the soft AP to establish connection. 24 ASUS WL-127 Card 5.1.4 Preferences The Preferences window allows you to customize the Control Center Utility settings. 5.1.5 About Control Center The About Control Center menu displays the software, drivers, and copyright information. ASUS WL-127 Card 25 5.2 Control Center Left-Click Menu Left-clicking the Control Center icon displays the Left-Click menu. The options are described below. Wireless Radio On Turns the WL-127 radio ON. Wireless Radio Off Turns the WL-127 radio OFF. Search & Connect View available wireless networks within range. Wireless Option (Windows XP only) Sets your Windows XP wireless networking environment. See page 11 for details. 26 ASUS WL-127 Card 6. Appendix 6.1 Channels The IEEE 802.11b standard for Wireless LAN allocated the 2.4 GHz frequency band into 14 overlapping operating channels. Each channel corresponds to a different set of frequencies. The table below shows the center frequencies of each channel. Channel 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Center Frequency 2.412 GHz 2.417 GHz 2.422 GHz 2.427 GHz 2.432 GHz 2.437 GHz 2.442 GHz Channel 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Center Frequency 2.447 GHz 2.452 GHz 2.457 GHz 2.462 GHz 2.467 GHz 2.472 GHz 2.484 GHz IMPORTANT! If several WL-127 devices are operating in the same vicinity, the distance between the center frequencies of channels used must be at least 25 MHz to avoid interference. ASUS WL-127 Card 27 The number of channels available for the WL-127 varies by country/region. Refer to the table below to determine the number of channels available in your location. Country/Region United States (FCC) and Canada (IC) Europe (ETSI) except Spain and France Spain France Japan (MKK) Available Channels Channels 1 to 11 Channels 1 to 13 Channels 10 and 11 Channels 10 to 13 Channels 1 to 14 NOTE. Channels 1,6 and 11 are independent and do not overlap each other. It is recommended to tune your WL-127 card to these channels. 28 ASUS WL-127 Card 6.2 Safety Information In order to maintain compliance with the FCC RF exposure guidelines, this equipment should be installed and operated with minimum distance [20cm] between the radiator and your body. Use only with supplied antenna. Unauthorized antenna, modification, or attachments could damage the transmitter and may violate FCC regulations. CAUTION! Any changes or modifications not expressly approved in this manual could void your authorization to use this device. MPE Statement Your device contains a low power transmitter. When device is transmitted it sends out Radio Frequency (RF) signal. Caution Statement of the FCC Radio Frequency Exposure This Wireless LAN radio device has been evaluated under FCC Bulletin OET 65C and found compliant to the requirements as set forth in CFR 47 Sections 2.1091, and 15.247(b)(4) addressing RF Exposure from radio frequency devices. The radiation output power of this Wireless LAN device is far below the FCC radio frequency exposure limits. Nevertheless, this device shall be used in such a manner that the potential for human contact during normal operation is minimized. Use in a portable or body-worn configuration is strictly prohibited. ASUS WL-127 Card 29
prohibited. When using this device, a certain separation distance between antenna and nearby persons has to be kept to ensure RF exposure compliance. In order to comply with the RF exposure limits established in the ANSI C95.1 standards, the distance between the antennas and the user should not be less than [20cm]. 30 ASUS WL-127 Card __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ASUS WL-127 Card 31 ASUS Contact Information ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. (Asia-Pacific) Marketing Address:
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