Wireless PCMCIA Card User Manual Version : 1.0 Wireless PCMCIA Card C o p y r i g h t Copyright 2002 by this company. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language or computer language, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual or otherwise, without the prior written permission of this company. This company makes no representations or warranties, either expressed or implied, with respect to the contents hereof and specifically disclaims any warranties, merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Any software described in this manual is sold or licensed "as is". Should the programs prove defective following their purchase, the buyer (and not this company, its distributor, or its dealer) assumes the entire cost of all necessary servicing, repair, and any incidental or consequential damages resulting from any defect in the software. Further, this company reserves the right to revise this publication and to make changes from time to time in the contents hereof without obligation to notify any person of such revision or changes. All brand and product names mentioned in this manual are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective holders. 1 Wireless PCMCIA Card Federal Communication Commission Interference Statement This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of 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 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 technician for help. FCC Caution: To assure continued compliance.(example-use only shielded interface cables when connecting to computer or peripheral devices). Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the users authority to operate the equipment. 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. Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the authority to operate equipment. 2 Wireless PCMCIA Card Federal Communication Commission (FCC ) Radiation Exposure Statement This equipment complies with FCC radiation exposure set forth for an uncontrolled environment. In order to avoid the possibility of exceeding the FCC radio frequency exposure limits, this device and its antenna(s) must not be co-located or operating in conjunction with any other antenna R&TTE Compliance Statement This equipment complies with all the requirements of DIRECTIVE 1999/5/CE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF 9 March 1999 on radio equipment and telecommunication terminal Equipment and the mutual recognition of their conformity ( R&TTE) The R&TTE Directive the directive 98/13/EEC(Telecommunications Terminal Equipment and Satellite Earth Station Equipment) As of April 8,2000. repeals and replaces in Safety This equipment is designed with the utmost care for the safety of those who install and use it. However , special attention must be paid to the dangers of electric shock and static electricity when working with electrical equipment. All guidelines of this and of the computer manufacture must therefore be allowed at all times to ensure the safe use of the equipment. EU Countries Not Intended for Use The ETSI version of this device is intended for home and office use in Austria Belgium, Denmark , Finland , France ( with Frequency channel restrictions). Germany ,Greece, Ireland , Italy , Luxembourg .The Netherlands, Portugal , Spain , Sweden and United Kingdom. The ETSI version of this device is also authorized for use in EFTA member states Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. 3 Wireless PCMCIA Card EU Countries Not intended for use None. Potential restrictive use France: Only channels 10,11,12 ,and 13 4 Wireless PCMCIA Card Manual Contents Chapter 1 Introduction6 Chapter 2 Installation .7 Chapter 3 Configuring Utility ...10 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Monitor
........................................................ 11 Statistic ................................................................. 13 Site Survey ............................................................ 14 Encryption ............................................................. 15 Advanced ............................................................... 16 Version .................................................................. 17 Chapter 4 Technical Specifications..18 Chapter 5 Troubleshooting.19 5 Wireless PCMCIA Card Switzerland. EU Countries Not intended for use None. Potential restrictive use France: Only channels 10,11,12 ,and 13 4 Wireless PCMCIA Card Manual Contents Chapter 1 Introduction6 Chapter 2 Installation .7 Chapter 3 Configuring Utility ...11 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Status ................................................................. 12 Statistic ................................................................. 14 Site Survey ........................................................... 15 Encryption
............................................................ 16 Advanced
............................................................. 17 Version ................................................................. 18 Chapter 4 Technical Specifications..19 Chapter 5 Troubleshooting.20 5 Wireless PCMCIA Card Thank you for purchasing Wireless PCMCIA Card. This device features the latest innovation wireless technology making the wireless networking world happened. This manual guides you on how to install and properly use the Wireless PCMCIA Card in order to take full advantage of its features. Package Contents Before installation, please check the items of your package. The package should include the following items:
One Wireless PCMCIA Card One Quick Guide One CD-Based software(Including the Wireless Management Utility & Driver & User Guide ) LAN If any of the above items are missing, contact your supplier as soon as possible. Minimum System Requirements Before installation, please check the following requirements with your equipment. Pentium Based (above) IBM-compatible PC system with an PCMCIA support CD-ROM driver Windows 98/2000/ME Operating System At least 500Kbytes of free disk space for utility and driver installation 6 Wireless PCMCIA Card SAFETY PRECAUTION Only use the accessories and connection cables attached with the device package. Otherwise, the device may not function. If you miss or damage the accessories or connection cables, please contact your local dealer. 7 Wireless PCMCIA Card Before you proceed with the installation, it is necessary that you have enough information about the Wireless PCMCIA Card Note1:The following installation operates under Window 2000. Procedures will be the same for Window 98/ME Note2: If you ever install the Wireless PCMCIA Card before ,please uninstall the old driver and utility first. If this is the first time to install the Wireless PCMCIA Card, please continue from A step to use the Wizard to continue. A. Execute the Setup.exe program under the PCMCIA->
Driver&Utility folder .The following InstallShield Wizard box will show up to guide you how to install properly then click Next. 8 Wireless PCMCIA Card B. Below dialog show the License Agreement .To install the device you must accept this agreement to continue the process or select no to exit the installation. Select Yes to continue. C. Choose the Application , USB , PCI , PCMCIA Drivers type under the Adapter Type Dialog Window. Then click the Next to continue. 9 Wireless PCMCIA Card D. Click the next to search for already installed component. E. To install to this folder in program files, click Next .To install to a different folder click Browse and select another folder .Then click Next . 10 Wireless PCMCIA Card F. Click Next to begin copying file to your hard disk. G. After Windows 2000 finishes copying the files, it shows Window has finished installing the software for this device .Click Finish to complete the installation. When you complete the installation, the Configuration &
Monitor Utility icon will be shown on system tray, If not, that mean the installation is fail. Please uninstall the driver form the system then repeat the installation process. Now, the Wireless LAN PCMCIA Card is SUCCESSFULLY installed. 11 Wireless PCMCIA Card The Configuration Utility is a powerful application that helps you to configure the Wireless PCMCIA Card and monitor the statistics of the communication process. By Double Click the icon on the system tray will brings you to the configuration mode. This utility can be used to change the following configuration parameters when the device is active. Following details the configuration tabs. NOTE
:Click the Exit button will exit the configuration application. Status 3.1 Click the Change tab when set up the necessary parameters, and click Submit after the configuration has been changed. 12 Wireless PCMCIA Card u Operation mode
: Shows the following network modes
Infrastructure -- This operation mode requires the
presence of an 802.11 Access Point. All communication is done via the Access Point.
Ad-Hoc -- This mode indicates the 802.11 peer-to-peer operation. All communication is done from client to client without the use of an Access Point. u Channel : Shows the number of the radio channel used for the networking. Only Access Points and Ad-Hoc nodes creates the BSSID. This parameters is not active in the infrastructure operation mode. u SSID : Shows the SSID of the BSS that one willing to join. u Tx Rate :
Shows the Data Transfer Rate. There are 1 Mbps, 2M bps, 5.5 Mbps, 11 Mbps, and auto mode. If Auto Mode is been selected, the device will select the most suitable rate automatically. u Power Mgmt Mode : Shows Power Management modes. There are two optional selections for this mode.
Active -- Adaptor will always set in active mode.
Power Save -- Adaptor will enter power saving mode when it is idle. u Signal Strength : This bar shows the signal strength level. The higher the blue bar , the more radio signal been received by the WLAN PC Card. This indicator helps to find the most comfortable antenna/workstation position for quality network operation. u Link quality : The measured Signal Strength level gives the overall Link Quality and Connection Status. u MAC Address : The MAC Address of the Wireless PCMCIA Card. Unique 48-bit, hard-coded Media Access Control address known as the station identifier. 13 Wireless PCMCIA Card 3.2 Statistics Shows the total amounts of packets been received or transmitted by the adaptor. u Data Field
: Shows the total amounts of data packets been successful/unsuccessful transmitted or received by the adaptor.. u Management Field : Shows the total amounts of management packets been successful/unsuccessful transmitted or received by the adaptor. u Rejected Packets Field : Shows the total amounts of rejected packets been transmitted or received by the adaptor. 14 Wireless PCMCIA Card 3.3 Site Survey This screen shows all the AP or Adaptor nearby when operating in Ad-Hoc mode. Click Re-Scan to collect the BSSID and Channel information of all the wireless devices near by. If one wish to connect to any device on the list, double-click the selected list and the adaptor will connect to the selected device automatically. 15 Wireless PCMCIA Card 3.4 Encryption Additional security can be achieved by using the WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) encryption. WEP encrypts each frame transmitted from the radio using one of the keys entered from this panel. There are four 10 Hex digit encryption keys value available for the WEP. One can define the encryption key values of their own choice. Enable the WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) option in order to activate WEP encryption for transmissions between the stations and the Access Point. WEP is an authentication algorithm which protects authorized Wireless LAN users against eavesdropping. 16 Wireless PCMCIA Card 3.5 Advanced There are Preamble Type, Fragmentation Threshold, and RTS/CTS Threshold setting under this mode. u Preamble Type (Short/Long) : Preamble is the first subfield of PPDU, which is the appropriate frame format for transmission to PHY (Physical layer). There are two options, Short Preamble and Long Preamble. The Short Preamble option improves throughput performance. u Fragmentation threshold
: The size at which packets will be fragmented. Choose a setting within a range of 256 to 2346 bytes. u RTS Threshold : Minimum packet size to require an RTS
(Request To Send). For packets smaller than this threshold, an RTS is not sent and the packet is transmitted directly to the WLAN. This is the option for the RTS Threshold activation. 17 Wireless PCMCIA Card 3.6 Version It shows the current Driver, Firmware, and Application Version of this device. 18 Wireless PCMCIA Card
Standard : IEEE802.11b
Frequency Band : 2.400 GHz ~2.4835GHz
Data Rate : Up to 11Mbps
Interface : PCMCIA Type
Transmission Range : Outdoor:100~300M , Indoor: 40~100M
LED Indicators : Link
Power consumption : 5V DC,1.0A
Operating Temperature : 0 to 55
Storage Temperature : -20 to 70
Operating Humidity : 0% to 70% Non-Condensing
Storage Humidity : 0% to 95% Non-condensing
Data Encryption : 64 bit/128 bit WEP Encryption
Software : Configuration Utility software
Compatibility : Windows 98/2000/ME, Windows XP
Certification : FCC, CE
Dimensions : 110x 54x 6mm This section provides solutions to problems usually encountered 19 Wireless PCMCIA Card during the installation and operation of this Wireless PCMCIA Card. Read the description below to solve your problems.
What is the IEEE 802.11b standardH The IEEE 802.11b Wireless LAN standards subcommittee, which is formulating a standard for the industry. The objective is to enable wireless LAN hardware from different manufactures to communicate.
What IEEE 802.11 feature are supportedH The product supports the following IEEE 802.11 functions:
E CSMA/CA plus Acknowledge protocol E Multi-Channel Roaming E Automatic Rate Selection E RTS/CTS feature E Fragmentation E Power Management
What is Ad-hocH An Ad-hoc integrated wireless LAN is a group of computers, each with a WLAN adapter, Connected as an independent wireless LAN. Ad hoc wireless LAN is applicable at a departmental scale for a branch or SOHO operation.
What is InfrastructureH An integrated wireless and wireless and wired LAN is called an Infrastructure configuration. Infrastructure is applicable to enterprise scale for wireless access to central database, or wireless application for mobile workers.
What is BSS IDH A specific Ad hoc LAN is called a Basic Service Set
(BSS). Computers in a BSS must be configured with the same BSS ID.
What is WEPH WEP is Wired Equivalent Privacy, a data privacy mechanism based on a 40 bit shared key algorithm, as 20 Wireless PCMCIA Card described in the IEEE 802 .11 standard.
Can Wireless products support printer sharingH Wireless products perform the same function as LAN products. Therefore, Wireless products can work with Netware, Windows NT/2000, or other LAN operating systems to support printer or file sharing.
Would the information be intercepted while transmitting on airH WLAN features two-fold protection in security. On the hardware side, as with Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum technology, it has the inherent security feature of scrambling. On the software side, WLAN series offer the encryption function (WEP) to enhance security and Access Control. Users can set it up depending upon their needs.
What is DSSSH What is FHSSH And what are their differencesH Frequency-hopping spread-spectrum (FHSS) uses a narrowband carrier that changes frequency in a pattern that is known to both transmitter and receiver. Properly synchronized, the net effect is to maintain a single logical channel. To an unintended receiver, FHSS appears to be short-duration impulse noise. Direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) generates a redundant bit pattern for each bit to be transmitted. This bit pattern is called a chip (or chipping code). The longer the chip, the greater the probability that the original data can be recovered. Even if one or more bits in the chip are damaged during transmission, statistical techniques embedded in the radio can recover the original data without-the need for retransmission. To an unintended receiver, DSSS appears as low power wideband noise and is rejected (ignored) by most narrowband receivers. 21 Wireless PCMCIA Card
What is Spread SpectrumH Spread Spectrum technology is a wideband radio frequency technique developed by the military for use in reliable, secure, mission-critical communication systems. It is designed to trade off bandwidth efficiency for reliability, integrity, and security. In other words, more bandwidth is consumed than in the case of narrowband transmission , but the trade off produces a signal that is, in effect, louder and thus easier to detect, provided that the receiver knows the parameters of the spread-spectrum signal being broadcast. If a receiver is not tuned to the right frequency, a spread spectrum signal looks like background noise. There are two main alternatives, Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) and Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS). 22