FCCID: PPD-AR5BAP-00030 AP Users Guide Revision October 2001 for Release 1.2 Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. AP Users Guide Page 1 October 2001 Preliminary 20002001 by Atheros Communications, Inc. All rights reserved. ATHEROS, the Atheros logo, 5-UP, Driving the Wireless Future, Atheros Driven, Atheros Turbo Mode and the Air is Cleaner at 5-GHz are trademarks of Atheros Communications, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders. Notice The information in this document has been carefully reviewed and is believed to be accurate. Nonetheless, this document is subject to change without notice, and Atheros Communications, Inc.
(Atheros) assumes no responsibility for any inaccuracies that may be contained in this document, and makes no commitment to update or to keep current the contained information, or to notify a person or organization of any updates. Atheros reserves the right to make changes, at any time, in order to improve reliability, function or design and to attempt to supply the best product possible. Atheros does not represent that products described herein are free from patent infringement or from any other third party right. No part of this document may be reproduced, adapted or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, except as expressly set forth in a written agreement signed by Atheros. Atheros or its affiliates may have patents or pending patent applications, trademarks, copyrights, maskwork rights or other intellectual property rights that apply to the ideas, material and information expressed herein. No license to such rights is provided except as expressly set forth in a written agreement signed by Atheros. ATHEROS MAKES NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WITH REGARD TO THE CONTENT OF THIS DOCUMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL ATHEROS BE LIABLE FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL SPECULATORY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING FROM THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THIS PRODUCT OR DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBLITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN PARTICULAR, ATHEROS SHALL NOT HAVE LIABILITY FOR ANY HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, OR DATA TRANSMITTED OR OTHERWISE USED WITH THE PRODUCT, INCLUDING THE COSTS OF REPAIRING, REPLACING, INTEGRATING, INSTALLING OR RECOVERING SUCH HARDWARE, SOFTWARE OR DATA. ATHEROS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AS THEY MIGHT OTHERWISE APPLY TO THIS DOCUMENT AND TO THE IDEAS, MATERIAL AND INFORMATION EXPRESSED HEREIN. Document Number: 984-00001-002 Page 2 AP Users Guide October 2001 Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. Preliminary Table of Contents 1 1.1 1.2 2.1 2.2 2.3 INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................4 PACKAGE CONTENTS ............................................................................................4 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.......................................................................................4 2 GETTING TO KNOW THE ATHEROS ACCESS POINT .................................5 FRONT VIEW .........................................................................................................5 REAR VIEW...........................................................................................................6 AP NETWORK ATTACHMENT AND CONFIGURATION.............................................8 Booting VxWorks From the Ethernet Connection to the HPC ..................13 Booting VxWorks From Flash Memory.....................................................15 CONFIGURING THE AP ........................................................................................16 Web Browser..............................................................................................16 Command-Line Interface...........................................................................19 REGULATORY COMPLIANCE INFORMATION........................................................22 C O P Y 2.3.1 2.3.2 2.4.1 2.4.2 2.4 2.5 N O T D O Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. AP Users Guide Page 3 October 2001 Preliminary 1 Introduction C O P Y 1.1 Package Contents The Atheros AR5BAP-00030 Access Point is provided in a completely enclosed plastic housing with two 180 swivel antennas, a power supply, and a serial cable for use in AP software configuration. The AP Reference Design contains a single 10/100 Ethernet port. Using this Ethernet port, a RJ-45 cable, (not provided) should be used to connect the AP to a wired Ethernet LAN. real-time operating environment, 1.2 System Requirements The AP uses the WindRiver Systems VxWorks Version 5.4. VxWorks documentation can be obtained through a license agreement with WindRiver Systems. See www.wrs.com for more information about VxWorks licensing. The AP contains a small boot executive that allows the main VxWorks system software to be downloaded using the Ethernet port over an FTP connection. The VxWorks system software can also reside in the Flash memory of the AP, which allows booting without the need to download VxWorks from the host PC over an FTP connection. A configuration file is created in Flash memory to store user configurable parameters such as WEP keys. A terminal or PC with a serial interface and an Ethernet connection is required to perform the initial VxWorks system software loading operation as well as AP configuration. A freeware FTP server (a-ftp.exe) is included on the Atheros distribution CD in the \utils directory. N O T D O Page 4 AP Users Guide October 2001 Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. Preliminary 2 Getting to Know the Atheros Access Point 2.1 Front View The Atheros Reference Design Access Point (AP) has 3 LEDs, and a pair of side-
mounted antennas that rotate 180 for alternative reception positioning and compact packaging. Fold this way for wall mount C O P Y Fold this way for storage and packaging LED 3 (Wireless Link) LED 2 (Ethernet Link) LED 1 (Power Status) N O T D O No Power Table 1 LED Functionality Description Power On and Ready for Operation Power On but Not Ready for Operation at initial power on or reset, this indicates self-test or software loading; at other times, this indicates a system fault LED 1 Off On Blink Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. AP Users Guide Page 5 October 2001 Amber On Amber Blink LED 3 Very Slow Blink Slow Blink Fast Blink LED 2 Preliminary Description Off No Ethernet Link Detected Green On 100 Mbps Link Detected but No Activity Green Blink 100 Mbps Link Activity blink rate is proportional to activity 10 Mbps Link Detected but No Activity 10 Mbps Link Activity blink rate is proportional to activity Description C O P Y Off Wireless Link Disabled 2.2 Rear View The rear panel of the AP has a RS-232 serial interface, a RJ-45 Ethernet jack, a reset button, and a power supply connector, Associated with Network blink rate is proportional to activity Looking for Network Association Associated with Network but No Activity N O T D O RS-232 Serial Interface RJ-45 Ethernet Jack Power Supply Connector Reset Button Page 6 AP Users Guide October 2001 Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. Preliminary The RS-232 serial interface is capable of 115 kbps operation, and is provided for the purpose of configuring the AP through a terminal interface and connectivity to other external devices such as analog modems. The AP software provides a selectable serial interface data format to allow selection of the number of start, stop, data, and parity bits. By default the serial interface is set to 9600 baud, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit, and no parity. Use the serial cable provided by Atheros to attach to a terminal or PC for AP configuration. The RJ-45 Ethernet jack is provided for 10/100 Mbps connectivity to a wired Ethernet LAN. The Ethernet subsystem is based on a single chip 10/100 Mbps integrated PCI Ethernet Media Access Controller (MAC) + PHY (DP83815) from National Semiconductor Corporation. An on-board MAX6713 reset circuit provides reset to processor, memory, and PCI devices. A manual push-button reset option provides easy generation of the reset signal without cycling power to the AP. A 3.3 V power supply is provided to power the AP. C O P Y A 3.3 V power supply is provided and is plugged into the power supply connector To ensure compliance with FCC RF exposure requirements, the antenna used for this device must be installed to provide a separation distance of at least 20 cm from all persons. of the AP. Installation Note:
N O T D O Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. AP Users Guide Page 7 October 2001 Preliminary 2.3 AP Network Attachment and Configuration AP Network Configuration and Network Boot Figure 1 shows an example connection of the AP to a Host PC (HPC). Follow these steps to establish the physical connections:
1. Plug the serial cable from the AP RS-232 serial interface to the HPC serial COM port. 2. Connect the AP Ethernet port to the HPC Ethernet card through the Ethernet hub/switch or an Ethernet crossover cable. An Ethernet switch/hub or crossover cable is not included with the Atheros AP Reference Design. 3. Plug in the 3.3 V power supply adapter (provided by Atheros) to the AP power C O P Y supply connector. Atheros Access Point Host PC
(HPC) COM Port Ethernet Port N O T D O Hub/Switch Ethernet Ethernet Cable Ethernet Cable COM Port Serial Cable
(AP) Ethernet Port Power Power Supply Figure 1 Connection Between AP and Host PC At this point, the HPC needs the following configuration steps in order to control the AP:
1. From the Start menu, choose Settings and open the Network and Dial-up Connections window. 2. Right-click on the Local Area Connection icon, which belongs to the Ethernet controller that is connected to the AP and select Properties. Page 8 AP Users Guide October 2001 Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. Preliminary 3. Within the Local Area Connection Properties window, choose Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP) and click Properties. C O P Y N O T D O Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. AP Users Guide Page 9 October 2001 Preliminary 4. Configure the IP address for the Ethernet connection in the Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP) Properties window. Click OK to continue, and close Local Area Connection Properties. Note that this IP address is used by the AP to access the VxWorks files stored on the HPC using the Ethernet connection. C O P Y N O T D O Page 10 AP Users Guide October 2001 Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. Preliminary 5. The AP uses File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to download the VxWorks image from the HPC. A freeware FTP software package is included on the Atheros distribution CD in the \utils directory. Make sure there is no other FTP program such as Internet Information Service (IIS) running on the HPC. Double-click a-ftp.exe under the \utils folder in the distribution CD to start the FTP server. This utility runs in the background to perform the required data transfer between the AP and HPC. C O P Y N O T D O 6. The HPC is ready to control the AP through the serial interface. A terminal program such as HyperTerminal needs to run on the HPC. To launch HyperTerminal, go to the Start menu, select Programs, Accessories, Communications, and HyperTerminal. Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. AP Users Guide Page 11 October 2001 Preliminary 7. Type any name under the Name field in the Connection Description dialog box and click OK. C O P Y 8. Select COM1 or the COM port that is connected to the AP through the serial cable. Click OK to continue. N O T D O Page 12 AP Users Guide October 2001 Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. Preliminary 9. Set COM port settings to 9600 Bits per second, 8 Data bits, None Parity, 1 Stop bits, and no Flow control. Click OK, and plug the AP power supply into the power source to start the connection. C O P Y N O T D O 10. An auto-boot message appears on HyperTerminal a few seconds after the AP is connected to the power source. Press any key to stop the auto-boot process and follow Section 3.1.1 to load the VxWorks file over the Ethernet connection, or Section 3.1.2 to load the VxWorks file from Flash memory. 2.3.1 Booting VxWorks From the Ethernet Connection to the HPC Follow these steps to configure the AP to boot VxWorks from the Ethernet:
1. Type c at the command prompt to configure the AP. 2. Follow the Boot from Ethernet settings described in Table 2 to enter the parameters in the configuration steps. Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. AP Users Guide Page 13 October 2001 Preliminary 3. Press @ (Shift + 2) to continue, and the VxWorks image is loaded into the SDRAM using the Ethernet connection. C O P Y Table 2 Configuration Parameters For Booting VxWorks N O T D O Boot from Flash Default Setting
/fl/vxworks tffs0:
0 Any value Boot from Ethernet National Semiconductor dp0 0 Location of VxWorks stored in Host PC IP address assigned to AP Blank IP address set for the Ethernet device in Host PC FTP login name (i.e. anonymous) Any value FTP password 0x0 Blank Blank See AP Programmers Guide for details dp boot device processor number host name file name inet on ethernet (e) inet on backplane
(b) host inet (h) gateway inet (g) user (u) ftp password (pw) flags (f) target name (tn) startup script (s) other (o) Page 14 AP Users Guide October 2001 Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. Preliminary 2.3.2 Booting VxWorks From Flash Memory Follow these steps to configure the AP to boot VxWorks from Flash memory. Refer to Appendix B (Download Software Image section on page Error! Bookmark not defined.) for CLI commands to load the VxWorks image file to the Flash file system, if VxWorks does not exist in Flash memory. 1. At the command prompt, type c to enter the configuration parameters. 2. Follow the default Boot from Flash settings described in Table 2 to enter the configuration parameters. 3. Enter @ to load VxWorks. C O P Y N O T D O Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. AP Users Guide Page 15 October 2001 Preliminary 2.4 Configuring the AP When the VxWorks system software is loaded, the AP has to be configured to set some options such as the channel frequency and Service Set Identifier (SSID). This can be done in two ways, either through a web browser with access to the built-in AP web server, or by issuing commands through the serial port command line interface (CLI). 2.4.1 Web Browser The following procedures show the steps to configure the channel frequency and SSID using a web browser:
1. Launch a web browser (Netscape Navigator or Internet Explorer are examples of commonly used web browsers) from the Host PC or other PC on the same IP subnet as the AP, and enter the IP address that is assigned to the AP as the URL. This is the inet on ethernet (e) value specified during the configuration step in Section 3.1.1 or Section 3.1.2. The Access Point Web Server page appears. C O P Y N O T D O Page 16 AP Users Guide October 2001 Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. Preliminary 2. Click Setup. A dialog box appears that requests login authorization. When prompted, enter the following information to log in:
Log in: Admin Password: 5up Click OK to complete the login process. C O P Y N O T D O Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. AP Users Guide Page 17 October 2001 Preliminary 4. Optionally, you can also set up Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) for security purposes. To set up WEP, click WEP and the configuration screen appears. Refer to Appendix A for a detailed explanation of the WEP configuration options. Click Apply to save the settings. Note that the Un-Encrypted Frames filter option (previously available in release 1.0) is now removed. C O P Y N O T D O Page 18 AP Users Guide October 2001 Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. Preliminary 2.4.2 Command-Line Interface The following procedures show the steps required to configure the AP channel frequency and SSID using the command-line (CLI) interface and HyperTerminal. 1. After the AP boots and VxWorks loads, press Enter to invoke the AP login:
prompt. When prompted, enter the following information to log in:
Login: Admin Password: 5up Press Enter to complete the login process. C O P Y N O T D O Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. AP Users Guide Page 19 October 2001 Preliminary 2. Type set ssid <SSID> to change the SSID that you wish to specify. Type set channel <channel> to change the IEEE radio channel. You must type reboot and then press Enter, which reboots the AP, to make any changes effective. C O P Y N O T D O Page 20 AP Users Guide October 2001 Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. Preliminary 3. To view CLI command options, log in and type help or refer to Appendix B for details about CLI options. C O P Y N O T D O Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice. AP Users Guide Page 21 October 2001 Preliminary 2.5 Regulatory Compliance Information Radio Frequency Interference Requirements This device is restricted to indoor use due to its operation in the 5.15 to 5.25 GHz frequency range. FCC requires this product to be used indoors for the frequency range 5.15 to 5.25 GHz to reduce the potential for harmful interference to co-channel Mobile Satellite systems. High power radars are allocated as primary users of the 5.25 to 5.35 GHz and 5.65 to 5.85 GHz bands. These radar stations can cause interference with and /or damage this device. C O P Y FCC WARNING 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 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, with can be determined by turning the equipment of and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by on or more of the following measures:
Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna. Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that which the receiver is Increase the separation between the equipment and the receiver. connected. Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TXV technician for help. Modifications made to the product, unless expressly approved by Atheros Communications, could void the users authority to operate the equipment. RF Exposure Requirements To ensure compliance with FCC RF exposure requirements, the antenna used for this device must be installed to provide a separation distance of at least 20 cm from all persons and must not be co-located or operating in conjunction with any other antenna or radio transmitter. Installers and end-users must follow the installation instructions provided in this user guide. N O T D O Page 22 AP Users Guide October 2001 Atheros Confidential and Proprietary Subject to change without notice.