VNT6656AU USER MANUAL Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005 VIA NETWORKING TECHNOLOGIES, INC. Copyright Notice:
Copyright 2004, VIA Networking Technologies, Incorporated. All Rights Reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual or otherwise without the prior written permission of VIA Networking Technologies, Incorporated. VNT6656AU may only be used to identify WLAN products of VIA Networking Technologies. is a registered trademark of VIA Networking Technologies, Incorporated. All trademarks are the properties of their respective owners. Disclaimer Notice:
No license is granted, implied or otherwise, under any patent or patent rights of VIA Networking Technologies Inc. VIA Networking Technologies Inc. makes no warranties, implied or otherwise, in regard to this document and to the products described in this document. The information provided by this document is believed to be accurate and reliable as of the publication date of this document. However, VIA Networking Technologies Inc. assumes no responsibility for any errors in this document. Furthermore, VIA Networking Technologies Inc. assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of the information in this document and for any patent infringements that may arise from the use of this document. The information and product specifications within this document are subject to change at any time, without notice and without obligation to notify any person of such change. Offices:
USA Office:
USA Web: www.vntek.com Taipei Office:
8th Floor, No. 533 Chung-Cheng Road, Hsin-Tien Taipei, Taiwan ROC Tel: (510) 683-3300 Tel: (886-2) 2218-2078 Fax: (510) 683-3301 or (510) 687-4654 Fax: (886-2) 2219-8461 Web: www.vntek.com.tw 940 Mission Court Fremont, CA 94539 VNT6656AU USER MANUAL Release Date Revision History Revision 1.0 2005-7-4 Initial release. Initials SHC Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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Revision History VNT6656AU USER MANUAL Table of Contents 1. Features........................................................................................................................ 1 Drivers and Applications.......................................................................................... 1 Certifications ........................................................................................................... 1 Software Packages ................................................................................................. 1 Programming Guide ................................................................................................ 1 1.1. 1.2. 1.3. 1.4. 2. Drivers and Utilities ..................................................................................................... 2 Drivers..................................................................................................................... 2 Utilities for end users............................................................................................... 2 Utilities for manufacturers........................................................................................ 2 2.1. 2.2. 2.3. 3. Software Package Information ................................................................................... 3 Directory structure................................................................................................... 3 Driver Keywords/Parameters .................................................................................. 4 3.1. 3.2. 4. Windows Utilities ......................................................................................................... 6 4.1. WiFiSet.................................................................................................................... 6 4.1.1. Status................................................................................................................... 6 4.1.2. Config................................................................................................................... 6 4.1.3. Site Survey......................................................................................................... 10 4.1.4. Statistics............................................................................................................. 11 4.1.5. Signal ................................................................................................................. 11 4.1.6. Profiles ............................................................................................................... 12 4.2. WPA Networking ................................................................................................... 16 Appendix: Terminology....................................................................................................... 19 Federal Communication Commission Interference Statement ....................................... 20 Manual Information That Must be Included....................................................................... 22 Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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Table of Contents VNT6656AU USER MANUAL 1. Features 1.1. Drivers and Applications
Drivers available for Microsoft Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP and all major distributions of Linux.
Setup utility for automatic driver installation on Windows.
Mass-production support tool.
Mass-production application interface for custom programs.
PATCH utility for driver customization. This utility allows the manufacturers to customize the driver packages, such as changing the drivers icons and file names. 1.2. Certifications
Wi-Fi Certified.
"Designed for Microsoft Windows" Logo. 1.3. Software Packages
Software package for manufacturers: A complete set of drivers and utilities.
Evaluation package (CD version) for manufacturers: Includes MPTOOL, Winsetup, and drivers for Windows only.
Software package for end users: Includes all drivers and utilities, except MPTOOL and PATCH. 1.4. Programming Guide
All drivers are available in the binary format. Source codes are not released..
An EEPROM layout guide is available. Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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VNT6656AU USER MANUAL 2. Drivers and Utilities 2.1. Drivers DRIVER TYPE NDIS 5 NDIS 4 NDIS 3 Linux WinCE 4.2 WinCE 5 x64 DESCRIPTION Supports Windows 98, 98 SE, ME, 2000, XP, and Sever 2003. Supports Windows NT 4.0. Supports Windows 95 and 95 OSR2. Supports Red Hat Linux 6.2, 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, and 8.0.
(Supports kernel versions 2.2 through 2.6.) Supports Windows CE 4.2. Supports Windows CE 5.0. Supports AMD 64-bit CPUs. 2.2. Utilities for end users UTILITY NAME Winsetup WiFiSet DESCRIPTION Automatic driver installation, uninstallation, and updating utility for Windows 95, 95 OSR2, 98, 98 SE, ME, NT 4.0, 2000, XP, and Sever 2003. Wireless configuration setup tool for Windows 95, 95 OSR2, 98, 98 SE, ME, NT 4.0, 2000, XP, and Sever 2003. 2.3. Utilities for manufacturers UTILITY TYPE MPTOOL MP API DESCRIPTION Mass-production tool for Windows 2000/XP. Mass-production application interface for manufacturer-specific programs. Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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VNT6656AU USER MANUAL 3. Software Package Information 3.1. Directory structure DIRECTORY
/ (Root directory)
/LINUX
/WIFISET
/WINSETUP
/MPTOOL
/Win CE
/x64
/ CE4.2
/ CE5 DESCRIPTION Drivers for Windows 95, 95 OSR2, 98, 98 SE, ME, NT 4.0, 2000, XP, and Sever 2003; release note; and other documentations. The Linux driver. Wireless configuration setup tool for Windows. Windows driver setup utility for Windows 95, 95 OSR2, 98, 98 SE, ME, NT 4.0, 2000, XP, and Sever 2003. Mass-production tool and the EEPROM layout guide. Drivers for Windows CE 4.2 and 5.0. Software for supporting AMD 64. Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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VNT6656AU USER MANUAL 3.2. Driver Keywords/Parameters Figure 1. PropertiesAdvanced Adhoc Beacon Interval Defines the beacon interval in the ad hoc mode. Antenna Diversity Enables or disables antenna diversity. Connection Rate Specifies the connection rate (in Mbps): 1, 2, 5.5, 11, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, 54, or Auto. Default Channel The user-defined connection channelapplicable in the ad hoc mode and AP mode. Desired SSID The user-defined SSIDto be automatically connected at driver startup. Fragment Threshold Defines the size at which packets are fragmented. Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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VNT6656AU USER MANUAL Network Address The user-defined network addressoverrides the network address originally set by the hardware vendor. Operation Mode Determines the operation mode: Infrastructure or Ad Hoc. Preamble Type Determines the acceptable preamble type: Select Long to accept long preambles only;
select Short to support short preambles. RadioControl Determines whether the radio is on or off. Receive Buffers Defines the size of the internal driver buffers for received packets. RTS Threshold Defines the size at which packets are sent via the RTS-CTS mechanism. Transmit Buffers Defines the size of the internal driver buffers for packets to be transmitted. Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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VNT6656AU USER MANUAL 4. Windows Utilities 4.1. WiFiSet The VNT WiFiset is a Windows-based application. Its main features are listed below. 4.1.1. Status Displays the network status of the device. Figure 2. WiFisetStatus 4.1.2. Config Displays and controls the link configurations for the device. Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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Figure 3. WiFisetConfig VNT6656AU USER MANUAL SSID The service set identifier (SSID) is the name given to a wireless network by its administrator(s). The default value is Any, which allows the device to connect to any access point in the Infrastructure Mode, or to any other wireless device in the Ad Hoc Mode. The SSID can be up to 32 characters long, and is case sensitive. Power Save Mode Selects a power-save mode from three preconfigured settings:
CAM (Continuous Access Mode) Highest performance with no power saving. Max PSP (Max Power Saving Mode) Maximum power saving with reduced performance. Fast PSP (Fast Power Saving Mode) Greater power saving than CAM and higher performance than Max PSP. Operation Mode Determines the type of network or mode of operation. Ad Hoc Mode For peer-to-peer networking with other wireless devices without routing through wired network. Infrastructure Mode (default) For connecting to a wired network via an access point. AP Mode For setting up the device as an access point. Note: In order to function as an access point, your computer must be physically connected to a wired network. Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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VNT6656AU USER MANUAL Radio Status Shows whether the radio is on or off. Data Rate Selects the rate of transmission between your computer and the access point (in the infrastructure mode) or another wireless device (in the ad hoc mode). In general, a higher transmission rate would provide a smaller coverage area, and a lower transmission rate would cover a greater distance. The default setting is Auto Rate, which allows the device to start at 54 Mbps and automatically lowers the transmission rate when necessary. Channel Selects the frequency channel for the transmission in the Ad Hoc Mode or AP Mode. Fragment Threshold Defines the size at which packets are fragmented. The acceptable range of values is from 256 to 2312 bytes, and the default value is 2312 bytes. RTS Threshold Defines the size at which packets are sent via the RTS-CTS mechanism. The acceptable range of values is from 0 to 2312 bytes, and the default value is 2312 bytes. Network Type Selects the 802.11 network protocol usage; there are three modes, 802.11b only, 802.11g, and Auto. The default setting is Auto. WEP config Controls the authentication and encryption configurations for the device. Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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Figure 4. WiFisetWEP config VNT6656AU USER MANUAL Encryption state Determines whether Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is used for data encryption. None (default) No encryption. WEP Data is encrypted with a WEP key. Up to four WEP keys can be specified. Each key can have a length of 40, 128, or 256 bits. Authentication Mode Determines the method of authentication. Open System (Default) A null authentication algorithm is used, which allows the device to be authenticated by any access point or other devices with an appropriate SSID. Shared Key A WEP key is used as a means of authentication, which allows the device to be authenticated only by access points or other devices that has the same WEP key in addition to an appropriate SSID. Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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VNT6656AU USER MANUAL 4.1.3. Site Survey Displays a list of all available networks within range. Figure 5. WiFisetSite Survey Join Network Joins the device to the selected network. Re-Scan it!
Re-scans to discover all currently available networks within range. Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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VNT6656AU USER MANUAL 4.1.4. Statistics Displays the real-time transmission and reception statistics of the device. Figure 6. WiFisetStatistic Pause Pauses, or freezes, the currently displayed statistics. Clicking Pause again will resume the real-time display. Reset Resets all values to zero. 4.1.5. Signal Displays the current and past values of signal strength (SS) and signal quality (SQ) for the connected network. Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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Figure 7. WiFisetSignal VNT6656AU USER MANUAL 4.1.6. Profiles A profile is a set of preconfigured settings for a particular network environment. Having different profiles stored in WiFiset, you can move from one network to another without having to reconfigure the network settings. 4.1.6.1. Adding a new profile Before adding the current network configuration as a new profile, make sure that your device is connected to a network and that all settings are properly configured. To add a profile in WiFiset, please follow these steps:
Step 1. Click Profile in WiFisets menu bar, and then click Add to create a new profile based on the current networks configurations. Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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Figure 8. WiFisetAdding a new profile VNT6656AU USER MANUAL Step 2. Enter a name for the new profile, and then click OK. Figure 9. WiFisetProfile Name Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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VNT6656AU USER MANUAL Step 3. The new profile is now successfully added to the Profile List, and its set to be a default one automatically. Figure 10. WiFisetNew profile added 4.1.6.2. Default profile and automatic connection You can configure your device to automatically connect to a network according to the default profile. Step 1. Select a profile name from the Profile Select box. Step 2. Click the Default Profile button. Step 3. Select the check box for Auto Connect with Default Profile, and then click the Apply Profile button. Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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Figure 11. WiFisetAuto Connect with Default Profile VNT6656AU USER MANUAL Note: Once the device is set to automatically connect with a netowork according to the default profile, most of the options under WiFisets Config tab would become unavailable, and therefore appear dimmedexcept for Power Save Mode and Auto connect. In addition, a check mark would now appear in the Auto connect check box. Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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Figure 12. WiFisetAuto connect VNT6656AU USER MANUAL 4.2. WPA Networking VT6655 supports Windows XP Wireless Zero Configuration service for connecting to a Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) network. Step 1. Open Wireless Network Connection. Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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Figure 13. Wireless Network Connection VNT6656AU USER MANUAL Step 2. Click a wireless network from the list of available networks, and then click Connect. Step 3. Enter the network key, also known as WEP key or WPA key. Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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Figure 14. Wireless Network ConnectionNetwork key VNT6656AU USER MANUAL Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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VNT6656AU USER MANUAL Appendix: Terminology
ad hoc network A network composed solely of stations within mutual communication range of each other via the wireless medium (WM). access point (AP) Any entity that has station functionality and provides access to the distribution ser-vices, via the wireless medium (WM) for associated stations.
Station (STA) Any device that contains an IEEE 802.11 conformant medium access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) interface to the wireless medium (WM).
RTS (Request To Send) The frame type used to deign the RTS-CTS clearing exchange. RTS frames are used when the frame that will be transmitted is larger than the RTS threshold.
CTS (Clear To Send) The frame type used to acknowledge receipt of a Request to Send and the second component used in the RTS-CTS clearing exchange used to prevent interference from hidden nodes.
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) The optional cryptographic confidentiality algorithm specified by IEEE 802.11 used to provide data confidentiality that is subjectively equivalent to the confidentiality of a wired local area network (LAN) medium that does not employ cryptographic techniques to enhance privacy. authentication The service used to establish the identity of one station as a member of the set of stations authorized to associate with another station.
WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) A specification of standards-based, interoperable security enhancements that strongly increase the level of data protection and access control for existing and future wireless LAN systems. Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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VNT6656AU USER MANUAL 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 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 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 of the following measures.
Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna. Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver. Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected. Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
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. FCC Caution: Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void the user's authority to operate this equipment. IMPORTANT NOTE:
FCC Radiation Exposure Statement:
This equipment complies with FCC radiation exposure limits set forth for an uncontrolled environment. End user's must follow the specific operating instructions for satisfying RF exposure compliancee. This transmitter must not be co-located or operating in conjunction with any other antenna or transmitter. IEEE 802.11b or 802.11g operation of VNT6656AU in the U.S.A. is firmware-limited to channels 1 through 11. This equipment has been SAR-evaluated for use in (notebooks) with side slot configuration. High SAR test value: 1.120W/kg Revision 1.0 July 4, 2005
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