BroMax Communications WE250 Wireless LAN PC Card User Manual WLAN Card Manual

BroMax Communications Inc Wireless LAN PC Card WLAN Card Manual

users manual

PCMCIA 11MWireless LAN CardUser ManualRev 1.1
Regulatory ComplianceFCC WarningThis 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 toprovide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if notinstalled and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will notoccur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment offand on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:y Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.y Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.y Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.y Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.You are cautioned that changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance could void your authority to operate the equipment.FCC Radiation Exposure StatementThis equipment complies with FCC radiation exposure limits set forth for an uncontrolled environment.This equipment should be installed and operated with minimum distance 5cm between the radiator & your body.CE Mark WarningThis is a Class B product. In a domestic environment, this product may cause radio interference, in which case the user may be required to take adequate measures.About this manualThis manual describes how to install and operate your Wireless LAN card. Please read this manual before you install the product.This manual includes the following topics:¾ Product description, features and specifications.¾ Hardware installation procedure.
Wireless LAN card user manualii¾ Software installation procedure.¾ Trouble shooting procedures
PrefaceiiiTable of contentsCHAPTER 1 .................................................................................................... 1Introduction 1Features ............................................................................................... 1What is Wireless LAN?......................................................................... 1LAN Modes........................................................................................... 2Notes on wireless LAN configuration................................................... 2CHAPTER 2 .................................................................................................... 5Hardware installation 5What’s in the package.......................................................................... 5Hardware description .......................................................................... 5Inserting the Wireless LAN card .......................................................... 6Status LEDs.......................................................................................... 7Ejecting the Wireless LAN card ........................................................... 7CHAPTER 3 .................................................................................................... 9Driver installation for Windows and Linux 9Driver installation for Windows 95...................................................... 9Driver installation for Windows 98.................................................... 14Driver installation for Windows 2000................................................ 16Driver installation for Windows NT 4.0............................................. 20Driver Installation for Windows ME.................................................. 24Driver installation for Linux .............................................................. 26CHAPTER 4 .................................................................................................. 29Using the Wireless Utility 29Installation in Windows ..................................................................... 29Using the Wireless Utility .................................................................. 35APPENDIX A ................................................................................................ 39Troubleshooting 39Q&A for Windows environments........................................................ 39APPENDIX B................................................................................................. 41Specifications ..................................................................................... 41
1Chapter 1Chapter 1Chapter 1Chapter 1IntroductionThank you for purchasing the Wireless LAN card. This high-speed Wireless LAN card provides you with an innovative wireless networking solution. The Card is easy toset up and use. With this innovative wireless technology, you can share files and printers on the network—without inconvenient wires! Now you can carry the LAN inyour pocket!Features• Wire-free access to networked resources from anywhere beyond the desktop• Low interference & high susceptibility guarantee reliable performance• Delivers data rate up to 11 Mbps• Dynamically shifts between 11, 5.5, 2, and 1 Mbps network speed, based on signal strength, for maximum availability and reliability of connection• Allows users move between Access Points without resetting their connection reconfiguration• Antenna is built in to the card with LEDs indicating Power and Link• Uses 2.4GHz frequency band, which complies with worldwide requirement• Supports most popular operating systems: Window 95/98/2000/NT 4.0/ME and Linux• Ensures great security by providing the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) defined in the IEEE 802.11 standardWhat is Wireless LAN?Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) systems offer a great number of advantages over traditional wired systems. WLANs are flexible and easy to setup andmanage. They are also more economical than wired LAN systems.Using radio frequency (RF) technology, WLANs transmit and receive data through the air. WLANs combine data connectivity with user mobility. For example,users can roam from a conference room to their office without being disconnected from the LAN.Using WLANs, users can conveniently access shared information, and network administrators can configure and augment networks without installing or movingnetwork cables.WLAN technology provides users with many convenient and cost saving features:• Mobility: WLANs provide LAN users with access to real-time information anywhere in their organization, providing service opportunities that are impos-sible with wired networks.• Ease of Installation: Installing is easy for novice and expert users alike, eliminating the need to install network cables in walls and ceilings.
Wireless LAN card user manual2• Scalability: WLANs can be configured in a variety of topologies to adapt to specific applications and installations. Configurations are easily changed andrange from peer-to-peer networks suitable for a small number of users to full infrastructure networks of thousands of users roaming over a broad area.LAN ModesWireless LANs can be configured in one of two ways:Ad-hocNetworkingAlso known as a peer-to-peer network, an ad-hoc net-work is one that allows all workstations and computersin the network to act as servers to all other users onthe network. Users on the network can share files,print to a shared printer, and access the Internet with ashared modem. However, with ad-hoc networking,users can only communicate with other wireless LANcomputers that are in the wireless LAN workgroup, andare within range.InfrastructureNetworkingInfrastructure networking differs from ad-hoc network-ing in that it includes an access point. Unlike the ad-hoc structure where users on the LAN contend theshared bandwidth, on an infrastructure network theaccess point can manage the bandwidth to maximizebandwidth utilization.Additionally, the access point enables users on awireless LAN to access an existing wired network, al-lowing wireless users to take advantage of the wirednetworks resources, such as Internet, email, filetransfer, and printer sharing.Infrastructure networking has the following advantagesover ad-hoc networking:• Extended range: each wireless LAN computerwithin the range of the access point can commu-nicate with other wireless LAN computers withinrange of the access point.• Roaming: the access point enables a wirelessLAN computer to move through a building andstill be connected to the LAN.• Wired to wireless LAN connectivity: the accesspoint bridges the gap between wireless LANs andtheir wired counterparts.Notes on wireless LAN configurationWhen configuring a wireless LAN (WLAN), be sure to note the following points:
—Introduction3• Optimize the performance of the WLAN by ensuring that the distance between access points is not too far. In most buildings, WLAN cards operate within arange of 100 ~ 300 feet, depending on the thickness and structure of the walls.• Radio waves can pass through walls and glass but not metal. If there is interference in transmitting through a wall, it may be that the wall has reinforcingmetal in its structure. Install another access point to circumvent this problem.• Floors usually have metal girders and metal reinforcing struts that interfere with WLAN transmission.This concludes the first chapter. The next chapter deals with the hardware installation of the Wireless LAN card.
5Chapter 2Chapter 2Chapter 2Chapter 2Hardware installationThis chapter covers inserting your Wireless LAN card in the PCMCIA slot of notebook, and connecting the card to a network.What’s in the packagePlease ensure that the following items are included in your package. If any items are missing, contact your dealer.• Wireless LAN PCMCIA card• CD-ROM (includes utility, drivers, and this manual)• Quick installation guideHardware descriptionThe Wireless LAN Card is encased in a stainless compact frame and has a 68-pin connector for attaching to the PCMCIA port of notebook.
Wireless LAN card user manual6Inserting the Wireless LAN cardNote! These instructions apply to most notebook computers.For detailed information on inserting PC cards intoyour notebook, consult the notebook manual.Follow the procedure below to install the Wireless LAN card.1. With 68-pin connector of the card facing the PCMCIA slots on notebook, slide the card all the way into an empty slot.2. Connect to a network.Note! For information on connecting your Card to the LAN,contact your system administrator.
—Hardware installation7Status LEDsThe following table describes the meaning of the LEDs:LED MEANINGPWR Indicates that the Card is powered on.LINK Indicates link status. It is normally blinking. When blink-ing, indicates that the card is scanning the channels, andthe link is not active. When lit, indicates that the card islocked to a channel, and the link is active.Ejecting the Wireless LAN cardAfter disconnecting from the LAN, you can eject the Wireless LAN card from the PC Card slot of notebook.Note! In Win 2000/ME/98/95 operating systems, you do not haveto power down the notebook to remove the card. The cardis hot-swappable—you can remove the card when thenotebook is powered on. However, Microsoft recommendsthat you stop the card. Refer to your Windows2000/ME/98/95 online help for information on stopping theWireless LAN card.Most notebooks have an eject lever or button for ejecting PC cards from the PC slots. Consult your notebook manual for details.
Wireless LAN card user manual8Warning! To prevent data loss, do not eject the Wireless LAN cardwhen a data transmission is taking place. Exit your commu-nications program normally, stop the card if necessary, andthen remove the card.This concludes Chapter 2. The next chapter covers driver installation for Windows 2000/ME/98/95/NT and Linux operating systems.
9Chapter 3Chapter 3Chapter 3Chapter 3Driver installation for Windows and LinuxThe following sections cover Wireless LAN card driver installation in the Windows 2000/ME/98/95/NT operating systems.Driver installation for Windows 95There are two popular versions of Windows 95, one is for retail version (ver 4.00.950), and the other is OEM Service Release 2 (ver 4.00.950B). To know whichversion you are using, click to run the System icon in Control Panel. You will see the following window pops up.From the General tab, the system information shows you the version number of your windows.Install Drivers on the Windows 95 OSR21. Insert the Wireless LAN card into an available PCMCIA slot in your notebook (refer to page 6 - Inserting the wireless LAN card).2. After Windows 95 detects the card, the Update Device Driver Wizard window appears:
Wireless LAN card user manual103. Insert the driver disc and click Next to continue the installation. Windows searches for the driver and the following screen appears:4. Click Other Locations to bring up the following window:
—Driver installation for Windows and Linux115. Type H:\PCCard\W95 where H is your CD-ROM drive letter. Then click OK. The following screen appears:6. Click Finish to continue. Windows may prompt you the following window to ask you insert the disc.7. Click OK to continue.
Wireless LAN card user manual128. Again type H:\PCCard\W95 where H is your CD-ROM drive letter and click OK. After copying the driver files. Windows 95 prompts you to restart thesystem. Click Yes to continue the installation.Note! If you did not install the Windows 95OSR2 from your hard drive, Windowswill prompt you to input the path to theWindows 95 CD-ROM. Follow the in-structions on your screen, then clickOK to continue.9. After you rebooted the computer, system will start to install wireless utility automatically. Please refer to procedures at Chapter 4.Install Drivers on the Windows 95 Retail version1. Insert the LAN Modem card into an available PCMCIA slot in your notebook (refer to page 6 - Inserting the LAN Modem card).2. After Windows 95 detects the card, the Update Device Driver Wizard window appears:
—Driver installation for Windows and Linux133. Click OK. The Windows prompt you to give the path of driver files.4. Type H:\PCCard\W95 where H is your CD-ROM drive letter. Insert the driver disc into CD-ROM drive. Then click OK.5. The windows will start copying files from disc and install the drivers. After the step, the installation is complete and you should reboot the system.After you rebooted the computer, system will start to install Wireless utility automatically. Please refer to procedures at Chapter 4.
Wireless LAN card user manual14Driver installation for Windows 98Follow the steps below to install the Wireless LAN card drivers for Windows 98.1. Insert the Wireless LAN card into an available PCMCIA slot on your notebook (refer to page 6 - Inserting the Wireless LAN card).2. After Windows 98 detects the Wireless LAN card, the Add New Hardware Wizard window appears:3. Click Next to continue the installation. A screen appears prompting you to select an installation method:4. Select Search for the best driver for your device. (Recommended) and click Next. The following screen appears:
—Driver installation for Windows and Linux155. Ensure that the CD-ROM drive box is checked.6. Insert the driver CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive and click Next. The following screen appears:7. Click Next. Windows 98 copies files to your hard disk drive, and you see the following screen:
Wireless LAN card user manual168. Click Finish. You should reboot your system to finish the installation.Note! Windows 98 may need to copy re-quired system files and will prompt youto input the path to the files. Follow theinstructions on your screen, and thenclick OK to continue.After you have rebooted the computer, system will start to install Wireless utility automatically. Please refer to procedures at Chapter 4.Driver installation for Windows 2000Follow the steps below to install the Wireless LAN card drivers for Windows 2000.1. Insert the Wireless LAN card into an available PCMCIA slot on your notebook (refer to page 6 - Inserting the Wireless LAN card).2. After Windows 2000 detects the Wireless LAN card, the Found New Hardware Wizard window appears:
—Driver installation for Windows and Linux173. Click Next to continue the installation. A screen appears prompting you to select an installation method:4. Select Search for a suitable driver for my device (recommended) and click Next. The following screen appears:
Wireless LAN card user manual185. Ensure that the CD-ROM drivers box is checked and insert the driver disc into CD-ROM drive. Click Next to continue. The following screen appears:6. Click Next to continue. The following screen appears:
—Driver installation for Windows and Linux197. Click Yes to continue. The following screen appears:8. Click Finish to complete the installation.9. Then system will start to install Wireless utility automatically. Please refer to procedures at Chapter 4.
Wireless LAN card user manual20Driver installation for Windows NT 4.0This installation procedure assumes that you have installed the network component on your computer.To check whether the network component has been installed, double click the Network icon in the Control Panel. If it has not been installed, refer to the Win-dows NT 4.0 installation guide for instructions on installing the component.Follow the steps below to install the driver.1. Insert the Wireless LAN card into an available PCMCIA slot on your notebook (refer to page 6 - Inserting the Wireless LAN card).2. Log in to NT 4.0 as Administrator.3. Double click the Network icon in the Control Panel, and select the Adapters tab as shown in the following screen:4. Click Add to add a new adapter. The following screen appears:
—Driver installation for Windows and Linux215. Click Have Disk. The following screen appears:6. Type H:\PCCard\WinNT40 where H is your CD-ROM drive letter. Insert the driver disk, and click OK.After finding the installation file, the Select OEM Option window is displayed.7. Click OK. A screen appears prompting you to input the IRQ, I/O port address, SSID, mode, transfer rate, and channel, as well as some advanced settings:
Wireless LAN card user manual22Note! You must select resources that are notbeing used by another device; other-wise, you will have a system conflicterror. In case of a system conflict error,try another setting and continue.8. Input the resources for the IRQ and I/O address ... Click OK to continue. Windows will configure the Wireless LAN card. You are returned to the Net-work window.
—Driver installation for Windows and Linux239. Click Close to exit the Network window. Windows NT 4.0 will bind the adapter with the network component and you will be prompted to restart the system.When Windows NT is finished binding the adapter to the network component, you are prompted to restart the system.10. Click Yes to finish the installation.11. After you have rebooted the computer, system will start to install Wireless utility automatically. Please refer to procedures at Chapter 4.
Wireless LAN card user manual24Driver Installation for Windows MEFollow the steps below to install the Wireless LAN card drivers for Windows ME.1. Insert the Wireless LAN card into an available PCMCIA slot on your notebook (refer to page 6 - Inserting the Wireless LAN card).2. After Windows ME detects the Wireless LAN card, the Add New Hardware Wizard window appears:3. Select Automatic search for a better driver (Recommended) and insert the driver disc into CD-ROM drive. Click Next to continue.4. The system will find the setup files and follow the instruction of the setup file to copy drivers. After the drivers were copied, the following screen appears:
—Driver installation for Windows and Linux255. Click Finish. You should reboot your system to finish the installation.Note! Windows ME may need to copy re-quired system files and will prompt youto input the path to the files. Follow theinstructions on your screen, and thenclick OK to continue.After you have rebooted the computer, system will start to install Wireless utility automatically. Please refer to procedures at Chapter 4.
Wireless LAN card user manual26Driver installation for LinuxFollow the steps below to install the Wireless LAN card drivers (wlan-ng v0.1.6) for Linux.Before Installing the Linux DriversBefore you install the Linux wlan-ng v0.1.6 drivers, you need the PCMCIA module source code. If you do not have the source code, you can get it from the fol-lowing URL:ftp://hyper.stanford.edu/pub/pcmciaAfter you have rebuilt and installed the PCMCIA module, edit /etc/pcmcia/network.opts to enable DHCP. In the DHCP setup, you can leave the fields empty. Ifthere is no DHCP server on your network, you might have to disable DHCP to use a static IP and then fill the fields in /etc/pcmcia/network.opts.In Linux there is an 802.11b Access Point with which the station can be associated.
—Driver installation for Windows and Linux27Installation Procedure1. Unpack the tgz file by typing the following line at the shell prompt, (assuming the shell prompt is >).>gzip -cd wlan-ng-0.1.6.tgz | tar xvf -2. Configure and install wlan v0.1.6. Be sure to configure the build as Station (STA)—do not choose Access Point (AP) because there is no firmware avail-able that supports the AP function.>cd wlan-ng-0.1.6>make config>make all>make install3. Edit /etc/pcmcia/wlan-ng.conf by adding the following lines to the bottom of the file.card "PCMCIA 11M WLAN"manfid 0x0274, 0x1601bind "prism2_cs"4. Edit /etc/pcmcia/wlan-ng.opts. The fields to edit are listed below:dot11DesireSSIDAPSSIDAPCHANNEL5. Restart your computer.>shutdown -r now
Wireless LAN card user manual28When Linux is booting up, you will hear two high pitch beeps. This means that the driver has been loaded successfully. If you want to know if the card has con-nected to an access point, see if the red ACT LED on the card is illuminated. When the ACT LED stops blinking, it means the card/station has been connected toan access point.This concludes Chapter 3. The next chapter covers installation of the wireless utility.
29Chapter 4Chapter 4Chapter 4Chapter 4Using the Wireless UtilityThe following sections cover the Wireless LAN card utility installation and usage.Installation in WindowsAfter you have installed the wireless LAN card driver and have rebooted the computer, system will start to install wireless utility automatically. Please follow thesteps below.1. After you have rebooted the computer, the following screen appears:2. Click Next. The following screen appears:
Wireless LAN card user manual303. Read the End User License Agreement and click Yes. The following screen appears:4. Type in a System ID name for your wireless LAN. This system ID identifies all computers in the wireless LAN. Then click Next. The following screen ap-pears:5. Choose the Network Mode for your wireless node.Note! For information on which mode youshould select, refer to page 2, LANModes.6. Click Next. The following screen appears:
—Using the Wireless Utility317. Select the default path for the wireless utility or browse to an alternate path. Then click Next. The following screen appears:8. Type in a Program Folder name or select the default name and click Next. Setup installs the software and the following screen appears:9. Click Finish to finish the utility installation.
Wireless LAN card user manual32After you have installed the utility, you will see the wireless utility icon in the Windows taskbar:FreePort utility iconIcon MeaningGreen: indicates a connection is active.Red: indicates no connection is active.Yellow: indicates that the wireless LAN card islooking for an available access point.Double-click the icon to open the configuration utility.
—Using the Wireless Utility33The following table describes the configuration utility:State: displays the connection status.Current Channel: displays the chan-nel.Current Tx Rate: displays the wire-less bandwidth in megabits persecond.Throughput: displays the transferand receive rates in bytes per second.Link Quality: when connected to thewired LAN, displays the connectionintegrity.Signal Strength: when connected tothe wired LAN, displays the signalstrength.Note: Link quality and signal strengthare not available when using a peer-to-peer connection.Mode: displays the current LANmode, either AdHoc or Infrastructure.SSID: displays a list of Service SetIdentifications.Ethernet Conversion: displays a listof Ethernet conversion protocols.Tx Rate: displays a list of transferrates.WEP: allows you to enable or disableWired Equivalency Privacy (WEP) forencryption, with either 64- or 128-bitencryption.PS Mode: allows you to enable ordisable power saving mode.Channel: enables you to select atransmission channel.
Wireless LAN card user manual34The Encryption window enables youto create an encryption scheme forWireless LAN transmissions. Enter apassphrase and press Generate toautomatically generate a 64- or 128-bit key (selected from the WEP drop-down menu in the Configurationscreen).You can also manually enter a set ofvalues for each key.Note: 128-bit encryption requires mo-re system resources than 64-bitencryption. Use 64-bit encryption forbetter performance.This screen displays the versionnumber of the Wireless LAN card andthe Configuration Utility.
—Using the Wireless Utility35Using the Wireless UtilityThe following example will help you set up a peer-to-peer connection with the Wireless LAN card.Note! For information on connecting your wireless LAN cardto the LAN, contact your system administrator.1. Insert a Wireless LAN card into the PCMCIA slots of two Notebook PCs.2. Install the card drivers on both notebook computers (refer to Chapter 3).3. Install the software on both notebook computers (refer to page 29).4. After you have installed the software and rebooted, double-click the icon in the lower corner of your screen to open the configuration utility:5. Click the Configuration tab:
Wireless LAN card user manual366. Select AdHoc from the Mode dropdown list. The SSID should be the same as the one that you entered when installing the software. Leave the other set-tings at their default values.7. Perform steps 1 through 3 on another notebook PC. When the two computers have connected via the Wireless LAN cards, the tray icon turns green and the LinkInfo tab of the configuration utility shows an active connection:8. After the connection has been established, double-click the Network Neighborhood icon on your desktop to view the two computers connected to the peer-to-peer network:
—Using the Wireless Utility37
39Appendix AAppendix AAppendix AAppendix ATroubleshootingQ&AThese guidelines give you tips to deal with some problems you may encounter while using the Wireless LAN card. If the problems remain unsolved, contact yourdealer for assistance.Problem: Windows can not recognize the card.Solution: Please check if PC Card support is installed. Double-click the PC Card icon on Control Panel. If PC Card support is not activated, youshould activate it now.Problem: Ejecting the card from the PCMCIA socket hangs or reboots the computer.Solution: To prevent this phenomenon from occurring, stop the card by using the PC Card tool in the Control Panel or the PC Card icon on thetaskbar before you remove the card.Problem: The card cannot be detected when reinserted.Cause: This is caused by certain unstable PCMCIA status lines when the card is removed and reinserted. The Windows 95/98 drivers may read anincorrect status during this period of signal instability, and fail to detect the correct status of the card.Solution: The card can be detected by clicking Refresh in Device Manager.Question: What is the Microsoft digital signature?Answer: Drivers that pass Microsoft Windows 2000 certification receive a digital signature file from Microsoft. The Wireless LAN card does not havesuch a digital signature, however it is fully compatible with Windows 2000.Question: The Wireless Utility icon on system tray is always red.Answer: Please make sure that all clients have the same SSID. The SSID is case sensitive. And set all clients to the same wireless channel andmake sure you are within range of an Access Point or client.
Wireless LAN card user manual40Question: Can not connect to one of the clients in the network.Answer: First of all, make sure that all clients are up and running with a green Wireless Utility icon. And please check your TCP/IP setup is correctfor your network.
41Appendix BAppendix BAppendix BAppendix BSpecificationsStandards Compliance: IEEE802.11b WLAN Standard,PCMCIA 2.1 and JEIDA 4.2 StandardSocket Interface: 68-pin 16-bit PCMCIA socket connectorCard Size: PCMCIA extended Type IIFrequency: 2.4 to 2.4835GHz ( Industrial Scientific MedicalBand )Antenna: Build in strip Antenna (internal)Roaming: IEEE802.11 compliantData Rate: 11Mbps / 5.5Mbps / 2Mbps / 1MbpsModulation Technique: Direct Sequence Spread SpectrumBPSK / QPSK / CCKCoverage Area: Close Space : 50m @ 11Mbps,80m @ 5.5Mbps or lowerPower: DC +3.3V /+5V, 240mA (3.3V)Output Power: 16dBm (typical)Receiver Sensitivity: -83dBm Min.Operating Environment: Temperature: 0o to 55oCHumidity: 10% to 90%Dimensions: 115 x 54 x 7.5mmWeight: 47g

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