CC and C Technologies WL1302 802.11b Wireless Access Point User Manual Revised

CC&C; Technologies, Inc. 802.11b Wireless Access Point Users Manual Revised

Contents

Users Manual Revised

User’s Manual
Version: 2.1
Wireless LAN Access Point
Trademarks
Copyright @2003
Contents are subject to change without notice.
All trademarks belong to their respective proprietors.
Copyright Statement
THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS OF PROPRIETARY TECHNICAL INFORMATION THAT IS THE PROPERTY OF
THIS COMPANY. AND NO PART OF THIS DOCUMENTATION MAY BE REPRODUCED, STORED IN A RETRIEVAL
SYSTEM OR TRANSMITTED IN ANY FORM OR BY ANY MEANS, ELECTRICAL OR MECHANICAL, BY
PHOTOCOPYING, RECORDING, OR OTHERWISE, WITHOUT THE PRIOR WRITTEN CONSENT OF THIS
COMPANY.
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Revision History
DATE REVISION
2003/7/14 First release
2003/7/22 Release 1.1; add information about time required on boot-up sequence.
2003/7/24 Release 1.2; modify the boot-up sequence notice in chapter 1
2003/8/4 Release 2.0; add configuration examples
2003/9/9 Release 2.1; modify power supply to DC 7.5V
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Terminology
ANSI American National Standards Institute
AP Access Point
CCK Complementary Code Keying
CSMA/CA Carrier Sense Multiple Access/ Collision Avoidance
CSMA/CD Carrier Sense Multiple Access/ Collision Detection
DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
DSSS Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum
FCC Federal Communications Commission
FTP File Transfer Protocol
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
IP Internet Protocol
ISM Industrial, Scientific and Medical
LAN Local Area Network
MAC Media Access Control
NAT Network Address Translation
NT Network Termination
PSD Power Spectral Density
RF Radio Frequency
SNR Signal to Noise Ratio
SSID Service Set Identification
TCP Transmission Control Protocol
TFTP Trivial File Transfer Protocol
WEP Wired Equivalent Privacy
WLAN Wireless Local Area Network
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Table of Contents
REVISION HISTORY .....................................................................................................................I
TERMINOLOGY ........................................................................................................................... II
1 INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................1
1.1 PACKAGE CONTENTS ........................................................................................................... 1
1.2 PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS .................................................................................................. 1
1.3 PRODUCT FEATURES ........................................................................................................... 2
1.4 TOP PANEL DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................... 2
1.5 REAR PANEL DESCRIPTION.................................................................................................. 3
2 INSTALLATION ..................................................................................................................... 4
2.1 HARDWARE INSTALLATION ................................................................................................. 4
2.2 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION................................................................................................... 4
3 SOFTWARE CONFIGURATION ......................................................................................... 5
3.1 PREPARE YOUR PC TO CONFIGURE THE WIRELESS LAN ACCESS POINT ............................. 5
3.2 CONNECT TO THE WIRELESS LAN ACCESS POINT .............................................................. 7
3.3 MANAGEMENT AND CONFIGURATION ON THE WIRELESS LAN ACCESS POINT.................... 7
3.3.1 STATUS ............................................................................................................................ 7
3.3.2 WIRELESS BASIC SETTINGS ............................................................................................ 8
3.3.3 WIRELESS ADVANCED SETTINGS .................................................................................... 9
3.3.4 WIRELESS SECURITY SETUP.......................................................................................... 11
3.3.5 WIRELESS ACCESS CONTROL........................................................................................ 12
3.3.6 LAN INTERFACE SETUP ................................................................................................ 14
3.3.7 STATISTICS .................................................................................................................... 15
3.3.8 UPGRADE FIRMWARE .................................................................................................... 16
3.3.9 SAV E /RELOAD SETTINGS.............................................................................................. 17
3.3.10 PASSWORD SETUP ......................................................................................................... 17
4 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ).................................................................... 19
4.1 WHAT AND HOW TO FIND MY PC’S IP AND MAC ADDRESS? ............................................. 19
4.2 WHAT IS WIRELESS LAN? ................................................................................................ 19
4.3 WHAT ARE ISM BANDS? ................................................................................................... 19
4.4 HOW DOES WIRELESS NETWORKING WORK?...................................................................... 19
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4.5 WHAT IS BSSID? .............................................................................................................. 20
4.6 WHAT IS ESSID? .............................................................................................................. 20
4.7 WHAT ARE POTENTIAL FACTORS THAT MAY CAUSES INTERFERENCE? ................................ 21
4.8 WHAT ARE THE OPEN SYSTEM AND SHARED KEY AUTHENTICATIONS? ............................. 21
4.9 WHAT IS WEP? ................................................................................................................. 21
4.10 WHAT IS FRAGMENT THRESHOLD?.................................................................................... 21
4.11 WHAT IS RTS (REQUEST TO SEND) THRESHOLD?............................................................. 22
4.12 WHAT IS BEACON INTERVAL?............................................................................................ 22
4.13 WHAT IS PREAMBLE TYPE? ............................................................................................... 23
4.14 WHAT IS SSID BROADCAST? ............................................................................................ 23
5 CONFIGURATION EXAMPLES........................................................................................ 24
5.1 EXAMPLE ONE – DHCP ON THE LAN .............................................................................. 24
5.2 EXAMPLE TWO – FIXED IP ON THE LAN .......................................................................... 26
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1 Introduction
The Wireless LAN Access Point is a portal that can act as the connection point between the
Ethernet CSMA/CD protocol and the wireless CSMA/CA protocol. The Access Point can be
easily integrated into your existing wireless network. In large installations, the roaming
functionality provided by multiple Access Points allows wireless users to move freely
throughout the facility while maintaining seamless, uninterrupted access to the network.
This document describes the steps required for the initial IP address assign and other AP
configuration. The description includes the implementation of the above steps.
Notice: It will take about 25 seconds to complete the boot up sequence after powered on
the WLAN Access Point; all LEDs are blank while booting except the Power
LED, and after that the WLAN Activity LED will be flashin
g
to show the WLAN
interface is enabled and working now.
1.1 Package contents
The package of the WLAN Access Point includes the following items,
The Access Point
The AC to DC power adapter
The Documentation CD
1.2 Product Specifications
Product Name WLAN Access Point
Standard 801.11b(Wireless), 802.3(10BaseT), 802.3u(100BaseT)
Data Transfer Rate 11Mbps(Wireless), 100Mbps(Ethernet)
Modulation Method DBPSK/ DQPSK/ CCK
Frequency Band 2.4GHz – 2.497GJz ISM Band, DSSS
RF Output Power < 17 dBm
Receiver Sensitivity 11Mbps better than 8% PER @ -80 dBm
Operation Range 30 to 300 meters (depend on surrounding)
Antenna External Antenna
LED Power, Active (WLAN), Act/Link (Ethernet)
Security 64 bit/ 128 bit WEP, MAC address filtering
LAN interface One 10/100BaseT with RJ45 connector
Power Consumption 7.5V DC Power Adapter
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Dimension 120 * 75 * 34 mm
Operating Temperature 0 – 50oC ambient temperature
Storage Temperature -20 - 70oC ambient temperature
Humidity 5 to 90 % maximum (non-condensing)
1.3 Product Features
Complies with IEEE 802.11b standard for 2.4GHz Wireless LAN.
Supports 11Mbps data transfer rate with automatic fallback to 5.5M, 2M and
1Mbps.
Supports bridging function between wireless and wired Ethernet interfaces.
Supports 64-bit and 128-bit WEP encryption/decryption function to protect the
wireless data transmission.
Supports IEEE 802.3x full duplex flow control on 10/100M Ethernet interface.
Supports DHCP client for Ethernet LAN interface auto IP address assignment.
Supports clone MAC address function.
Supports WEB based management and configuration.
1.4 Top Panel Description
Figure 1 –WLAN Access Point Top Panel
LED Indicator State Description
1. Power LED On The WLAN AP is powered on.
Off The WLAN AP is powered off.
2. WLAN Activity LED Flashing Data is transmitting or receiving on the antenna.
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Off No data is transmitting or receiving on the antenna.
3. LAN LINK/ACT LED Flashing Data is transmitting or receiving on the LAN interface.
Off No connection is established on LAN interface.
1.5 Rear Panel Description
Figure 2 – WLAN Access Point Rear Panel
Interfaces Description
1. Reset Push continually the reset button 5 seconds to reset the configuration
parameters to factory defaults.
2. Power The power jack allows an external DC +7.5 V power supply connection.
The external AC to DC adaptor provide adaptive power requirement to the
WLAN AP.
3. LAN The RJ-45 socket allows LAN connection through a Category 5 cable.
Support auto-sensing on 10/100M speed and half/ full duplex; comply with
IEEE 802.3/ 802.3u respectively.
4. Antenna The Wireless LAN Antenna.
Reset
Power
LAN
Antenna
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2 Installation
2.1 Hardware Installation
Step One: Place the Wireless LAN Access Point to the best optimum transmission
location.
The best transmission location for your WLAN Access Point is usually at the
geographic center of your wireless network, with line of sign to all of your mobile
stations.
Step Two: Connect the Wireless LAN Access Point to your wired network.
Connect the Wireless LAN Access Point by category 5 Ethernet cable to your
switch/ hub/ router/ xDSL modem or cable modem. A straight-through Ethernet
cable with appropriate cable length is needed.
Step Three: Supply DC power to the Wireless LAN Access Point.
Use only the AC/DC power adapter supplied with the Wireless Access Point; it may
occur damage by using a different type of power adapter.
The hardware installation finished.
2.2 Software Installation
There are no software drivers, patches or utilities installation needed, but only the
configuration setting. Please refer to chapter 3 for software configuration.
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3 Software configuration
There are web based management and configuration functions allowing you to have the jobs
done easily.
The Wireless LAN Access Point is delivered with the following factory default parameters.
Default IP Address: 192.168.1.254
Default IP subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
WEB login User Name: <empty>
WEB login Password: <empty>
3.1 Prepare your PC to configure the Wireless LAN Access Point
For OS of Microsoft Windows 95/ 98/ Me:
1. Click the Start button and select Settings, then click Control Panel. The Control
Panel window will appear.
Note: Windows Me users may not see the Network control panel. If so, select View
all Control Panel options on the left side of the window
2. Move mouse and double-click the right button on Network icon. The Network
window will appear.
3. Check the installed list of Network Components. If TCP/IP is not installed, click the
Add button to install it; otherwise go to step 6.
4. Select Protocol in the Network Component Type dialog box and click Add button.
5. Select TCP/IP in Microsoft of Select Network Protocol dialog box then click OK
button to install the TCP/IP protocol, it may need the Microsoft Windows CD to
complete the installation. Close and go back to Network dialog box after the TCP/IP
installation.
6. Select TCP/IP and click the properties button on the Network dialog box.
7. Select Specify an IP address and type in values as following example.
IP Address: 192.168.1.1, any IP address within 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.253 is
good to connect the Wireless LAN Access Point.
IP Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
8. Click OK and reboot your PC after completes the IP parameters setting.
For OS of Microsoft Windows 2000, XP:
1. Click the Start button and select Settings, then click Control Panel. The Control
Panel window will appear.
2. Move mouse and double-click the right button on Network and Dial-up Connections
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icon. Move mouse and double-click the Local Area Connection icon. The Local Area
Connection window will appear. Click Properties button in the Local Area
Connection window.
3. Check the installed list of Network Components. If TCP/IP is not installed, click the
Add button to install it; otherwise go to step 6.
4. Select Protocol in the Network Component Type dialog box and click Add button.
5. Select TCP/IP in Microsoft of Select Network Protocol dialog box then click OK
button to install the TCP/IP protocol, it may need the Microsoft Windows CD to
complete the installation. Close and go back to Network dialog box after the TCP/IP
installation.
6. Select TCP/IP and click the properties button on the Network dialog box.
7. Select Specify an IP address and type in values as following example.
IP Address: 192.168.1.1, any IP address within 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.253 is
good to connect the Wireless LAN Access Point.
IP Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
8. Click OK to completes the IP parameters setting.
For OS of Microsoft Windows NT:
1. Click the Start button and select Settings, then click Control Panel. The Control
Panel window will appear.
2. Move mouse and double-click the right button on Network icon. The Network
window will appear. Click Protocol tab from the Network window.
3. Check the installed list of Network Protocol window. If TCP/IP is not installed, click
the Add button to install it; otherwise go to step 6.
4. Select Protocol in the Network Component Type dialog box and click Add button.
5. Select TCP/IP in Microsoft of Select Network Protocol dialog box then click OK
button to install the TCP/IP protocol, it may need the Microsoft Windows CD to
complete the installation. Close and go back to Network dialog box after the TCP/IP
installation.
6. Select TCP/IP and click the properties button on the Network dialog box.
7. Select Specify an IP address and type in values as following example.
IP Address: 192.168.1.1, any IP address within 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.253 is
good to connect the Wireless LAN Access Point.
IP Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
8. Click OK to completes the IP parameters setting.
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3.2 Connect to the Wireless LAN Access Point
Open a WEB browser, i.e. Microsoft Internet Explore, then enter 192.168.1.254 on the
URL to connect the Wireless LAN Access Point.
3.3 Management and configuration on the Wireless LAN Access Point
3.3.1 Status
This page shows the current status and some basic settings of the device, includes
system, wireless and TCP/IP configuration information.
Screenshot – Status
Item Description
System
Alias Name It shows the alias name of this WLAN Access Point.
Uptime It shows the duration since WLAN Access Point is
powered on.
Firmware version It shows the firmware version of WLAN Access Point.
Wireless configuration
SSID It shows the SSID of this WLAN Access Point.
The SSID is the unique name of WLAN Access Point
and shared among its service area, so all devices attempts
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to join the same wireless network can identify it.
Channel Number It shows the wireless channel connected currently.
WEP It shows the status of WEP encryption function.
Associated Clients It shows the number of connected clients (or stations,
PCs).
BSSID It shows the BSSID address of the WLAN Access Point.
BSSID is a six-byte address.
LAN configuration
Attain IP Protocol It shows how the WLAN Access Point gets the IP
address. The IP address can be set manually to a fixed
one or set dynamically by DHCP server.
IP Address It shows the IP address of the WLAN Access Point.
Subnet Mask It shows the IP subnet mask of the WLAN Access Point.
Default Gateway It shows the default gateway setting for the outgoing data
packets.
MAC Address It shows the MAC address of the WLAN Access Point.
3.3.2 Wireless Basic Settings
This page is used to configure the parameters for wireless LAN clients that may
connect to your Access Point. Here you may change wireless encryption settings
as well as wireless network parameters.
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Screenshot – Wireless Basic Settings
Item Description
Alias Name It is the alias name of this WLAN access point. The alias
name can be 32 characters long.
Disable Wireless LAN
Interface
Tick on to disable the wireless LAN data transmission.
SSID It is the wireless network name. The SSID can be 32
bytes long.
Channel Number Select the wireless communication channel from
pull-down menu.
Associated Clients Click the Show Active Clients button to open Active
Wireless Client Table that shows the MAC address,
transmit-packet, receive-packet and transmission-rate for
each associated wireless client.
Apply Changes Click the Apply Changes button to complete the new
configuration setting.
Reset Click the Reset button to abort change and recover the
previous configuration setting.
3.3.3 Wireless Advanced Settings
These settings are only for more technically advanced users who have a sufficient
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knowledge about wireless LAN. These settings should not be changed unless you
know what effect the changes will have on your Access Point.
Screenshot – Wireless Advanced Settings
Item Description
Authentication Type Click to select the authentication type in Open System,
Shared Key or Auto selection.
Fragment Threshold Set the data packet fragmentation threshold, value can be
written between 256 and 2346 bytes. Refer to 4.10 What
is Fragment Threshold?
RTS Threshold Set the RTS Threshold, value can be written between 0
and 2347 bytes. Refer to 4.11 What is RTS (Request To
Send) Threshold?
Beacon Interval Set the Beacon Interval, value can be written between 20
and 1024 ms.
Refer to 4.12 What is Beacon Interval?
Data Rate Select the transmission data rate from pull-down menu.
Data rate can be auto-select, 11M, 5.5M, 2M or 1Mbps.
Preamble Type Click to select the Long Preamble or Short Preamble
support on the wireless data packet transmission. Refer to
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4.13 What is Preamble Type?
Broadcast SSID Click to enable or disable the SSID broadcast function.
Refer to 4.14 What is SSID Broadcast?
Apply Changes Click the Apply Changes button to complete the new
configuration setting.
Reset Click the Reset button to abort change and recover the
previous configuration setting.
3.3.4 Wireless Security Setup
This page allows you setup the WEP security. Turn on WEP by using encryption
keys could prevent any unauthorized access to your wireless network.
Screenshot – Wireless Security Setup
Item Description
Enable WEP Security Click the check box to enable WEP security function.
Refer to 4.9 What is WEP?
Key Length Select the WEP shared secret key length from pull-down
menu. The length can be chose between 64-bit and
128-bit (known as “WEP2”) keys.
The WEP key is composed of initialization vector (24
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bits) and secret key (40-bit or 104-bit).
Key Format Select the WEP shared secret key format from pull-down
menu. The format can be chose between plant text
(ASCII) and hexadecimal (HEX) code.
Default Tx Key Set the default secret key for WEP security function.
Value can be chose between 1 and 4.
Encryption Key 1 Secret key 1 of WEP security encryption function.
Encryption Key 2 Secret key 2 of WEP security encryption function.
Encryption Key 3 Secret key 3 of WEP security encryption function.
Encryption Key 4 Secret key 4 of WEP security encryption function.
Apply Changes Click the Apply Changes button to complete the new
configuration setting.
Reset Click the Reset button to abort change and recover the
previous configuration setting.
WEP encryption key (secret key) length:
Length
Format 64-bit 128-bit
ASCII 5 characters 13 characters
HEX 10 hexadecimal codes 26 hexadecimal codes
3.3.5 Wireless Access Control
If you enable wireless access control, only those clients whose wireless MAC
addresses are in the access control list will be able to connect to your Access Point.
When this option is enabled, no wireless clients will be able to connect if the list
contains no entries.
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Screenshot – Wireless Access Control
Item Description
Enable WEP Security Click the check box to enable wireless access control.
This is a security control function; only those clients
registered in the access control list can link to this
WLAN Access Point.
MAC Address Fill in the MAC address of client to register this WLAN
Access Point access capability.
Comment Fill in the comments for the registered client.
Apply Changes Click the Apply Changes button to register the client to
new configuration setting.
Reset Click the Reset button to abort change and recover the
previous configuration setting.
Current Access
Control List
It shows the registered clients that are allowed to link to
this WLAN Access Point.
Delete Selected Click to delete the selected clients that will be access
right removed from this WLAN Access Point.
Delete All Click to delete all the registered clients from the access
allowed list.
Reset Click the Reset button to abort change and recover the
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previous configuration setting.
3.3.6 LAN Interface Setup
This page is used to configure the parameters for local area network that connects
to the LAN port of your Access Point. Here you may change the setting for IP
address, subnet mask, DHCP, etc.
Screenshot – LAN Interface Setup
Item Description
IP Address If the DHCP Client function is disabled, fill in the IP
address of this WLAN Access Point.
Subnet Mask If the DHCP Client function is disabled, fill in the subnet
mask of this WLAN Access Point.
Default Gateway If the DHCP Client function is disabled, fill in the default
gateway for out going data packets.
DHCP Client Select to enable or disable the DHCP client function from
pull-down menu.
802.1d Spanning Tree Select to enable or disable the IEEE 802.1d Spanning
Tree function from pull-down menu.
Clone MAC Address Fill in the MAC address that is the MAC address to be
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cloned.
Clone MAC address is designed for your special
application that request the clients to register to a server
machine with one identified MAC address.
Since that all the clients will communicate outside world
through the WLAN Access Point, so have the cloned
MAC address set on the wireless LAN access point will
solve the issue.
Apply Changes Click the Apply Changes button to complete the new
configuration setting.
Reset Click the Reset button to abort change and recover the
previous configuration setting.
3.3.7 Statistics
This page shows the packet counters for transmission and reception regarding to
wireless and Ethernet networks.
Screenshot – Statistics
Item Description
Wireless LAN
Sent Packets
It shows the statistic count of sent packets on the wireless
LAN interface.
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Wireless LAN
Received Packets
It shows the statistic count of received packets on the
wireless LAN interface.
Ethernet LAN
Sent Packets
It shows the statistic count of sent packets on the
Ethernet LAN interface.
Ethernet LAN
Received Packets
It shows the statistic count of received packets on the
Ethernet LAN interface.
Refresh Click the refresh the statistic counters on the screen.
3.3.8 Upgrade Firmware
This page allows you upgrade the Access Point firmware to new version. Please
note, do not power off the device during the upload because it may crash the
system.
Screenshot – Upgrade Firmware
Item Description
Select File Click the Browse button to select the new version of web
firmware image file.
Upload Click the Upload button to update the selected web
firmware image to the WLAN Access Point.
Reset Click the Reset button to abort change and recover the
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previous configuration setting.
3.3.9 Save /Reload Settings
This page allows you save current settings to a file or reload the settings from the
file that was saved previously. Besides, you could reset the current configuration
to factory default.
Screenshot – Save/Reload Settings
Item Description
Save Settings to File Click the Save button to download the configuration
parameters to your personal computer.
Load Settings from
File
Click the Browse button to select the configuration files
then click the Upload button to update the selected
configuration to the WLAN Access Point.
Reset Settings to
Default
Click the Reset button to reset the configuration
parameter to factory defaults.
3.3.10 Password Setup
This page is used to set the account to access the web server of Access Point.
Empty user name and password will disable the protection.
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Screenshot – Password Setup
Item Description
User Name Fill in the user name for web management login control.
New Password Fill in the password for web management login control.
Confirmed Password Because the password input is invisible, so please fill in
the password again for confirmation purpose.
Apply Changes Clear the User Name and Password fields to empty,
means to apply no web management login control.
Click the Apply Changes button to complete the new
configuration setting.
Reset Click the Reset button to abort change and recover the
previous configuration setting.
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4 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
4.1 What and how to find my PC’s IP and MAC address?
IP address is the identifier for a computer or device on a TCP/IP network. Networks
using the TCP/IP protocol route messages based on the IP address of the destination.
The format of an IP address is a 32-bit numeric address written as four numbers
separated by periods. Each number can be zero to 255. For example, 191.168.1.254
could be an IP address.
The MAC (Media Access Control) address is your computer's unique hardware number.
(On an Ethernet LAN, it's the same as your Ethernet address.) When you're connected to
the Internet from your computer (or host as the Internet protocol thinks of it), a
correspondence table relates your IP address to your computer's physical (MAC) address
on the LAN.
To find your PC’s IP and MAC address,
Open the Command program in the Microsoft Windows.
Type in ipconfig /all then press the Enter button.
Your PC’s IP address is the one entitled IP Address and your PC’s MAC address is
the one entitled Physical Address.
4.2 What is Wireless LAN?
A wireless LAN (WLAN) is a network that allows access to Internet without the need
for any wired connections to the user’s machine.
4.3 What are ISM bands?
ISM stands for Industrial, Scientific and Medical; radio frequency bands that the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) authorized for wireless LANs. The ISM bands are
located at 915 +/- 13 MHz, 2450 +/- 50 MHz and 5800 +/- 75 MHz.
4.4 How does wireless networking work?
The 802.11 standard define two modes: infrastructure mode and ad hoc mode. In
infrastructure mode, the wireless network consists of at least one access point connected
to the wired network infrastructure and a set of wireless end stations. This configuration
is called a Basic Service Set (BSS). An Extended Service Set (ESS) is a set of two or
more BSSs forming a single subnetwork. Since most corporate WLANs require access
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to the wired LAN for services (file servers, printers, Internet links) they will operate in
infrastructure mode.
Example 1: wireless Infrastructure Mode
Ad hoc mode (also called peer-to-peer mode or an Independent Basic Service Set, or
IBSS) is simply a set of 802.11 wireless stations that communicate directly with one
another without using an access point or any connection to a wired network. This mode
is useful for quickly and easily setting up a wireless network anywhere that a wireless
infrastructure does not exist or is not required for services, such as a hotel room,
convention center, or airport, or where access to the wired network is barred (such as for
consultants at a client site).
Example 2: wireless Ad Hoc Mode
4.5 What is BSSID?
A six-byte address that distinguishes a particular a particular access point from others.
Also know as just SSID. Serves as a network ID or name.
4.6 What is ESSID?
The Extended Service Set ID (ESSID) is the name of the network you want to access. It
is used to identify different wireless networks.
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4.7 What are potential factors that may causes interference?
Factors of interference:
Obstacles: walls, ceilings, furniture… etc.
Building Materials: metal door, aluminum studs.
Electrical devices: microwaves, monitors and electrical motors.
Solutions to overcome the interferences:
Minimizing the number of walls and ceilings.
Position the WLAN antenna for best reception.
Keep WLAN devices away from other electrical devices, eg: microwaves,
monitors, electric motors, … etc.
Add additional WLAN Access Points if necessary.
4.8 What are the Open System and Shared Key authentications?
IEEE 802.11 supports two subtypes of network authentication services: open system and
shared key. Under open system authentication, any wireless station can request
authentication. The station that needs to authenticate with another wireless station sends
an authentication management frame that contains the identity of the sending station.
The receiving station then returns a frame that indicates whether it recognizes the
sending station. Under shared key authentication, each wireless station is assumed to
have received a secret shared key over a secure channel that is independent from the
802.11 wireless network communications channel.
4.9 What is WEP?
An optional IEEE 802.11 function that offers frame transmission privacy similar to a
wired network. The Wired Equivalent Privacy generates secret shared encryption keys
that both source and destination stations can use to alert frame bits to avoid disclosure to
eavesdroppers.
WEP relies on a secret key that is shared between a mobile station (e.g. a laptop with a
wireless Ethernet card) and an access point (i.e. a base station). The secret key is used to
encrypt packets before they are transmitted, and an integrity check is used to ensure that
packets are not modified in transit.
4.10 What is Fragment Threshold?
The proposed protocol uses the frame fragmentation mechanism defined in IEEE 802.11
to achieve parallel transmissions. A large data frame is fragmented into several
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fragments each of size equal to fragment threshold. By tuning the fragment threshold
value, we can get varying fragment sizes. The determination of an efficient fragment
threshold is an important issue in this scheme. If the fragment threshold is small, the
overlap part of the master and parallel transmissions is large. This means the spatial
reuse ratio of parallel transmissions is high. In contrast, with a large fragment threshold,
the overlap is small and the spatial reuse ratio is low. However high fragment threshold
leads to low fragment overhead. Hence there is a trade-off between spatial re-use and
fragment overhead.
Fragment threshold is the maximum packet size used for fragmentation. Packets larger
than the size programmed in this field will be fragmented.
If you find that your corrupted packets or asymmetric packet reception (all send packets,
for example). You may want to try lowering your fragmentation threshold. This will
cause packets to be broken into smaller fragments. These small fragments, if corrupted,
can be resent faster than a larger fragment. Fragmentation increases overhead, so you'll
want to keep this value as close to the maximum value as possible.
4.11 What is RTS (Request To Send) Threshold?
The RTS threshold is the packet size at which packet transmission is governed by the
RTS/CTS transaction. The IEEE 802.11-1997 standard allows for short packets to be
transmitted without RTS/CTS transactions. Each station can have a different RTS
threshold. RTS/CTS is used when the data packet size exceeds the defined RTS
threshold. With the CSMA/CA transmission mechanism, the transmitting station sends
out an RTS packet to the receiving station, and waits for the receiving station to send
back a CTS (Clear to Send) packet before sending the actual packet data.
This setting is useful for networks with many clients. With many clients, and a high
network load, there will be many more collisions. By lowering the RTS threshold, there
may be fewer collisions, and performance should improve. Basically, with a faster RTS
threshold, the system can recover from problems faster. RTS packets consume valuable
bandwidth, however, so setting this value too low will limit performance.
4.12 What is Beacon Interval?
In addition to data frames that carry information from higher layers, 802.11 includes
management and control frames that support data transfer. The beacon frame, which is a
type of management frame, provides the "heartbeat" of a wireless LAN, enabling
USER’S MANUAL OF WLAN ACCESS POINT Version: 2.1
23
stations to establish and maintain communications in an orderly fashion.
Beacon Interval represents the amount of time between beacon transmissions. Before a
station enters power save mode, the station needs the beacon interval to know when to
wake up to receive the beacon (and learn whether there are buffered frames at the access
point).
4.13 What is Preamble Type?
There are two preamble types defined in IEEE 802.11 specification. A long preamble
basically gives the decoder more time to process the preamble. All 802.11 devices
support a long preamble. The short preamble is designed to improve efficiency (for
example, for VoIP systems). The difference between the two is in the Synchronization
field. The long preamble is 128 bits, and the short is 56 bits.
4.14 What is SSID Broadcast?
Broadcast of SSID is done in access points by the beacon. This announces your access
point (including various bits of information about it) to the wireless world around it. By
disabling that feature, the SSID configured in the client must match the SSID of the
access point.
Some wireless devices don't work properly if SSID isn't broadcast (for example the
D-link DWL-120 USB 802.11b adapter). Generally if your client hardware supports
operation with SSID disabled, it's not a bad idea to run that way to enhance network
security. However it's no replacement for WEP, MAC filtering or other protections.
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5 Configuration Examples
5.1 Example One – DHCP on the LAN
Sales division of Company ABC likes to establish a WLAN network to support mobile
communication on sales’ Notebook PCs. MIS engineer collects information and plans
the WLAN Access Point implementation by the following configuration.
All the sales’ Notebook PCs will get IP address automatically from the DHCP server.
DHCP server also assigns the IP address of WLAN Access Point LAN interface, so
before you can manage the WLAN Access Point through the WEB browser, you need to
get the IP address of the LAN interface.
LAN configuration
Attain IP Automatically (DHCP); enable DHCP client function.
WLAN configuration
SSID SDWLAN
Channel Number 1
Internet
xDSL/ CM
Power adapter Ethernet cable
SSID: SDWLAN
Channel: 1
DHCP client
SSID: SDWLAN
Channel: 1
DHCP client
SSID: SDWLAN
Channel: 1
DHCP client
SSID: SDWLAN
Channel: 1
DHCP client SSID: SDWLAN
Channel: 1
DHCP
DHCP server
Switch/ HUB
Figure 3 – Configuration Example One – DHCP on the LAN
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25
Configure the LAN interface:
Open LAN Interface
Setup page and enable the
DHCP Client function.
Press button to confirm the configuration setting.
Configure the WLAN interface:
Open WLAN Interface
Setup page, enter the
SSID “SDWLAN”,
Channel Number “1”.
Press button to confirm the configuration setting.
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5.2 Example Two – Fixed IP on the LAN
Company ABC likes to establish a WLAN network to support mobile communication
on all employees’ Notebook PCs. MIS engineer collects information and plans the
WLAN Access Point implementation by the following configuration.
LAN configuration
IP Address 192.168.1.254
Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway 192.168.1.10
WLAN configuration
SSID MyWLAN
Channel Number 6
Internet
xDSL/ CM
Power adapter Ethernet cable
SSID: MyWLAN
Channel: 6
IP: 192.168.1.33
SSID: MyWLAN
Channel: 6
IP: 192.168.1.32
SSID: MyWLAN
Channel: 6
IP: 192.168.1.31
SSID: MyWLAN
Channel: 6
IP: 192.168.1.30 SSID: MyWLAN
Channel: 6
IP: 192.168.1.254
IP: 192.168.1.20
Switch/ HUB
Router
IP: 192.168.1.10
Figure 4 – Configuration Example Two – Fixed IP on the WAN
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Configure the LAN interface:
Open LAN Interface
Setup page, enter the IP
Address
“192.168.1.254”,
Subnet Mask
“255.255.255.0”,
Default Gateway
“192.168.1.10”.
Press button to confirm the configuration setting.
Configure the WLAN interface:
Open WLAN Interface
Setup page, enter the
SSID “MyWLAN”,
Channel Number “6”.
Press button to confirm the configuration setting.
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 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 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.
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.
"CC&C declare that WL-1302 (802.11b Wireless Access Point) is limited in CH1~CH11 by
specified firmware controlled in USA."
IMPORTANT NOTE:
FCC Radiation Exposure Statement:
This equipment complies with FCC radiation exposure limits set forth for an uncontrolled
environment. This equipment should be installed and operated with minimum distance 20cm
between the radiator & your body.
This transmitter must not be co-located or operating in conjunction with any other antenna or
transmitter.
INFORMATION TO USER:
The users manual or instruction manual for an intentional or unintentional radiator shall caution
the user that changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for
compliance could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.

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