Cisco Linksys WPC11-V3 PCMCIA Wireless LAN Card User Manual user s manual
Cisco-Linksys, LLC PCMCIA Wireless LAN Card user s manual
Manual
PCMCIA 11M
Wireless LAN Card
User Manual
Rev 0.9
i
Regulatory Compliance
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 resi-
dential 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 interfer-
ence to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is
encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:
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.
Wireless LAN card user manual
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IMPORTANT NOTE:
Federal Communications Commission (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 operation in conjunction with any other antenna or transmitter.
CE Mark Warning
This 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.
This transmitter must not be co-located or operation in conjunction with any other antenna or transmitter.
About this manual
This 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.
¾ Software installation procedure.
¾ Trouble shooting procedures
Preface
iii
Table of contents
CHAPTER 1 .................................................................................................... 1
Introduction 1
Features ............................................................................................... 1
What is Wireless LAN?......................................................................... 2
LAN Modes........................................................................................... 3
Notes on wireless LAN configuration................................................... 4
CHAPTER 2 .................................................................................................... 5
Hardware installation 5
What’s in the package.......................................................................... 5
Hardware description .......................................................................... 5
Inserting the Wireless LAN card .......................................................... 6
Status LEDs.......................................................................................... 7
Ejecting the Wireless LAN card ........................................................... 7
CHAPTER 3 .................................................................................................... 9
Driver installation for Windows 9
Driver installation for Windows 95...................................................... 9
Driver installation for Windows 98.................................................... 15
Driver installation for Windows 2000.................... ! 8
Driver installation for Windows NT 4.0................. ! 2
Driver Installation for Windows ME...................... ! 6
CHAPTER 4 .................................................................................................. 28
Using the Wireless Utility 28
Installation in Windows ..................................................................... 28
Using the Wireless Utility .................................................................. 36
APPENDIX A ................................................................................................ 39
Troubleshooting 39
Q&A for Windows environments........................................................ 39
APPENDIX B................................................................................................. 41
Specifications ..................................................................................... 41
1
Chapter 1
Chapter 1Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the Wireless LAN card. This high-speed Wireless LAN card provides you with an innova-
tive wireless networking solution. The Card is easy to set 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 in your
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 avail-
ability 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
• Ensures great security by providing the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard
What is Wireless LAN?
Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) systems offer a great number of advantages over traditional wired sys-
tems. WLANs are flexible and easy to setup and manage. 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 moving network 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 organiza-
tion, providing service opportunities that are impossible 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.
• Scalability: WLANs can be configured in a variety of topologies to adapt to specific applications and
installations. Configurations are easily changed and range 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 Modes
Wireless LANs can be configured in one of two ways:
Ad-hoc
Networking
Also known as a peer-to-peer network, an ad-hoc net-
work is one that allows all workstations and computers
in the network to act as servers to all other users on
the network. Users on the network can share files,
print to a shared printer, and access the Internet with a
shared modem. However, with ad-hoc networking,
users can only communicate with other wireless LAN
computers that are in the wireless LAN workgroup, and
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are within range.
Infrastructure
Networking
Infrastructure 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 the
shared bandwidth, on an infrastructure network the
access point can manage the bandwidth to maximize
bandwidth utilization.
Additionally, the access point enables users on a
wireless LAN to access an existing wired network, al-
lowing wireless users to take advantage of the wired
networks resources, such as Internet, email, file
transfer, and printer sharing.
Infrastructure networking has the following advantages
over ad-hoc networking:
• Extended range: each wireless LAN computer
within the range of the access point can commu-
nicate with other wireless LAN computers within
range of the access point.
• Roaming: the access point enables a wireless
LAN computer to move through a building and
still be connected to the LAN.
• Wired to wireless LAN connectivity: the access
point bridges the gap between wireless LANs and
their wired counterparts.
Notes on wireless LAN configuration
When configuring a wireless LAN (WLAN), be sure to note the following points:
• 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 a range of 100 ~ 300 feet, depending on the thick-
ness 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 reinforcing metal 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.
3
Chapter 2
Chapter 2Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Hardware installation
This chapter covers inserting your Wireless LAN card in the PCMCIA slot of notebook, and connecting the card to a
network.
What’s in the package
Please 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 guide
Hardware description
The Wireless LAN Card is encased in a stainless compact frame and has a 68-pin connector for attaching to the
PCMCIA port of notebook.
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Inserting the Wireless LAN card
Note! These instructions apply to most notebook computers.
For detailed information on inserting PC cards into
your 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 installation
5
Status LEDs
The following table describes the meaning of the LEDs:
LED MEANING
PWR 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, and
the link is not active. When lit, indicates that the card is
locked to a channel, and the link is active.
Ejecting the Wireless LAN card
After 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 have
to power down the notebook to remove the card. The card
is hot-swappable—you can remove the card when the
notebook is powered on. However, Microsoft recommends
that you stop the card. Refer to your Windows
2000/ME/98/95 online help for information on stopping the
Wireless LAN card.
Most notebooks have an eject lever or button for ejecting PC cards from the PC slots. Consult your notebook manual
for details.
Warning! To prevent data loss, do not eject the Wireless LAN card
when a data transmission is taking place. Exit your commu-
nications program normally, stop the card if necessary, and
then remove the card.
This concludes Chapter 2. The next chapter covers driver installation for Windows 2000/ME/98/95/NT operat-
ing systems.
7
Chapter 3
Chapter 3Chapter 3
Chapter 3
Driver installation for Windows
The following sections cover Wireless LAN card driver installation in the Windows 2000/ME/98/95/NT operating
systems.
Driver installation for Windows 95
There 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 which version you are using, click to run the System icon in Con-
trol 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 OSR2
1. Insert the Wireless LAN card into an available PCMCIA slot in your notebook (refer to page !
- Inserting the wireless LAN card).
2. After Windows 95 detects the card, the Update Device Driver Wizard window appears:
3. Insert the driver disc and click Next to continue the installation. Windows searches for the driver and
the following screen appears:
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4. Click Other Locations to bring up the following window:
5. Type K: where K 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.
—Driver installation for Windows
9
8. Again type K: where K is your CD-ROM drive letter and click OK. After copying the driver files.
Windows 95 prompts you to restart the system. Click Yes to continue the installation.
Note! If you did not install the Windows 95
OSR2 from your hard drive, Windows
will prompt you to input the path to the
Windows 95 CD-ROM. Follow the in-
structions on your screen, then click
OK 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 version
1. Insert the LAN Modem card into an available PCMCIA slot in your notebook (refer to page !
- Inserting the LAN Modem card).
2. After Windows 95 detects the card, the Update Device Driver Wizard window appears:
3. Click OK. The Windows prompt you to give the path of driver files.
4. Type K: where K 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.
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After you rebooted the computer, system will start to install Wireless utility automatically. Please refer to
procedures at Chapter 4.
—Driver installation for Windows
11
Driver installation for Windows 98
Follow 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 !
- 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 scre-
en appears:
5. 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:
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7. Click Next. Windows 98 copies files to your hard disk drive, and you see the following screen:
8. 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 you
to input the path to the files. Follow the
instructions on your screen, and then
click 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 2000
Follow 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 !
- Inserting the Wireless LAN card).
2. After Windows 2000 detects the Wireless LAN card, the Found New Hardware Wizard window ap-
pears:
—Driver installation for Windows
13
3. 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:
5. 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:
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6. Click Next to continue. The following screen appears:
7. 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.
—Driver installation for Windows
15
Driver installation for Windows NT 4.0
This 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 Windows 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 !
- 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 fol-
lowing screen:
4. Click Add to add a new adapter. The following screen appears:
5. Click Have Disk. The following screen appears:
6. Type K:\ Winnt40 where K 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.
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7. Select PCMCIA WLAN Card v2.5 and Click OK. Windows will configure the Wireless LAN card.
You are returned to the Network window.
8. Click Close to exit the Network window. Windows NT 4.0 will bind the adapter with the network com-
ponent 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 re-
start the system.
9. Click Yes to finish the installation.
10. 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
17
Driver Installation for Windows ME
Follow 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 !
- 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:
5. 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 you
to input the path to the files. Follow the
instructions on your screen, and then
click OK to continue.
After you have rebooted the computer, system will start to install Wireless utility automatically. Please refer to
procedures at Chapter 4.
19
Chapter 4
Chapter 4Chapter 4
Chapter 4
Using the Wireless Utility
The following sections cover the Wireless LAN card utility installation and usage.
Installation in Windows
After you have installed the wireless LAN card driver and have rebooted the computer. Please follow the steps
below.
1. Execute SETUP.EXE in your CD-ROM drive.
2. The following screen appears:
3. Select PCMCIA 11M WLAN Card v2.5 and click Next, the following screen appears:
4. Click Next. The following screen appears:
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5. Read the End User License Agreement and click Yes. The following screen appears:
6. Type in a System ID name for your wireless LAN. This system ID identifies all computers in the wire-
less LAN. Then click Next. The following screen appears:
7. Choose the Network Mode for your wireless node.
8. Click Next. The following screen appears:
9. Select the default path for the wireless utility or browse to an alternate path. Then click Next. The fol-
lowing screen appears:
—Using the Wireless Utility
21
10. Type in a Program Folder name or select the default name and click Next. Setup installs the software
and the following screen appears:
11. Click Finish to finish the utility installation.
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After you have installed the utility, you will see the wireless utility icon in the Windows taskbar:
FreePort utility icon
Icon Meaning
Green: indicates a connection is active.
Red: indicates no connection is active.
Yellow: indicates that the wireless LAN card is
looking for an available access point.
Double-click the icon to open the configuration utility.
—Using the Wireless Utility
23
The 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 per
second.
Throughput: displays the transfer
and receive rates in bytes per second.
Link Quality: when connected to the
wired LAN, displays the connection
integrity.
Signal Strength: when connected to
the wired LAN, displays the signal
strength.
Note: Link quality and signal strength
are not available when using a peer-
to-peer connection.
Mode: displays the current LAN
mode, either 802.11 AdHoc or Infra-
structure.
SSID: displays a list of Service Set
Identifications.
Tx Rate: displays a list of transfer
rates.
PS Mode: allows you to enable or
disable power saving mode.
Channel: enables you to select a
transmission channel.
The Encryption window enables you
to create an encryption scheme for
Wireless LAN transmissions.
You can also manually enter a set of
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This screen displays the version
number of the Wireless LAN card and
the Configuration Utility.
—Using the Wireless Utility
25
Using the Wireless Utility
The 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 card
to 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 ! ).
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:
6. Select 802.11 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 settings 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 Link Info tab of the configuration utility shows an active
connection:
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8. After the connection has been established, double-click the Network Neighborhood icon on your desk-
top to view the two computers connected to the peer-to-peer network:
27
Appendix A
Appendix AAppendix A
Appendix A
Troubleshooting
Q&A
These guidelines give you tips to deal with some problems you may encounter while using the Wireless LAN
card. If the problems remain unsolved, contact your dealer 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, you should 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 the taskbar 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 rein-
serted. The Windows 95/98 drivers may read an incorrect 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 have such a digital signature, however it is fully compati-
ble 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 and make sure you are within range of an Access Point or
client.
Question: 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 correct for your network.
29
Appendix B
Appendix BAppendix B
Appendix B
Specifications
Standards Compliance: IEEE802.11b WLAN Standard,
PCMCIA 2.1 and JEIDA 4.2 Standard
Socket Interface: 68-pin 16-bit PCMCIA socket connector
Card Size: PCMCIA extended Type II
Frequency: 2.412 to 2.462GHz ( Industrial Scientific Medical
Band )
Antenna: Built-in strip Antenna
Roaming: 802.11 compliant
Data Rate: 11Mbps / 5.5Mbps / 2Mbps / 1Mbps
Modulation Technique: Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum
BPSK / QPSK / CCK
Coverage Area: Indoor : 50m @ 11Mbps, 80m @ 5.5Mbps or lower
Outdoor : 150m @ 11Mbps,
300m @ 5.5Mbps or lower
Power: DC +3.3V /+5V, 220mA (3.3V)
Output Power: 16dBm (typical)
Receiver Sensitivity: -80dBm Min.
Operating Environment: Temperature: 0o to 55oC
Humidity: 10% to 90%
Dimensions: 115 x 54 x 11.5mm
Weight: 47g