GemTek Technology WL211P WLAN PCMCIA Card User Manual manual

Gemtek Technology Co., Ltd. WLAN PCMCIA Card manual

manual

Wireless LAN User manual WL-211 PC CardPage 1User ManualWL-211PC Card Version 1.0 – February 1999
Wireless LANPage 2 WL-211 PC Card User manual Federal Communication Commission Interference Statement The information in this document is subject to change without notice and should not be construed as acommitment by GemTek Technology Co., Ltd. GemTek Technology assumes no responsibility for anyerror that may appear in this document.GemTek is a registered trademark of GemTek Technology Co., Ltd.The following are trademarked company and their names and products are used in this guide forinformation purpose only.PC Card is a trademark of PCMCIAWindows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.All the other trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.INFORMATION TO USERFCC REQUIREMENTSThis device complies with part 15 of the FCC Rules.Operation is subject to the following two conditions:(1) This device may not cause harmful interference, and(2) This device must accept any interference received , including interference that may causeundesired operation.NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residentialinstallation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used inaccordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guaranteethat interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio ortelevision reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correctthe interference by one or more 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 whichthe receiver is connected. consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help. FCC Caution: To assure continued compliance, (example - use only shielded interface cables whenconnecting to computer or peripheral devices). Any changes or modifications not expressly approvedby the party responsible for compliance could void the user's authority to operate this equipment.Responsible Party: Synnex Co;LTD. 3797 Spinnaker Ct. Fremont,CA 9453 Jim Nguyen Fax No: 510-668-3602Telephone No: 510-656-3333 Email Address : jimn@synnex.com
Wireless LAN User manual WL-211 PC CardPage 3FCC Radiation Exposure StatementThis equipment complies with FCC radiation exposure limits set forth for an uncontrolled environment.This equipment should be installed and operated with the minimum distance between your body andthe antenna as shown in the table below:Integrated PCMCIA Antenna 20cm (7 inches)
Wireless LANPage 4 WL-211 PC Card User manual1. Contents1 Contents ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 32 Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………… 43 Wireless LAN Basics………………………………………………………………………………….64. Installation for Windows 95 (OSR2)/98………………….………………………………………….7 4.1 Installation Overview……………………………….……………………………………………8 4.2. Installation Procedure of WL-211 PC Card…………………………………………….……..95. Configuration Utilit …………………………………..………………………………………………116. Troubleshooting …….……………………………………………………………….………………187. Technical specifications of WL-211..………………………………………….……………………19
Wireless LAN User manual WL-211 PC CardPage 52. IntroductionThank you for purchasing your Wireless LAN, WL-211 PC Card. This manual will assist you with theinstallation procedure.The package you have received should contain the following items:• WL-211 PC Card• User manual• Diskette containing Wireless LAN Management utility and driversNote: if anything is missing, please contact your vendorThe diskette contains the drivers and the program Gtutil that is used for managing the WL-211 Cardand establishing the wireless connection with your Local Area Network.
Wireless LANPage 6 WL-211 PC Card User manual3. Wireless LAN BasicsWireless LAN (Local Area Networks) systems offer a great number of advantages over a traditional,wired system. Wireless LANs (WLANs) are more flexible, easier to setup and manage and often morecost effective than their wired equivalence.Using radio frequency (RF) technology, WLANs transmit and receive data over the air, minimizing theneed for wired connections. Thus, WLANs combine data connectivity with user mobility, and, throughsimplified configuration, enable movable LANs.With wireless LANs, users can access shared information without looking for a place to plug in andnetwork managers can set up or augment networks without installing or moving wires. Wireless LANsoffer the following productivity, convenience and cost advantages over traditional wired networks:• Mobility - Wireless LAN systems can provide LAN users with access to real-time informationanywhere in their organization. This mobility supports productivity and service opportunities notpossible with wired networks. • Installation Speed and Simplicity - Installing a wireless LAN system can be fast and easy and caneliminate the need to pull cable through walls and ceilings. • Installation Flexibility - Wireless technology allows the network to go where wires cannot go. • Reduced Cost-of-Ownership - While the initial investment required for wireless LAN hardwaremight be higher than the cost of wired LAN hardware, overall installation expenses and life-cyclecosts will be significantly lower. Long-term cost benefits are greatest in dynamic environmentsrequiring frequent moves, adds, and changes. • Scalability - Wireless LAN systems can be configured in a variety of topologies to meet the needsof 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 thousandsof users that allows roaming over a broad area.
Wireless LAN User manual WL-211 PC CardPage 7A P-1100WINNT SERVERWIN 2000NT WorkstationWIN 98 NotebookFor PC CardHubA P-550WinC EWX-1150A ccess Point
Wireless LANPage 8 WL-211 PC Card User manual4. Installation for Windows 95 (OSR2)/98The following section will assist you to in installing wireless LAN Adapter successfully. You will firstinstall software (driver) and then insert the WL-211 wireless LAN card, and finally set the networkproperties to accommodate resource sharing and select the type of wireless network that you wish toinstall. The WL-211 can easily be installed and used, without bothering to connect cables for keepingyour computer to use network resources, as in case of wired LAN.
Wireless LAN User manual WL-211 PC CardPage 94.1. Installation OverviewHere are some steps you will perform in establishing your wireless network connection:! Install the Acess Point at first. AP is needed in case of Infrastructure network mode.! Install the software using the Installation Diskette.! Install the Wireless LAN Card (WL-211).! Install the network protocol(s) required to communicate on your network. Most likely you will needthe TCP/IP protocol.
Wireless LANPage 10 WL-211 PC Card User manual4.2. Installation Procedure of WL-211 PC CardPlease follow the following steps one by one in order to install the PCMCIA card successfully.1. Power on your computer and allow Windows 95 (OSR2)/98 to load fully.2. Be sure that there is no PCMCIA adapter inserted yet.3. Insert the given Installation Diskette and then click on the A:\disk1\ setup.exe.4. Accept the license agreement.5. Give the path of the destination folder. To set the path of your choice click on Browse and then clickNext.6. It takes a few seconds for copying the utility files and then click on Finish to complete the installation.7. Insert the WL-211F card into PCMCIA slot , windows will then prompt the required driver8. locate the driver path Ex. A:\ and install the driver9. restart the PC and Click on the Control Panel and then on PC Card. Check whether it has PCMCIA card in one of the sockets or not. If you find Gemtek IEE802.11PC Card in one of the sockets, it means the card is detected properly.10. Check for the GEMTEK 11Mbps Wireless PCMCIA LAN Card by right clicking on My Computer using the mouse. Select the Device manager and then Network Adapters. If you find the Yellow (?) sign on the adapter, it shows the installation is not successful. Select the adapter and click on Remove. Restart your computer after uninstalling the driver to make the changes effective. And refer to manual.11. Right click on the Network Neighborhood using the mouse.12. Select Properties from the pop up menu. The network box appears and you see three main tables:Configuration, Identification, and Access Control.13. Click on the Configuration tab and then click on the Add button. Select Network Component Typebox appears. Click on the Protocol the click the Add button.14. Select Network Protocols box appears. From the list of manufactures, click on Microsoft. From thelist of network protocols list, select NetBEUI, then click OK.15. The NetBEUI protocol is now installed. After clicking on OK return back to Network ComponentType box.16. Repeat the step 15 and 16 to add IPX/SPX protocol.17. Repeat the step 15 and 16 to add TCP/IP protocol.Note: Do not insert the PCMCIA card until you are asked to do so, failure of which may result in unsuccessful installationof your PCMCIA WLAN card
Wireless LAN User manual WL-211 PC CardPage 1118. Click on the TCP/IP option for setting the IP address for your computer. You can select either Staticor DHCP setting. If you use the static IP setup then enter the IP value, Subnet masking , DNS,Domain/ Workgroup name, and Gateway Address values. After setting these parameterappropriately, click OK to return to Network Component Type and you can select the File andPrinter Sharing options as well as the Access to your computer bu other users connected to thatnetwork by setting the computer sharing options. Click on OK.19. Screen message do want to restart your Computer will pop up. Select Yes. It will shut down yourcomputer and will restart.Proceed to chapter 5 for the explanation of the Configuration Utility.Important: Restart your computer to make the changes effective before you reinstall thedriver.
Wireless LANPage 12 WL-211 PC Card User manual5. Configuration Utility GemTek Inc PC Card Wireless LAN adapter (GemTek NIC) uses his own management software. Allfunctions controlled by user are provided by this application. Usually this application startsautomatically, Use Start, Programs, GemTek Wireless LAN to start the Manager application. A new icon - should appear in your Icon tray. If the icon is marked with a red “X”, it means thatGemTek NIC configuration is invalid or incomplete. Sometimes icon can be colored in red. This canhappen when driver is in Pseudo BSS mode, and the radio channel, which is used for communicationis defined incorrectly. Figure 1 Icon tray with a new icon Figure 2: Error Icon Double clicking on that icon will show you the screen as shown below. Figure 3 Management window with “Status” tab open User can navigate through “sheets”, by clicking or tapping them with a stylus. “OK” button will minimizewindow, and “Exit” (or X button) will close application. Here we explain the use and meanings of thevarious screen messages.
Wireless LAN User manual WL-211 PC CardPage 13 The first three fields show your wireless network card state. Link status – indicates link accesibility. There are several values, that can be shown in this part of thewindow: Connected - BSSID=… – normal flow of operation in Infrastructure mode. The PC is connected to access point. BSSID is shown in the form of hex digits. Networking is available. No status… - the manager is retrieving information from the driver. If this text box value stays more than several seconds, it means that there are no access points or other workstations (if communicating in AdHoc mode), or that the GemTek NIC card is plugged out of PC. Scanning for access point – driver scans wireless network searching for available access point in Infrastructure mode. Disabled or disconnected - . If this text box value stays more than several seconds, it means that there are no access points or other workstations (if communicating in Pseudo BSS mode), or that the GemTek NIC card is plugged out of PC. Undefined– means critical driver error. This error is usually caused by hardware misconfiguration (for example the card with similar chipset inserted in PC card bay, but not fully compatible with GemTek NIC). Input bytes/sec – shows the incoming (received) data speed, the progress bar below, means receiverload.Output bytes/sec – shows the outgoing (sent) data speed, the progress bar below, shows transmitterload.Signal strength : bar shows signal strength level. The higher blue bar is, the more powerful is radiosignal received by Gemtek PC card. This indicator helps to find the most comfortableantenna/workstation position for quality network operation.Link quality: The measured signal level gives the overall Link Quality and Connection Status.
Wireless LANPage 14 WL-211 PC Card User manual “CONFIGURATION” tabYou can change the configuration by clicking on the Change Configuration. When you click on theChange Configuration, you see the screen given below. Figure 4 Management window with "CONFIGURATION" tab open Five changeable fields in this field show desired GemTek NIC configuration.The fields are following: Station ESS ID Extended Service Set Identifier (Wireless Network Identifier) is the group name thatwill be shared by every member of your wireless network. You will only be able to connect with anAccess Point, which has the same ESS ID. Network mode shows one of these network modes:• Pseudo BSS -this is the 802.11 peer-to-peer mode of operation. In Ad Hoc only one wireless"cell" is supported for each different ESS ID. All communication is done from Client to Clientwithout the use of an Access Point.• Infrastructure This mode of operation requires the presence of an 802.11 Access Point. Allcommunication is done via the Access Point, which relays packets to other wireless Clients inthe BSS (Basic Service Set) as well as to nodes on a wired network such as Ethernet.
Wireless LAN User manual WL-211 PC CardPage 15 Encapsulation shows one of two different network packet forming modes• None or Encapsulated This setting takes the entire Ethernet frame, including the EthernetHeader, and puts it into an 802.11 frame. This setting is here for compatibility with some older802.11 implementations and should not normally be used.• RFC1042 where the DIX Ethernet frames are converted using SNAP header based onRFC1042. This mode will also convert any RFC1042 SNAP header frames to DIX Ethernetframes before transmission to the Ethernet interface.• 802.1h where the DIX Ethernet frames are tunneled using a full selective translation table. Thismode does not convert RFC1042 SNAP header frames to DIX Ethernet before transmission tothe Ethernet interfaceIt is required to select encapsulation mode corresponding to the one your access point or otherworkstations use. If the encapsulation mode is incorrect, the PC will join to access point or willbe seen by other workstations, but network operation will not work.Channel – shows radio channel number used for networking. Only Access Points and Ad Hoc nodescan create a BSS therefore this parameters is not active if Mode is Infrastructure. Infrastructure Clientnodes will always go the same channel as their AP. Please see the table for the requirements ofdifferent countries and the channel frequency.TX Rate: The transmission rate at which the data packets are transmitted by the client or AP. You canset this to Auto select I or 2Mbps, Fixed 1 Mbps, Fixed 2 Mbps, Fixed 5.5 Mbps, Fixed 11 or Full Auto(I to 11 Mbps).Important: You must know the TX Rate that your AP can support. Failure to which maycause the undesired results.
Wireless LANPage 16 WL-211 PC Card User manual“ENCRYPTION” tabFigure 5 Management window with “Encryption” tab openYou may desire an additional measure of security on your wireless network, which can beachieved by using WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) encryption. WEP encrypts each frametransmitted from the radio using one of the Keys entered from this panel.When an encrypted frame is received it will only be accepted if it decrypts correctly. This will onlyhappen if the receiver has the WEP Key used by the transmitter.This panel allows the entry of four keys, which can then be written to the driver and registry. Eachkey must consist of hex digits, it means that only digit 0-9 and letters A-F are valid entries. Ifentered incorrectly program will not write keys to a driver.Key 1 – Key 4: These four fields must be used to enter the keys.Write : This button updates the driver with the four keys displayed in Key1 through Key4. The keysare also written to the registry for permanent storage.Clear : This button clears all the bytes in the four keys, useful when entering and you wish to startover.
Wireless LAN User manual WL-211 PC CardPage 17Default Key : This pop-up field defines one of the four keys which will be used by the driver toencrypt frames it will be transmitting. This field does not affect decryption, as the driver candecrypt any frame that it receives which was encrypted with one of the four keys.Enable : This checkbox enables or disables encryption operation. When it is checked, encryptionis enabled, and when unchecked – encryption is disabled. The corresponding action is written to adriver immediately.
Wireless LANPage 18 WL-211 PC Card User manual “ABOUT” tab Figure 6 Management window with "ABOUT" tab openAbout tab shows a software version. Users must use this version number when reporting theirproblems to tech support.
Wireless LAN User manual WL-211 PC CardPage 196. TroubleshootingTo make the installation of Wireless LAN Card more users friendly, we have suggested following theinstallation steps one by one as listed in the section 4 and section 5. Still you encounter someproblems while installing the WLAN Card or you want to confirm whether your card is installed properlyor not, we have listed the procedure for checking the various components after you have installed thecard. In first part of Troubleshooting, we have suggested the users to check the various properties ofthe card to check the proper installation. In second section, we have listed the various problems thatyou may encounter during the installation and have also listed the possible solution. Check the firstpart to guess the probable reason of unsuccessful installation.Procedure to Check the Various Properties of Card after Installation under Windows 95(OSR2)/98:Please check the followings if you encounter some problem while installing the PCMCIA card or yourPCMCIA card is non-functional.1. Click on the Control Panel and then on PC Card. Check whether it has PCMCIA card in oneof the sockets or not. If you find GemTek IEEE 802.11 PC CARDd in one of the sockets, itmeans the card is detected properly. If you see the Yellow sign of Question-mark (?), theresources are conflicting.2. Right click on My Computer and the select Properties. Select the Device Manager and clickon the Network Adapter. You will find GemTek IEEE 802.11 PC CARD if it is installedsuccessfully. If you see the Yellow sign the resources are conflicting. Click on PCMCIA Cardand then on PCMCIA Card Service, you can see the status of PCMCIA card. If there are yellowsip either on adapter or PCMCIA card, please check the followings.i) Check if your Notebook supports 3.3V Card.ii) Check if your Notebook has a free IRQ. If not, make an IRQ free by assigning the same IRQ to some devices, for example COM 1, COM 2 can be assigned same IRQ values.iii) Check that you have inserted the right card and have installed the proper driver.
Wireless LANPage 20 WL-211 PC Card User manual7. Technical specifications of WL-211Hardware compatibility− IBM-compatible computer with a PC Card Type IIDriver supportNDIS 3.1− Windows 95 OSR2− Windows 98− Windows NT 4 and higher− Linux− WinCE(x86,SH4,MIPS)Standards supported− IEEE 802.11 standard for Wireless LAN− All major networking standards (including TCP/IP, IPX)EnvironmentalOperating temperature (ambient):− -10°C to 50°C (Operating),-20 to 70°C (Storing)− Max . Humidity:95% Non-condensingPower specificationsOperating voltage:− +5 V ,+3.3V DC ±5%− Nominal Temp Range: 17 dBm− Extended Temp Range: 14 dBm min.− Transmit Power, 2.7v to 3v: 14 dBm min.Radio specificationsRange:− per cell indoors approx. 35-100 meters or more− per cell outdoors up to 100-300 metersFrequency range:− 2.4-2.4835 GHz, direct sequence spread spectrumNumber of Channels:− Europe: 13 (3 non-overlapping)− US: 11 (3 non-overlapping)− France: 4 (1 non-overlapping)Antenna system:
Wireless LAN User manual WL-211 PC CardPage 21− Internal patch antenna supporting diversity.Mobility:− Seamless roaming across cell boundaries with handoverSpecific featuresSupported bit rates:− 11 Mbps− 5.5 Mbps− 1 Mbps− 2 MbpsData encryption:− 40 bit WEP Encryption, 128-bit key length optionalUtility Software:− Link Config™ User setup & diagnostics toolKey Management:− Automatic Dynamic Key Allocation (ADKA) through public keyPhysical Dimensions− Extended type-II PC Card 110 x 54 x 6 mm− Weight 3
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