GemTek Technology WX1520 WLAN Access Point User Manual Managing Access Points with APCenter

Gemtek Technology Co., Ltd. WLAN Access Point Managing Access Points with APCenter

manual

Version 1.2 – June 2000Important NoticeThis device is a 2.4 GHz low power Wireless Access Point transceiverintended for use in all EU memberstates, except for France whererestrictive use applies.Please refer to page 4 of this manual for further details.
Version 1.1 – June 2000
Copyright statementNo part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, whetherelectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior writing of the publisher.Printed in Taiwan, June 2000
FCC Radiation Exposure StatementThis equipment complies with FCC radiation exposure limits set forth for an uncontrolled environment. This equipment shouldbe installed and operated with the minimum distance between your body and the antenna as shown in the table below:Low gain indoor antennas (6dBi) 4.5cm (1.8 inches)Note: Detached antennas, whether installed indoors or out, should be installed ONLY by experienced antenna installation professionals whoare familiar with local building and safety codes and, wherever applicable, are licensed by the appropriate government regulatory authorities.R&TTE Compliance StatementThis equipment complies with all the requirements of the DIRECTIVE 1999/5/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ANDTHE COUNCIL of 9 March 1999 on radio equipment and telecommunication terminal Equipment and the mutual recognition oftheir conformity (R&TTE).The R&TTE Directive repeals and replaces in the directive 98/13/EEC (Telecommunications Terminal Equipment and SatelliteEarth Station Equipment) As of April 8, 2000.SafetyThis equipment is designed with the utmost care for the safety of those who install and use it. However, special attention mustbe paid to the dangers of electric shock and static electricity when working with electrical equipment. All guidelines of thismanual and of the computer manufacturer must therefore be allowed at all times to ensure the safe use of the equipment.EU Countries intended for useThe ETSI version of this device is intended for home and office use in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France (withFrequency channel restrictions), Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden andUnited Kingdom.The ETSI version of this device is also authorized for use in EFTA member states Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway andSwitzerland.EU Countries Not intended for useNone.Potential restrictive useFrance: Only channels 10,11,12, and13
 We, the undersigned,Company GEMTEK Technology Co., Ltd.Address, City No.1, Jen Ai Road, Hsinchu Industrial Park Hukuo Hsiang, Hsinchu HsienCountry Taiwan, R.O.CPhone number 886-3-598-5535 x1030Fax number 886-3-598-5585certify and declare under our sole responsibility that the following equipment:Product description / Intended use 2.4 GHz Low Power RLAN Access Point transceiverEU /EFTA memberstates intended for use EU: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany Greece,Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain,Sweden, United KingdomEFTA: Switzerland, Iceland, Lichtenstein, NorwayRestrictive use France (operating band restricted to 2446.5-2483.5MHz)Manufacturer GEMTEKk Technology Co., Ltd.Brand GEMTEKType WX1500 and WX1520is tested to and conforms with the essential radio test suites included in following standards:Standard Issue dateETS 300 328ETS 300 826EN 60950Ed.2, Nov.1996Ed.1, Nov. 1997(1992), incl. A1(1993), A2(1993),A3(1995), A4(1997)and therefore complies with the essential requirements and provisions of the Directive 1999/5/EC of theEuropean Parliament and of the council of 9 march 1999 on Radio equipment and Telecommunications TerminalEquipment and the mutual recognition of their conformity and Annex IV (Conformity Assessment procedurereferred to in article 10(4)).The following Notified Bodies have been consulted in the Conformity Assessment procedure:Notified Body number Name and address0122 NMi Certin B.V., POB 15, 9822 ZG Niekerk, The NetherlandsThe technical documentation as required by the Conformity Assessment procedure is kept at the following address:Company NoWiresNeeded B.V.Address, City Rembrandtlaan 1a, BilthovenCountry The NetherlandsPhone number +31 30 2296060Fax number +31 30 2296061Drawn up in Hsinchu Hsien, Taiwan R.O.C.Date 1 June 2000Name and position Mike Chen, Vice President, GemTek Technology Co., Ltd.GemTek Technology Co., Ltd.
1 Contents1 Contents................................................................................................................................................................................... 62 Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................................. 73 Installation ................................................................................................................................................................................ 84 APManager™ Features ........................................................................................................................................................... 94.1 APManager™ Main Window .......................................................................................................................................... 104.2 Quick Start to Wireless Networking................................................................................................................................ 114.3 Managing WLANs .......................................................................................................................................................... 114.4 Managing Access Points................................................................................................................................................ 124.4.1 Network Settings Dialog......................................................................................................................................... 144.4.2 Searching for Access Points .................................................................................................................................. 144.4.3 Manually programming IP addresses .................................................................................................................... 154.5 Managing Security ......................................................................................................................................................... 164.5.1 Access Control ....................................................................................................................................................... 174.6 Updating Access Point Settings..................................................................................................................................... 184.7 IEEE 802.11 WEP Security............................................................................................................................................ 194.8 More about Cells ............................................................................................................................................................ 194.9 Compatibility................................................................................................................................................................... 205 Glossary ................................................................................................................................................................................. 216 Technical specifications of WX-1500 / 1520 .......................................................................................................................... 226.1 Standards supported...................................................................................................................................................... 226.2 Environmental ................................................................................................................................................................ 226.3 Power specifications ...................................................................................................................................................... 226.4 Radio specifications ....................................................................................................................................................... 226.5 Specific features............................................................................................................................................................. 226.6 Physical Dimensions ...................................................................................................................................................... 22
2 IntroductionThank you for purchasing your WX-1500 / 1520 Wireless LAN Access Point. This manual will assist you with the installationprocedure.The package you have received should contain the following items: User manual WX-1500 / 1520 Access Point Power adapter Diskette containing APManager SoftwareNote: if anything is missing, please contact your vendorA wireless LAN is normally used in a predefined environment. In such a network, Access Points are mounted at assignedplaces, each covering its own area in which wireless nodes can operate. These Access Points are connected to a wired networkto communicate with each other and with servers and clients on that network.The WX-1500SB Access Point can be connected to a 10 Mbps Ethernet network through a RJ45 (UTP) connector.
3 Installation1. Mount the Access Point firmly to the wall on the position that is determined during the site survey. A drill model is suppliedas a separate sheet with this manual.2. Make sure the antennas are in a vertical position (if not, rotate over 90 degrees).3. Insert the power connector.4. Attach the UTP Ethernet cable to the Access Point.5. Switch on the Access Point.At the front of the Access Point you will see three LEDs.If all goes well, the middle LED (power) is green and the leftmost (WLAN) and rightmost (wired network) LEDs flash wheneverthere is traffic on the respective networks which is at least ten times per second for the wireless LAN because of so-called‘beacons’.The Access Point automatically selects the medium attached. When the cable network is detected, the network LED will turnyellow.You can reset the Access Point’s settings to factory defaults by pushing a paperclip in the little hole next to the power switch.The sequence of the ACT is on, and holding until the LED being off.When you push a paperclip in the reset hole while the Access Point is switched on, only the lock set by APManager™ (Par 4.5)is deactivated.
4 APManager™ FeaturesAPManager™ provides a consistent view of the Wireless network. The systems administrator can use APManager™ to controla large number of WX-1500 / 1520 Access Points from a single location. The Access Points are remotely updated via the SNMP(Simple Network Management Protocol).Among the supported features are: Adding and removing Access Points Restricting access to the Wireless network Managing data protection options such as IEEE 802.11 WEP Assigning radio channels for optimal cell management Grouping the wireless network into multiple WLANs with individual access control and security options Programming an Access Point with a specified IP address Setting the SNMP Write Community string Storing the Access Point configurations on disk Verifying the status of all Access Points in the network
4.1 APManager™ Main WindowThe Main Window of APManager™ may look like this. Before going into detail it is good to have an idea of what kind ofinformation to expect.You may wish to skip to Quick Start to Wireless Networking.The tree structure on the left of the window shows a list of WLANs (Wireless LANs) and the Access Points that are part of eachWLAN. The sample image above shows a single Access Point with hardware address 00:10:91:00:07:20 that is assigned to theWLAN named “gemtek”. The icons indicate the status of the WLANs and their associated Access Points.You can use clicking, double clicking, dragging etc. to view Access Point properties or move an Access Point to another WLANetc. See Managing WLANs.The name (or ESSID) of the WLAN is used for identifying the WLAN. Client stations can roam freely over Access Points thathave the same ESSID. Therefore the security options for all Access Points with the same ESSID are identical. Security optionscan be managed through the WLAN Security property sheet. See the section on Managing Security.The Access Point property sheet will mainly be used to select a radio channel for each Access Point. See Managing AccessPoints below.
4.2 Quick Start to Wireless NetworkingConfiguring a Wireless Network for the very first time, involves the following seven steps:1. Physically connect the Access Points to the Ethernet LAN. Make sure they are switched on. The GemTek wireless networkwill be up and running immediately. If you are content with the default settings of the Access Points, you can stop righthere. It is more likely however, that you want to assign different radio frequencies to each Access Point, or impose somerestrictions on the use of your wireless network.2. To be able to manage the Access Points via SNMP, every Access Point needs a unique IP address. If you provide a DHCPor BOOTP service on your LAN (and have sufficient free IP addresses available) this will be taken care of automatically. Ifnot, please read the section Manually programming IP addresses.3. Fire up APManager™ and configure the Network Settings to reflect your situation (Use the Edit/Network Settings… menuitem). See the section Network Settings Dialog for details.4. Create at least one WLAN (Edit/Insert Wireless LAN) and select the desired security configuration options.5. Apply the built-in scanning function under Edit/Search Access Points to collect information about the Access Points. Seethe section Searching for Access Points for more information about the scanning function. Drag the new Access Points tothe WLAN of your choice.6. Select the radio channels of the Access Points according to your cell plan. See also More about Cells. Add descriptiveinformation about each Access Point for later reference.7. Save the configuration information to disk, and commit the new settings to the Access Points in your network. Using thisbutton.Note that the actual settings of the Access Points will not be affected until the Commit to Network function is executed. Ifyou quit APManager™, you will be asked to both save and commit.See Updating Access Point Settings.You can open the saved configuration file anytime you to make changes to the network.4.3 Managing WLANsA WLAN or “Wireless Local Area Network” consists of a number of Access Points that together provide seamlessaccess to any wireless stations that are in reach of any of the Access Points.Create a WLAN Select the Edit/Insert Wireless LAN menuitem to insert a new WLAN into the list.Type the name (ESSID) of the newWLAN.Destroy a WLAN Remove an empty WLAN by pressingDelete or selecting the Edit/Clear menuitem.Rename a WLAN Click on the label of the WLAN to changeits name (ESSID). Note that client stationsuse the name to identify the WLAN.You can move an Access Point from one WLAN to another by dragging it with the mouse or by selecting Edit/Cut followed byEdit/Paste.There are two WLANs that have a special meaning in APManager™. These are the Unused Access Points and DisabledAccess Points special WLAN’s.UnusedAccess PointsAPManager™ does not manage the UnusedAccess Points within the context of the currentdocument. In other words, these Access Pointsare ignored. You can view some informationabout them (e.g. radio channel), but not modifyany of their properties. APManager™ does notchange the settings of these Access Pointswhen File/Commit to Network is selected. This isuseful when different people manage differentsets of Access Points.DisabledAccess PointsAccess Points that are moved to this folder willbe made inaccessible for any client station assoon as they are updated.
4.4 Managing Access PointsIndividual Access Points are identified by their hardware address (or MAC address). To insert a new Access Point into theAPManager™ document by hand, its hardware address must be known. You can search for Access Points in your networkautomatically; see Searching for Access Points.Insert anAccess PointSelect the Edit/Insert Access Point menu item toinsert a new Access Point into the selectedWLAN. APManager™ will ask for the hardwareaddress of the Access Point.Disable anAccess PointMove an Access Point to the “Disabled” specialWLAN by pressing Delete or selecting theEdit/Clear menu item. Access Points in thisspecial WLAN will not be accessible for anyclient station. See Managing WLANs.The Access Points are shown with one of the following icons.On-line The Access Point is accessible on-line.Off-line The Access Point is currently not accessible, orthe IP address is not known or incorrect.Locked The Access Point is permanently locked. Itsproperties cannot be changed.Select the Access Point property sheet to view or modify the settings of the selected Access Point. The main function is to beable to program the Access Point’s radio channel to match the cell plan. See the section “More about Cells” for details.
Read-only features shown include hardware address, brand and version, and the regulatory domain.Hardware address (MAC address)Brand, type, and versioninformation.The regulatory domain for whichthe Access Point has beenconfigured (factory setting). Notethat it is illegal to use the AccessPoint outside the designateddomain. See Regulatory Domainsfor details.The IP address and the hostnameof the Access Point.The radio channel number. Thepermissible channels depend onthe Regulatory Domain.An optional description field foreasy reference.
4.4.1 Network Settings DialogSelecting the Edit/Network Settings… menu item (or clicking the corresponding toolbar button) pops up the Network Settingsdialog. Use this dialog to inform APManager™ about your network configuration. APManager™ needs this information to beable to scan for Access Points.Add your network addresses (subnets) by entering the correct information in the Network address, mask and default gatewayfields in the dialog, and clicking the Set button for each network/subnet. To view the details of a particular network, click on theAddress field in the list. Click the Remove button to delete a network from the list.If the computer on which APManager is running is connected to all your networks directly, you can try Auto Add Local Networksto insert them in the list. Note: if subnetting is used, the network addresses and masks generated by this function may not becorrect and should be adjusted manually.4.4.2 Searching for Access PointsAPManager™ has an easy-to-use Access Point discovery function that simplifies the administration of the Access Points in yournetwork. You normally apply the Search function in one of the following situations: New Access Points have been added to the network The IP address of one or more Access Points is no longer valid or known, possibly because the DHCP or BOOTP serverhas assigned it a different IP address. You may be informed of this fact because the Access Points will be reported off-lineby APManager™.Invoke the Search function by selecting the menu command Edit/Search Access Points, or pressing the associated toolbarbutton. While APManager™ is scanning the network, you may continue work on the document. If necessary you can abort ascan by clicking on the Abort Search button.A progress indicator will be shown in the status bar.
4.4.3 Manually programming IP addressesThe preferred method of providing IP addresses for your Access Points is applying a DHCP or BOOTP server in your network. Ifyou do, the Access Points will acquire an IP address automatically from this server.If you do not have a DHCP server it is possible to set the IP address of your Access Points from APManager™.1. Physically connect the Access Points and the computer on which you run APManager™ to the same Ethernet segment.2. Make sure there is no DHCP or BOOTP server running.3. Switch the Access Points on. The network LED should light up in red.4. Configure the network you want your Access Points to be part of. See Network Settings Dialog for details.5. Enter the hardware addresses of the Access Points by hand using the Edit/Insert Access Point menu command or clickingthe appropriate toolbar button.6. For each Access Point select Edit/Set IP Address menu command and enter the required IP address manually. As soon asyou press apply, the Access Point should acquire the designated IP address. Within a few seconds the network LED on theAccess Point should light up green.Note that you may or may not be able to communicate with the Access Point, depending on the validity of the IP address inthe current Ethernet segment.
4.5 Managing SecurityMaintaining security in a wireless LAN environment is somewhat different from a wired network, because the radio waves do notstop at your office walls. Eavesdropping or unauthorised access from outside your building can be a serious threat.There are three types of actions involved: Protecting your data while it is transferred from one station to another. Encryption techniques will be necessary in mostenvironments (Data Privacy). Control who can make use of the wireless network (Access Control). Protecting your network configuration against tampering from both inside and outside your organisation (SecureManagement).Data Privacy An WX-1500SB Access Point supports three differentdata privacy algorithms: unencrypted data;standardised IEEE 802.11 WEP (based on a 40 bitshared key), and No Wires Needed AirLock™ (basedon automatically generated 128 bit session keys).Access Control The IEEE 802.11 standard allows for Access Controlrules based on the client station’s hardware address,and is fully implemented by the WX-1500SB. IfAirLock™ is enabled, the hardware address is alsoverified using cryptographic techniques. See the sectionon AirLock™ Security Architecture.SecureManagementThe primary protection against tampering for any SNMPagent is the Write Community String (WCS), whichfunctions as a password for network managementcommands. The WCS is sent over your network in plaintext, making it vulnerable to eavesdropping from withinyour organisation. The WCS is never sent over theradio, however.If you want you can lock your Access Points. Afterbeing locked they can no longer be managed viaSNMP. Press the pinhole Reset switch on the back-panel of the Access Point to unlock the Access Point.Select the required security options in the WLAN Security property sheet.Use this button to lock the settings of theAccess Points (almost) permanentlyEdit the Community Stringfield to modify the SNMPWrite Community String forall Access Points in theselected WLAN.Select the data privacyalgorithm(s) you want tosupport in the Access Points.See the section AccessControl for details..
4.5.1 Access ControlWithin the IEEE 802.11 framework, Access Control is based on the hardware address of the client stations. Per client you canselect whether or not it will be allowed access to your wireless network infrastructure. On the WLAN Security tab, check the UseAccess Control box to enable Access Control. If this box is not checked, any client station can associate with your network.Click the Access Control Settings… button on the WLAN Security tab to pop up the Access Control Dialog. Press Add… to enterthe client stations you want to grant access.A default rule determines whether unregistered stations can join. You can move clients between Access Granted and AccessDenied lists by clicking the >> and << buttons or pressing the left and right arrow keys.Press Apply to confirm your changes and close the dialog.
4.6 Updating Access Point SettingsAfter modifying the open APManager™ document you should update the Access Points in your network with the new settings.This is done for all Access Points simultaneously by selecting the File/Commit to Network menu command. Or clicking theassociated toolbar button. During the update the following Dialog is displayed:Access Point thatis currently beingprocessed.Progress indicatorUpdate resultcounters. The‘Skipped’ countrefers to AccessPoints in the‘Unused’ specialWLAN.Specific errormessages.Within 10 seconds after the Access Point has been successfully updated it will disconnect all client stations that are joined withit, and restart with the new settings. While restarting it will show red LEDs for a short period of time.
4.7 IEEE 802.11 WEP SecurityThe IEEE 802.11 standard includes a Shared Key data privacy mechanism, called ‘Wired Equivalent Privacy’.Features of WEP are: Data encryption using a 40 bit shared key No key distribution mechanism. The shared key (password) must be distributed manually to all personnel and either beremembered or stored somewhere on the hard disk. Simple authentication of clients based on hardware address.4.8 More about CellsEach Access Point in the network forms the centre of a cell, or BSS. The Cells should overlap slightly to guarantee seamlesswireless connectivity everywhere. Nearby Access Points should preferably send and receive on different channels for maximumthroughput.Creating a cell plan for your site can be complicated, and is usually done by experts employing special measuring equipment.Furthermore, the radio channels you may use depend on both the capabilities of the PC-Cards you are deploying, as well as theregulations in your area.
The following table may be of help:RegulatoryDomainArea PermissibleChannelsFCC United States 1 – 11DOC Canada 1 – 11ETSI Europe exceptSpain and France1 – 13MKK Japan 1-144.9 CompatibilityThe APManager utility version 1.1.0 is compatible with the GemTek WX-1500SB Access Points only.
5 GlossaryBSS “Basic Service Set”. De facto an alias for AccessPoint.Cell Area in which the radio signal of an Access Pointis sufficiently good to join with it.ESS “Extended Service Set”. A group of AccessPoints with identical settings among which aclient system can roam. An ESS forms the heartof a WLAN.Shared Key Algorithm Encryption scheme for which both sender andreceiver need to know the (same) encryptionkey.SNMP “Simple Network Management Protocol”WLAN “Wireless LAN” The set of Access Points andWireless Clients that form a local area network.Write Community String SNMP passwordWEP “Wired Equivalent Protection”Data privacy mechanism based on a 40 bitshared key algorithm, as described in the IEEE802.11 standard
6 Technical specifications of WX-1500 / 15206.1 Standards supportedϑ IEEE 802.11 standard for Wireless LANϑ All major networking standards (including IP, IPX)6.2 EnvironmentalOperating temperature (ambient):ϑ -10 ~ 50°CHumidity:ϑ Max. 95% Non-condensing6.3 Power specificationsDC power supplyϑ Input : DC 100-240 50-60 Hz 1Aϑ Output: 5V DC 1A converter incl.6.4 Radio specificationsRange:ϑ per cell indoors approx. 35-100 metersϑ per cell outdoors up to 100-300 metersTransmit power:ϑ Nominal Temp Range: 14 dBm, 12min.ϑ Extend Temp Range: 14 dBm, 11 dBm min.ϑ Transmit Power, 2.7 v to 3v: 14 dBm max,11 dBm min.Frequency range:ϑ 2.4-2.4835 GHz, direct sequence spread spectrumNumber of Channels:ϑ Most European countries: 13ϑ US and Canada: 11 (3 non-overlapping)ϑ France: 4 (1 non-overlapping)ϑ Japan : 14Antenna system:ϑ Dual antenna diversity system; 2dB gain with swivel neck6.5 Specific featuresSupported bit rates:ϑ 11 Mbps : CCKϑ 5.5 Mbps : CCKϑ 1 Mbps : DBSKϑ 2 Mbps : DQPSKData encryption:ϑ 40-bit WEP EncryptionUtility Software:ϑ AP Manager to manage wireless LAN, network connection and client access control6.6 Physical Dimensions136 x 126 x 40 mm, 227 x 126 x 40 mm with antennas extended

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