U MEDIA Communications WUB321A Super G USB 2.0 WLAN Adapter With Smart Antenna User Manual
U-MEDIA Communications, Inc. Super G USB 2.0 WLAN Adapter With Smart Antenna
Users Manual
Super G USB 2.0 WLAN Adapter
with Smart Antenna
User's Guide
Version 0.8
2
FCC Warning 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 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 which the receiver is connected.
-Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.
This 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.
(2) This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired
operation.
1. This Transmitter must not be co-located or operating in conjunction with any other antenna or
transmitter.
2. This equipment complies with FCC RF radiation exposure limits set forth for an uncontrolled
environment. This equipment should be installed and operated with a minimum distance of 20
centimeters between the radiator and your body.
3. Any changes or modifications (including the antennas) made to this device that are not expressly
approved by the manufacturer may void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
U-MEDIA declares that WUB-321A, ( FCC ID: SI5WUB321A ) is limited in CH1~ CH11 for 2.4 GHz by
specified firmware controlled in U.S.A.
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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.
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Table of Contents
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Interference statement 2
CE Mark Warning 3
Chapter 1 – Wireless LAN Networking
Transmission Rate 5
Type of Wireless Networks 5
Ad-Hoc (IBSS) Network 5
Infrastructure (BSS) Network 6
Wireless LAN Security 9
Data Encryption with WEP 10
Chapter 2 - Getting Started
About Your Super G USB 2.0 WLAN Adapter 11
Package Content 11
System Requirement 11
LED Definition 11
Wireless Utility and Adapter Hardware Installation 12
Using the Utility to Configure Your Network 16
Link Information 16
Site Survey 17
Profile 19
Chapter 3 – Maintenance
Uninstalling the Driver 24
Uninstall the Client Utility 24
Upgrading the Wireless Utility 24
Glossary 25
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Chapter 1- Wireless LAN Networking
This section provides background information on wireless LAN networking technology.
THE INFORMATION IN THIS SECTION IS FOR YOUR REFERENCE. CHANGING
NETWORK SETTINGS AND PARTICULARLY SECURITY SETTTINGS SHOULD
ONLY BE DONE BY AN AUTHORIZED ADMINISTRATOR.
Transmission Rate (Transfer Rate)
The adapter provides various transmission (data) rate options for you to select. Options
include Fully Auto, 1 Mbps, 2 Mbps, 5.5 Mbps, 11 Mbps, 6 Mbps, 9 Mbps, 12 Mbps, 18 Mbps,
22 Mbps, 24 Mbps, 36 Mbps, 48 Mbps, 54 Mbps and 108 Mbps. In most networking
scenarios, the factory default Fully Auto setting proves the most efficient. This setting allows
your adapter to operate at the maximum transmission (data) rate. When the communication
quality drops below a certain level, the adapter automatically switches to a lower
transmission (data) rate. Transmission at lower data speeds is usually more reliable.
However, when the communication quality improves again, the adapter gradually increases
the transmission (data) rate again until it reaches the highest available transmission rate.
Types of Wireless Networks
Wireless LAN networking works in either of the two modes: ad-hoc and infrastructure. In
infrastructure mode, wireless devices communicate to a wired LAN via access points. Each
access point and its wireless devices are known as a Basic Service Set (BSS). An Extended
Service Set (ESS) is two or more BSSs in the same subnet. In ad hoc mode (also known as
peer-to-peer mode), wireless devices communicate with each other directly and do not use
an access point. This is an Independent BSS (IBSS).
To connect to a wired network within a coverage area using access points, set the adapter
operation mode to Infrastructure (BSS). To set up an independent wireless workgroup without
an access point, use Ad-hoc (IBSS) mode.
AD-HOC (IBSS) NETWORK
Ad-hoc mode does not require an access point or a wired network. Two or more wireless
stations communicate directly to each other. An ad-hoc network may sometimes be referred
to as an Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS).
To set up an ad-hoc network, configure all the stations in ad-hoc mode. Use the same SSID
and channel for each .
When a number of wireless stations are connected using a single access point, you have a
Basic Service Set (BSS).
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In the ESS diagram below, communication is done through the access points, which relay
data packets to other wireless stations or devices connected to the wired network. Wireless
stations can then access resources, such as a printer, on the wired network.
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In an ESS environment, users are able to move from one access point to another without
losing the connection. In the diagram below, when the user moves from BSS (1) to BSS (2)
the adapter automatically switches to the channel used in BSS (2).
Roaming in an ESS network diagram
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WIRELESS LAN SECURITY
Because wireless networks are not as secure as wired networks, its vital that security
settings are clearly understood and applied.
The list below shows the possible wireless security levels on your adapter starting with the
most secure. EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) is used for authentication and utilizes
dynamic WEP key exchange. EAP requires interaction with a RADIUS (Remote
Authentication Dial-In User Service) server either on the WAN or the LAN to provide
authentication service for wireless stations.
1. Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)
2. IEEE802.1X EAP with RADIUS Server authentication
3. WEP Encryption
4. Unique ESSID
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DATA ENCRYPTION WITH WEP
The WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) security protocol is an encryption method designed to try
to make wireless networks as secure as wired networks. WEP encryption scrambles all data
packets transmitted between the adapter and the access point or other wireless stations to
keep network communications private. Both the wireless stations and the access points must
use the same WEP key for data encryption and decryption.
There are two ways to create WEP keys in your adapter.
• Automatic WEP key generation based on a password phrase called a passphrase.
The passphrase is case sensitive. You must use the same passphrase for all WLAN
adapters with this feature in the same WLAN.
• For WLAN adapters without the passphrase feature, you can still take advantage of
this feature by writing down the four automatically generated WEP keys from the
Security Settings screen of the wireless utility and entering them manually as the WEP
keys in the other WLAN adapter(s).
The adapter allows you to configure up to four WEP keys and only one key is used as the
default transmit key at any one time.
THE adapter SUPPORTS UP TO FOUR 64-BIT, 128-BIT, AND 152-BIT WEP KEYS. THE 152-BIT
WEP MUST COMPLY WITH THE WEP SETTING OF YOUR ACCESS POINT OR ROUTER.
DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CONFIGURE OR CHANGE SECURITY SETTTINGS FOR A
NETWORK WITHOUT AUTHORIZATION AND WITHOUT CLEARLY UNDERSTANDING
THE SETTINGS YOU ARE APPLING. WITH POOR SECURITY SETTINGS, SENSITIVE
DATA YOU SEND CAN BE SEEN BY OTHERS.
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Chapter 2 - Getting Started
This chapter introduces the Adapter and prepares you to use the Wireless Utility.
2.1 About Your Super G USB 2.0 WLAN Adapter
The Adapter is an 802.11b, and 802.11g compliant wireless LAN adapter. With the Adapter, you can
enjoy wireless mobility within almost any wireless networking environment.
The following lists the main features of your Adapter.
9 Your Adapter can communicate with other IEEE 802.11b/g compliant wireless devices.
9 Automatic rate selection.
9 Standard data transmission rates up to 54 Mbps
9 Proprietary Atheros transmission rates of 108 Mbps
9 Offers 64-bit, 128-bit and 152-bit WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) data encryption for
network security.
9 Supports IEEE802.1x and WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access).
9 Low CPU utilization allowing more computer system resources for other programs.
9 A built-in antenna.
9 Driver support for Windows XP/2000.
2.2 Package Content
¾ Super G USB 2.0 WLAN Adapter
¾ Installation and Manual CD
¾ Quick Start Guide
¾ Warranty/Registration Card
2.3 System Requirement
z Pentium class notebook computers with at least one available USB slot
z Microsoft Windows XP or 2K
z CD-ROM drive
2.4 LED Definition
The following table describes the LED on the Super G USB 2.0 WLAN Adapter
LED COLOR STATUS DESCRIPTION
ON The right antenna is enabled
ANT_R Green
OFF The right antenna is disabled
ON The middle antenna is enabled
ANT_M Green
OFF The middle antenna is disabled
ON The left antenna is enabled
ANT_L Green
OFF The left antenna is disabled
OFF The Adapter has no connection
Blinking Slowly The Adapter is connected
LINK Green
Blinking The Adapter is sending or receiving data
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2.5 Wireless Utility & Adapter Hardware Installation
NOTE: If you have connected the USB Adapter to your computer, please
remove it first.
Follow the instructions below to install the USB Adapter and Utility.
STEP 1
Insert the Driver and Utility CD into CD drive
STEP 2
If your CD Autorun is enabled, the installation procedures will be started. (Otherwise open your CD
folder and double-click on the “setup.exe” file)
STEP 3
The InstallShield Wizard prepares for installation.
STEP 4
The InstallShield Wizard prompts you for confirmation. Click Next on the following menu.
STEP 5
In the destination Folder screen you are asked to confirm the Destination Folder for the application
software. If you would like, you may change the destination folder to another location. Click Next
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STEP 6
The wizard is ready to begin installation. Click Install on it.
STEP 7
At the Software Installation menu click Continue Anyway.
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STEP 8
Click Finish to complete the client utility installation.
STEP 9
At this moment please insert your USB Adapter to your Laptop, After the following window pop up,
click Next on the Fund New Hardware Wizard
STEP 10
Choose “Install the software automatically” , and click Next.
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STEP 11
Click “Continue Anyway”.
STEP 12
Click Finish to complete the installation.
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2.6 Using the Utility to Configure Your Network
The following are explanations on how to configure and use the Utility program. After completing the
installation procedure, a new icon as shown below will automatically appear in the lower right tray bar.
Hold your mouse pointer over the icon, and press the right mouse button to open the Wireless Client
Utility.
The Wireless Client Utility window as shown below will appear.
The user can now use any of the management functions available in the IEEE 802.11 Wireless Client
Utility.
2.6.1 Link Information
Click the Link Information tab to see general information about the program and its operations. The
Link Information tab does not require any configuration.
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The following table describes the items found on the Link Information screen.
Wireless Network Status
Profile Name The name of the current selected configuration profile. Set up the
configuration name on the Profile tab.
SSID Displays the wireless network name.
Link Status Shows whether the station is associated to the wireless network.
Network Type The type of network the station is connected to. The options include:
Infrastructure (access point)
Ad Hoc
Wireless Mode Displays the wireless mode. 802.11g or 11b
Channel Shows the currently connected channel.
Transmit Rate Displays the current transmit rate in Mbps.
AP MAC Address Displays the MAC address of the access point the wireless adapter is
associated to.
Signal Strength Shows the strength of the signal.
Security Status
Security Shows the security type – Disable, WEP, WPA/WPA2,
WAP-PSK/WAP2-PSK or 802.1X
Authentication Displays the authentication mode.
TCP/IP Status
IP Address Displays the computer's IP address.
Subnet Mask Displays subnet mask
Gateway Displays gateway address
DNS Server Display DNS server address
2.6.2 Site Survey
Click the Site Survey tab to see available infrastructure and ad hoc networks.
On this screen, click Refresh to refresh the list at any time.
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Connecting to a different network
Hold your mouse pointer over the network icon, and click the right mouse button to select the network.
Click the Connect button to connect the available network. If no configuration profile exists for that
network, the Profile Settings window opens to ask to create a profile for the network. Follow the
procedures to create profile for that network.
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2.6.3 Profile
To add a new configuration profile, click Add on the Profile tab.
To modify a configuration profile, select the configuration from the Profile list and click the Edit button.
Scan Available Networks
Click the Browse button on the Profile Settings screen to scan for available infrastructure and ad hoc
networks. On this list, click Refresh to refresh the list at any time.
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To configure a profile for Ad-Hoc or Infrastructure mode, select the Network Type field on the Profile
Settings.
Click Next to continue the profile setting.
To define the security mode, select the security button of the desired security mode. And then click
Next to continue. Please see following table for details of security modes.
WPA/WPA2 Enables the use of Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA).
Choosing WPA/WPA2 opens the WPA/WPA2 Security Settings
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screen. The options include:
TLS (Transport Layer Security) is a Point-to-Point Protocol
(PPP) extension supporting additional authentication methods
within PPP. Transport Layer Security (TLS) provides for mutual
authentication, integrity-protected cipher suite negotiation, and key
exchange between two endpoints.
PEAP (EAP-GTC) (Protected Extensible Authentication
Protocol) authenticates wireless LAN clients using only
server-side digital certificates by creating an encrypted SSL/TLS
tunnel between the client and the authentication server. The tunnel
then protects the subsequent user authentication exchange.
PEAP (EAP-MSCHAP V2) (Protected Extensible
Authentication Protocol) To use PEAP (EAP-MSCHAP V2)
security, the server must have WPA-PEAP certificates, and
the server properties must already be set. Check with the IT
manager
TTLS (Tunneled Transport Layer Security) An EAP variant that
provides mutual authentication using a certificate for server
authentication, and via a secure TLS tunnel for the client
LEAP (Lightweight and Efficient Application Protocol)
is the general framework for a set of high-performance,
efficient protocols which are ideal for mobile and wireless
applications. LEAP is designed to address all the technical
requirements of the wireless data communications industry,
and is oriented towards providing the greatest benefit to the
industry and the consumer
WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK Enables WPA/WPA2 Passphrase security.
Fill in the WPA/WPA2 Passphrase on Security Settings screen.
802.1x Enables 802.1x security. This option requires IT administration.
Choosing 802.1x opens the 802.1x Security Settings screen. The
options include:
TLS
PEAP
TTLS
LEAP
Advanced Settings
After Security Settings finished, the Advanced Settings screen will be shown as following.
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The following table describes the items found on the Advanced Settings screen.
Power Save Mode Shows the power save mode. Power management is disabled in ad
hoc mode. The options include:
z Continuous Access Mode
z Maximum Power Saving
z Fast Power Saving
802.11b Preamble Displays the 802.11b preamble format.
The options include:
z Long
z Short
z Auto
RTS Threshold Value from 0 ~ 2347
FRAG Threshold Value from 256 ~ 2346
Wireless Mode Include:
z 802.11b
z 802.11g
After advance settings are finished, the following screen showed as below.
You can activate the profile now or later.
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Chapter 3 – Maintenance
This chapter describes how to uninstall or upgrade the Wireless Utility.
3.1 Uninstall the Driver
Follow the steps below to remove (or uninstall) the USB Adapter driver from your computer.
Step 1. To remove the driver from the OS, go to Start -> Control Panel
Step 2. Double-click System
Step 3. Under Hardware tab, click Device Manager.
Step 4. Double-click Network Adapter
Step 5. Right-click mouse button on “802.11g USB Wireless Network Adapter”, and choose
Uninstall
Step 6. Click OK to confirm that you are going to uninstall the driver
3.2 Uninstall the Client Utility
Follow the steps below to remove the Client Utility from your computer.
Step 1. To remove the utility from the OS, go to Start -> Control Panel
Step 2. Double-click Add-Remove Programs
Step 3. Select 802.11g Wireless Client Utility, and click the Remove button
3.3 Upgrading the Wireless Utility
To perform the upgrade, follow the steps below.
Step 1. Download the latest version of the utility from the web site and save the file on your
computer.
Step 2. Follow the steps in Section 2.2 to remove the current Wireless Utility from your computer.
Step 3. Restart your computer if prompted.
Step 4. After restarting, refer to the procedure in the Chapter 2 to install the new utility.
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Glossary
For unfamiliar terms used below, look for entries elsewhere in the glossary.
AD-HOC (IBSS)
Ad-hoc mode does not require an AP or a wired network. A network that transmits
wireless from computer to computer without the use of a base station (access point).
Two or more wireless stations communicate directly to each other. An ad-hoc network
may sometimes be referred to as an Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS).
CHANNEL
A radio frequency used by a wireless device is called a channel.
EAP AUTHENTICATION
EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) is an authentication protocol that runs on top of
the IEEE802.1X transport mechanism in order to support multiple types of user
authentication. By using EAP to interact with an EAP-compatible RADIUS server, an
access point helps a wireless station and a RADIUS server perform authentication.
ENCRYPTION
The reversible transformation of data from the original to a difficult-to-interpret format.
Encryption is a mechanism for protecting confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity of data.
It uses an encryption algorithm and one or more encryption keys.
FRAGMENTATION THRESHOLD
This is the maximum data fragment size that can be sent before the packet is fragmented
into smaller packets.
IEEE 802.1X
The IEEE 802.1X standard outlines enhanced security methods for both the authentication
of wireless stations and encryption key management. Authentication can be done using an
external RADIUS server.
INFRASTRUCTURE (BSS)
When a number of wireless stations are connected using a single AP, you have a Basic
Service Set (BSS).
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ROAMING
In an infrastructure network, wireless stations are able to switch from one BSS to another
as they move between the coverage areas. During this period, the wireless stations
maintain uninterrupted connection to the network. This is roaming. As the wireless station
moves from place to place, it is responsible for choosing the most appropriate AP
depending on the signal strength, network utilization among other factors.
SSID
The SSID (Service Set Identity) is a unique name shared among all wireless devices in a
wireless network. Wireless devices must have the same SSID to communicate with each
other.
TEMPORAL KEY INTEGRITY PROTOCOL (TKIP)
Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) uses 128-bit keys that are dynamically generated and
distributed by the authentication server.
USER AUTHENTICATION
WPA applies IEEE 802.1X and Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) to authenticate
wireless clients using an external RADIUS database. If you do not have an external RADIUS
server, use WPA-PSK/WPA2-PSK (WPA -Pre-Shared Key) that only requires a single (identi-
cal) password entered into each access point, wireless gateway and wireless client. As long
as the passwords match, clients will be granted access to a WLAN.
WEP
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) encryption scrambles all data packets transmitted between
the WCB-321A and the AP or other wireless stations to keep network communications pri-
vate. Both the wireless stations and the access points must use the same WEP key for data
encryption and decryption.
WPA/WPA2
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and WPA2 (future upgrade) is a subset of the IEEE 802.11
i security specification draft. Key differences between WPA and WEP are user
authentication and improved data encryption. WPA2 is a wireless security standard that
defines stronger encryption, authentication and key management than WPA.