Contents INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................... 3 Wireless Terminology .......................................................................... 5 GETTING TO KNOW YOUR NP643 ............................................................... 7 Package Contents ............................................................................... 7 NP643 LED Indicators..........................................................................
INTRODUCTION Congratulations on your purchase of the NP643 108Mbps IEEE 802.11g Wireless PC Card Adapter. This manual is designed to help familiarise users with the product and offers detailed operational and installation instructions, so please keep it for future reference. With the NP643 Wireless (IEEE 802.11g) PC Card Adapter, a laptop or notebook computer can communicate with another computer wirelessly.
System Requirements • Laptop computer with an available 32 bit Cardbus slot • Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP/2003 • 128 MB memory and a 500MHz Processor • CR-ROM Drive • 20Mb spare disk storage 4 NP643IEEE 802.
Wireless Terminology Wireless Standards 802.11, 802.11b and 802.11g all refer to a series of standards which govern a common method of creating wireless local area networks (WLANs). 802.11b and 11g are the most common WLAN types, with 11g being the later and faster of the two standards with a maximum transmission rate of 54Mbps. The NP643 is faster again as it is built around a processor which ‘turbo-charges’ transmission rates up to 108Mbps. 802.11g is ‘backward compatible’ with 802.
WPA WPA stands for Wi-Fi Protected Access - authorizes and identifies users based on a secret key that changes automatically at a pre-defined interval. This is called TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) to change the temporal key every 10,000 packets (= unit of data.) Keys can either be pre-shared or established by a RADIUS Server. RADIUS RADIUS is part of 802.11i security; this is a wireless standard which is only concerned with wireless security standards.
GETTING TO KNOW YOUR NP643 This chapter provides unpacking and setup information for the NP643 Wireless PC Card Adapter. Package Contents Open the box of the Wireless PC Card Adapter and carefully unpack it. The box should contain the following items: � One 108Mbps IEEE 802.11g Wireless PC Card Adapter � One Driver & Utility with User’s Guide CD-ROM If any item is found missing or damaged, please contact your local reseller for replacement. NP643 IEEE 802.
NP643 LED Indicators LED Indicator Power (PWR) The PWR indicator lights green to indicate that it is receiving power from the PC Card slot. If the PWR indicator light is off, it is not receiving power. ACT (Activity) The ACT indicator blinks green while the Wireless PC Card is transmitting data. 8 NP643IEEE 802.
SOFTWARE INSTALLATION This section will guide you through the driver and utility installation procedure for the NP643. Windows 98se/ME/2000/XP Utility and Driver Installation 1. Insert the Driver & Utility CD-ROM into the CD-ROM Drive. The driver and utility setup menu should start up and install the driver. In some cases you may need to install the software manually. This depends on your operating system settings. Go to your Windows Start menu and choose Run, type “D:\Utility\Setup.
Icon Description If the icon is completely green, you have excellent coverage and performance. If the icon is yellow, the signal strength has a fair coverage and performance. If the icon has no color, signal strength is poor. 10 NP643IEEE 802.
HARDWARE INSTALLATION Installation Check The LEDs of the Wireless PC Card Adapter are clearly visible and the status of the network link can be seen instantly: 1. Once the device is plugged in to the PC Card slot, the Power LED will light up indicating a normal status. 2. Once the driver is installed, the ACTIVE and POWER LED’s will start flashing. This means the adapter is starting to scan for other wireless devices within its range. 3.
USING THE WIRELESS UTILITY I. Link Information Launch the utility program by double clicking the utility icon in the Windows task bar. The default page is as below after launching the Utility program. Field Description Status: Shows the BSSID (or Mac address) of the adaptor, which can be used to identify it on the wireless network. SSID: Shows current SSID, which must be the same for the all wireless devices in order for communication to be established.
Field Description Wireless Mode: Shows the current wireless mode used for wireless communication. Encryption: Shows the current encryption mode used in the wireless network. TxRate: Shows the current data rate used for transmitting. Channel: Shows the current communication channel. Link Quality: Shows the link quality of the NP643 Wireless PC card with the Access Point when operating under Infrastructure mode.
II. Configuration In the configuration page you can change the basic settings of the PC card to implement a secure wireless network. Field Description SSID: Service Set Identifier, which is a unique name shared among all clients and nodes in a wireless network. The SSID must be identical for each client and node in the wireless network. Give your network a name which you will remember but which does not obviously identify it to the outside world.
Field Description ● Ad-Hoc – to establish peer-to-peer wireless communication directly with other wireless client devices such as other computers with wireless cards. Ad-Hoc Band: There are three bands available for selection- 11B, 11G and 11G Turbo. Choice depends on the type of wireless equipment you wish to connect to. Check the documentation of the associated equipment to verify details. Channel: The channel value that the PC card will operate in.
Field Description Preamble: Select Long Preamble or Short & Long Preamble type. Leave as default unless advised otherwise by your Network Administrator. Support Band: There are three functions for you to select, including 11B, 11G and eXtended Range. The default setting is 11B, 11G and eXtended Range enabled, which is interoperable with both 11B and 11G devices, and provides a connectivity range of 500m. Note: 16 You must select at least 11B or 11G to support your wireless connection.
III. Advanced In the Advanced page you can configure advanced settings for the 108Mbps wireless LAN PC card. Field Description Encryption: There are four options available: Disable (WEP), Enable (WEP), WPA and WPA-PSK. The default setting is set to “Disable”. Enable and Disable refer to WEP data encryption feature. If Enable is selected, you will be required to select the Authentication mode from the drop down list. If WPA is selected, configuration is enabled. Select the “configuration” button.
Select the certificate that you wish to use and enter the server name and login name; this refers to RADIUS Server technology which is generally not in use in the home environment; check with your Network Administrator if you are required to enter this in order to log on to a secure network. If WPA-PSK is selected, click the configuration button. You will then be prompted with the following pop up window. 18 NP643IEEE 802.
Field Description Please enter a key. If you are joining an existing network, ask the Administrator for the key. If you are setting up the network, create a key; any combination of letters and numbers up to 32 characters with no spaces. Auth. Mode: There are three modes available to choose from: • • • Open Authentication – the sender and receiver do not share a secret Key for communication. Instead, each party generates its own key-pairs and asks the other party to accept it.
IV. Site Survey This page allows you to enable the site survey function, which scans for available wireless networks (wireless clients & access points) and establishes a wireless communication with one. Field Description Available Network: Displays the wireless networks (wireless clients and Access Points) that are in your signal range. Select any one of them to establish communications by simply double-clicking or by clicking on the “Connect” button.
Field Description Profile: You can create and manage profiles for Home, offices or public areas. Double-Click on one of the created profiles. The settings will adapt to the configuration such as SSID, channel, and WEP settings saved by that particular profile. Remove: To remove the selected profile Properties: To view and change settings. Add: To add a profile. You will be prompted with the following popup screen.
V. About This page displays some information about the NP643 108Mbps Wireless PC Card Adapter. It contains the Driver & Utility Version as well as the MAC address. This feature is useful when you need to identify utility and driver versions as updates become available. 22 NP643IEEE 802.
APPENDIX A: Glossary Access Point: An internetworking device that seamlessly connects wired and wireless networks. Ad-Hoc: An independent wireless LAN network formed by a group of computers, each with a network adapter. AP Client: One of the additional AP operating modes offered by a 54Mbps Access Point, which allows the Access Point to act as an Ethernetto-Wireless Bridge, thus a LAN or a single computer station can join a wireless ESS network through it.
Shared Key: Shared Key authentication supports authentication of stations as either a member of those who knows a shared secret key or a member of those who does not. Backbone: The core infrastructure of a network, which transports information from one central location to another where the information is unloaded into a local system. Bandwidth: The transmission capacity of a device, which is calculated by how much data the device can transmit in a fixed amount of time expressed in bits per second (bps).
Channel: The bandwidth which wireless Radio operates is divided into several segments, which we call them “Channels”. AP and the client stations that it associated work in one of the channels. CSMA/CA: In local area networking, this is the CSMA technique that combines slotted time -division multiplexing with carrier sense multiple access/ collision detection (CSMA/CD) to avoid having collisions occur a second time.
DSSS: Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum. DSSS generates a redundant bit pattern for each bit to be transmitted. This bit pattern is called a chip (or chipping code). The longer the chip, the greater the probability that the original data can be recovered. Even if one or more bits in the chip are damaged during transmission, statistical techniques embedded in the radio can recover the original data without the need for retransmission.
Fragmentation: Fragmentation Threshold: When transmitting a packet over a network medium, sometimes the packet is broken into several segments, if the size of packet exceeds that allowed by the network medium. The Fragmentation Threshold defines the number of bytes used for the fragmentation boundary for directed messages. The purpose of “Fragmentation Threshold” is to increase the transfer reliability thru cutting a MAC Service Data Unit (MSDU) into several MAC Protocol Data Units (MPDU) in smaller size.
ISM Band: The FCC and their counterparts outside of the U.S. have set aside bandwidth for unlicensed use in the ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) band. Spectrum in the vicinity of 2.4GHz, in particular, is being made available worldwide. MAC Address: Media Access Control Address is a unique hex number assigned by the manufacturer to any Ethernet networking device, such as a network adapter, that allows the network to identify it at the hardware level.
Preamble: The ‘preamble’ is a sequence of bits transmitted at 1Mbps that synchronises wireless transmission within the network. The Short Preamble and header may be used to minimize overhead and, thus, maximize the network data throughput. However, the Short Preamble is supported only by the IEEE 802.11b (High- Rate) standard and not by the original IEEE 802.11standard; meaning that stations using Short-Preamble cannot communicate with stations implementing the original version of the protocol.
TCP/IP: Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol. The basic communication language or protocol of the Internet. It can also be used as a communications protocol in a private network, i.e. intranet or internet. When you are set up with direct access to the Internet, your computer is provided with a copy of the TCP/IP program just as every other computer that you may send messages to or get information from also has a copy of TCP/IP.
APPENDIX B: Registration and Warranty Information All NetComm Limited (“NetComm”) products have a standard 12 month warranty from date of purchase against defects in manufacturing and that the products will operate in accordance with the specifications outlined in the User Guide. However some products have an extended warranty option (please refer to your packaging).
Copyright Information This manual is copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form, by any means, be it electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of NetComm Limited. NetComm Limited accepts no liability or responsibility, for consequences arising from the use of this product.
Customer Information ACA (Australian Communications Authority) requires you to be aware of the following information and warnings: (1) This unit shall be connected to the Telecommunication Network through a line cord which meets the requirements of the ACA TS008 Standard. (2) This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the Standards for C-Tick and or A-Tick as set by the ACA. These standards are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation.
Product Warranty The warranty is granted on the following conditions: 1. This warranty extends to the original purchaser (you) and is not transferable; 2. This warranty shall not apply to software programs, batteries, power supplies, cables or other accessories supplied in or with the product; 3. The customer complies with all of the terms of any relevant agreement with NetComm and any other reasonable requirements of NetComm including producing such evidence of purchase as NetComm may require; 4.
Limitations of Warranty The Trade Practices Act 1974 and corresponding State and Territory Fair Trading Acts or legalisation of another Government (“the relevant acts”) in certain circumstances imply mandatory conditions and warranties which cannot be excluded. This warranty is in addition to and not in replacement for such conditions and warranties.
