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CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1 BENEFITS ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 FEATURES ....................................................................................................................................................... 1 RELATED NETGEAR PRODUCTS ....
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION The MA301 802.11b Wireless PCI Adapter enables you to effortlessly network any desktop PC avoiding the hassles of traditional Ethernet wiring and helps you create a wireless network for sharing your broadband cable or DSL Internet access among multiple PCs in and around your home or office. It is designed for desktop computers equipped with PCI slots running Microsoft Windows.
CHAPTER 2: WIRELESS NETWORK FUNDAMENTALS Wireless Network Configuration Ad-hoc Mode (Peer-to-Peer Workgroup) The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard for wireless LANs (WLANs), 802.11, offers two methods for configuring a wireless network — ad hoc and infrastructure. In an ad hoc network, computers are brought together as needed; thus, there is no structure or fixed points to the network — each node can generally communicate with any other node.
Service Set Identification (SS ID) The Service Set Identification (SS ID) is a thirty-two alphanumeric character (maximum) string identifying the wireless local area network. Some vendors refer to the SS ID as network name. For stations to communicate with each other, all stations must be configured with the same SS ID. A wireless LAN consisting of nodes operating in ad hoc configuration without an access point is called a Basic Service Set (BSS).
Wireless Channel Selection IEEE 802.11 wireless nodes communicate with each other using radio frequency signals in the ISM (Industrial, Scientific, and Medical) band between 2.4Ghz and 2.5Ghz. Neighboring channels are 5Mhz apart. However, due to spread spectrum effect of the signals, a node sending signals using a particular channel will utilize frequency spectrum12.5Mhz above and below the center channel frequency.
CHAPTER 3: Hardware Installation Package Contents The product package should contain: y Model MA301 802.11b Wireless PCI Adapter y MA401/MA301 Wireless Network Card Resource CD y Installation Guide y Support Information Card Call your reseller or customer support in your area if there are any wrong, missing, or damaged parts. Refer to the Support Information Card for the telephone number of customer support in your area. Keep the Support Information Card, along with the original packing materials.
CHAPTER 4: Driver Installation Windows 95/B Driver Software The MA301 LAN driver in the release driver CD-ROM only supports Windows 95/B and above. The LAN drivers for the original versions of Windows 95 or Windows 95A are not provided. Installing Driver Software To install the NETGEAR MA301 Wireless PCI Adapter LAN driver for the first time in Windows 95/B: 1.
Windows 98 Driver Software Installing Driver Software To install the NETGEAR MA301 Wireless PCI Adapter LAN driver for the first time in Windows 98: 1. Follow the procedure described in the hardware installation chapter to install the MA301 Wireless PCI Adapter and the MA401 PC Card into your desktop system. Power up the system. 2. Upon power up, Windows 98 automatically detects the existence of the MA301 Wireless PCI Adapter. An Add New Hardware Wizard window opens. Click on “Next” to continue. 3.
Windows Me Driver Software Installing Driver Software To install the NETGEAR MA301 Wireless PCI Adapter LAN driver for the first time in Windows Me: 1. Follow the procedure described in the hardware installation chapter to install the MA301 Wireless PCI Adapter into your desktop system. Power up the system. 2. Upon power up, Windows Me automatically detects the existence of the MA301 PCI Adapter. An Add New Hardware Wizard window opens and indicates that new hardware has been found.
Windows NT 4.0 Driver Software Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 is not a plug-and-play operating system and does not automatically detect and prompt you for installation of the PCI adapter driver. The driver installation has to be initiated manually. Installing Driver Software 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Follow the procedure described in the hardware installation chapter to install the MA301 Wireless PCI Adapter and the MA401 PC Card into your desktop system. Power up the system.
Windows 2000 Driver Software Installing Driver Software 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Follow the procedure described in the hardware installation chapter to install the MA301 Wireless PCI Adapter and the MA401 PC Card into your desktop system. Power up the system. Upon power up, Windows 2000 automatically detects the existence of the MA301 Wireless PCI Adapter. A Found New Hardware Wizard window opens and indicates that new hardware has been found. Click on Next.
CHAPTER 5: Wireless LAN Configuration Adapter Properties Configuration Device Properties Page When running Windows 95/B, 98 or Me Wireless parameters for the MA301 Wireless PCI Adapter can be modified from the Network control window. 1. 2. 3. From the Windows desktop, right-click on the Network Neighborhood icon. When a pop-up menu opens, move to select the Properties selection. The Network window opens. Click on the “NETGEAR MA301 Wireless PCI Adapter” selection in the component window.
Device Properties Modification Table 5-1. Device Properties Parameters General Specifications Model MA401 Wireless PC Card Authentication Algorithm Open System: No secret key is shared between the sender and recipient. Each party generates its own key and asks the receiver to accept the key. Shared Key: Both sender and recipient share a secret key. Fragmentation Threshold This is the packet length used for fragmentation. Packets larger than the size programmed in this field will be fragmented.
MA401 Configuration Utility A wireless LAN configuration utility program is provided to give you information on your wireless network such as signal quality and link conditions, and to let you modify the various configurable wireless parameters. Note: If your MA401/MA301 driver resource CD version is 2.0 or above, the configuration utility will be installed automatically during the driver installation. The procedures below will not be necessary. MA401 Configuration Utility Installation 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
System Tray Applications Note: The SysTray (System Tray) resides on one end of the taskbar in the Microsoft Windows desktop. It displays interface icons for memory-resident applications that execute in the background continuously, such as the clock, speaker volume, and virus detection. The wireless LAN configuration utility installation for the MA401 Wireless PC Card adds a status reporting and configuration utility icon in the SysTray.
Rescan Only used in infrastructure mode, click on this button to allow the wireless node to start scanning the wireless channels for an access point again. Throughput (Bytes/sec) Tx The current transmit data transfer rate of the wireless node. Throughput (Bytes/sec) Rx The current receive data transfer rate of the wireless node. Signal Strength Signal Strength indicates the signal strength of the radio frequency signal received by the wireless node.
Encryption Encryption Set the data encryption level for the wireless node. The data encryption level must be the same between all wireless nodes and access points in the same network. The possible values for the data encryption level are Disable, 64 bits and 128 bits. 64-bit data encryption is also called 40-bit data encryption by some vendors. For more explanation on data encryption, please refer to the wireless network fundamental chapter at the beginning of this reference guide.
APPENDIX A: HARDWARE SPECIFICATION General Specifications Model MA301 802.11b Wireless PCI Adapter Radio Data Rate 1, 2, 5.5, 11Mbps (Auto Rate Sensing) Frequency 2.4Ghz to 2.5Ghz Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) Range outdoor environment 1Mbps - 1650 ft (503 m) 2Mbps - 1320 ft (402 m) 5.
