National Datacomm 9210S01 User Manual

11-mbps wireless outdoor bridge
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11-Mbps
Wireless Outdoor Bridge
User's Guide
Version A1
July 2003

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Summary of Contents for National Datacomm 9210S01

  • Page 1 11-Mbps Wireless Outdoor Bridge User’s Guide Version A1 July 2003...
  • Page 2 TRADEMARKS All names mentioned in this document are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The manufacturer provides this document “as is,” without warranty of any kind, neither expressed nor implied, including, but not limited to, warranty of fitness for the particular purpose for which it is intended.
  • Page 3 Packing List Your 11-Mbps Wireless Outdoor Bridge package should contain the following items: • One 11-Mbps Wireless Outdoor Bridge • One DC injector with RJ-45 LAN and ODU (outdoor unit) jacks • One power adapter for the DC injector • One mounting kit •...
  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    Contents INTRODUCTION....................1 RELATED PRODUCTS..................2 WLAN M ................3 ANAGEMENT YSTEM ..........3 UTOMATIC ISCOVERY OF OMPATIBLE EVICES WLAN M ..5 ANAGEMENT YSTEM ARDWARE AND OFTWARE EQUIREMENTS ..............6 ERMINOLOGY SED IN THIS UIDE HOW TO USE THIS GUIDE................7 PLANNING THE NETWORK ................
  • Page 5 ADVANCED MANAGEMENT ................41 ................... 41 ATCH MODE OPERATION WLAN M ........41 ANAGE ANAGEMENT YSTEM ABLE Exporting a Configuration Profile to a File ........... 43 Importing a Configuration Profile from a File..........43 FAQS ........................46 TROUBLESHOOTING..................48 TECHNICAL SUPPORT ..................49 LIMITED WARRANTY ..................
  • Page 6 Figures 1. T ............8 IGURE YPICAL APPLICATION SCENARIO 2. C LAN/WLAN..........8 IGURE ONNECTION TO 3. W ........9 IGURE IRELESS UTDOOE RIDGE AND INJECTOR 4. W ..... 10 IGURE IRELESS UTDOOR RIDGE OLUTION INSTALLATION 5. W ........11 IGURE IRELESS UTDOOR...
  • Page 7 43. N ............43 IGURE DDRESS DIALOG BOX 44. E ........ 43 IGURE XPORTING A CONFIGURATION PROFILE TO A FILE 45. I (1) ...... 44 IGURE MPORTING A CONFIGURATION PROFILE FROM A FILE 46. I (2) ...... 44 IGURE MPORTING A CONFIGURATION PROFILE FROM A FILE 47.
  • Page 9: Introduction

    Introduction Congratulations on choosing an outstanding wireless product. This guide gives comprehensive instructions on installing and using the 11-Mbps Wireless Outdoor Bridge, and also explains how to install and use the WLAN Management System software. 11-Mbps Wireless Outdoor Bridge...
  • Page 10: Related Products

    Related Products 11-Mbps Wireless Outdoor Bridge is part of a family of wireless networking products that can provide an integrated solution for your wireless networking needs. • For indoor applications: Access points, wireless workgroup bridges, wireless Ethernet clients, and wireless adapters with various bus interfaces (PCMCIA, USB, and PCI).
  • Page 11: Wlan Management System

    WLAN Management System WLAN Management System is a powerful network management system that is fully compatible with the industry-standard Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). It features: • Automatic discovery of all compatible devices that are configured within the same subnet. •...
  • Page 12 Windows 95/98 step 1. Click Start/Run, type winipcfg, and click OK. The IP Configuration dialog box will open. step 2. Select the network adapter you use to connect to the Outdoor Bridge. Click Release. step 3. Click Renew to retrieve new information (IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway address) from the DHCP server.
  • Page 13: Wlan Management System Hardware And Software Requirements

    WLAN Management System Hardware and Software Requirements System requirements for installing and operating the WLAN Management System are: • An x86-based microcomputer running Microsoft Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 4.0, 2000, or XP • Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 or later •...
  • Page 14: Terminology Used In This Guide

    Terminology Used in this Guide BSSID, MAC ID The BSSID (Basic Service Set ID) is a factory-set ID unique to each wireless networking product. It is identical to the MAC ID (Media Access Control ID). It allows each device to be identified on the wireless network. ESSID An Extended Service Set ID (often referred to as Service Set ID, or SSID) identifies the wireless LAN domain that a bridge is in.
  • Page 15: How To Use This Guide

    How to Use this Guide This user’s guide gives complete instructions for installation and use of the 11-Mbps Wireless Outdoor Bridge. Wireless Outdoor Bridge is supplied with factory set default network settings. Use the WLAN Management System tool to change the default settings before introducing a new bridge to an already-established wireless network.
  • Page 16: Planning The Network

    Planning the Network The Wireless Outdoor Bridge is used to connect two separate networks via radio waves. A typical application is shown below. Figure 1. Typical application scenario The bridge connects to your existing wired or wired/wireless local area network as shown below (Figure 2).
  • Page 17: Hardware Description

    Hardware Description Figure 3. Wireless Outdoor Bridge and DC injector 11-Mbps Wireless Outdoor Bridge...
  • Page 18: Hardware Configuration

    Hardware Configuration Before adding a Wireless Outdoor Bridge to an existing Ethernet network, you need to carry out basic configuration, e.g., set the SSID, security (WEP) parameters, bridge mode (including the peer bridge’s MAC address), channel number, and IP address in order to make the bridge compatible with the existing network. Figure 4.
  • Page 19 Pre-configuration can be carried out through WLAN Management System. As long as the outdoor bridge and the management station are on the same physical Ethernet LAN, WLAN Management System’s Kick Start function will find the outdoor bridge and let you set basic parameters. Make connections as follows: step 1.
  • Page 20: 11-Mbps Wireless Product Placement Guidelines

    11-Mbps Wireless Product Placement Guidelines A few tips to mention that are particularly significant in a radio wave communications system: 1. Radio waves reflect or refract from buildings, walls, metal furniture, or other objects. This could result in performance degradation due to the fluctuation of the received signal.
  • Page 21: Installing The Wlan Management System

    Installing the WLAN Management System step 1. Insert WLAN Management System Disk 1 in floppy drive A, choose Run from the desktop’s Start menu, type a:\setup.exe, and click OK. step 2. The setup program will prepare the InstallShield Wizard and then display a Welcome window.
  • Page 22: Figure 7. Importanti

    Figure 7. Important Issues window step 4. Older operating systems may need to update some system files to function correctly with the WLAN Management System. If required, follow the on-screen instructions to download the required file. Click Next to open the Choose Destination Location window. Figure 8.
  • Page 23: Figure 9. Select Program

    Figure 9. Select Program Folder window step 6. Click Next again. Installation will begin. You may be instructed to insert disk 2 in drive A. Follow all on-screen instructions until the Setup Complete window appears. Figure 10. Setup Complete window step 7.
  • Page 24: Using The Wlan Management System

    Using the WLAN Management System Once the outdoor bridge is connected to an Ethernet network, a network administrator can connect to it from any PC on the same network via the WLAN Management System utility. The WLAN Management System utility is a Windows-based SNMP management tool allowing network administrators to remotely configure and monitor the outdoor bridge through an Ethernet connection.
  • Page 25: Kick Start Function

    Figure 11. Main and Hosts View windows Kick Start Function If for any reason the outdoor bridge does not yet have a reachable IP address, it can be discovered, and a suitable IP address assigned to it, using the Kick Start function. step 1.
  • Page 26: Configuration

    Figure 12. WLAN Kick Start window This window’s Tools menu also lets you test IP connectivity, reboot, reset the selected device, or change its password. The administrator password set on the device is “admin” as the default. The Edit menu is for manually adding and removing devices in the display.
  • Page 27: Figure 13. Configuration Window

    Figure 13. Configuration window — IP panel IP Address Setting: The outdoor bridge is a DHCP client. It will automatically ask the DHCP server to assign it an IP address. An administrator can assign a fixed IP to an outdoor bridge by unchecking the Obtain IP Settings Automatically (by DHCP) box (Figure 13).
  • Page 28: Filter

    the outdoor bridge. If the correct default gateway is set, you can use a manager (i.e. a PC running WLAN Management System) physically located in a different subnet to manage this outdoor bridge. Filter The next panel in the configuration dialog box is Filter (Figure 14). Figure 14.
  • Page 29: Wireless

    • Internet Multicast Frames Wireless The Wireless panel (Figure 15) provides access to the Wireless settings. Figure 15. Configuration window — Wireless panel These settings are explained in the following table. Name Assigns the outdoor bridge a unique name that allows the outdoor bridge to be easily identified on the network.
  • Page 30: Bridge Mode

    This value determines the basic rates used and Basic Rates reported by the outdoor bridge. The highest rate specified is the rate that the outdoor bridge will use when transmitting broadcast/multicast and management frames. Available options are: • 1, 2 Mbps •...
  • Page 31: Figure 17. Bridge Mode - P

    Point to Point Each bridge has to know its peer bridge’s MAC address. For example, if Bridge A is to connect with Bridge B, then Bridge B’s MAC address must be entered on this page for Bridge A, and Bridge A’s MAC address must be entered here for Bridge B. Figure 17.
  • Page 32: Encryption

    Encryption Click the Encryption tab (Figure 18) to set up the security options. Figure 18. Configuration window — Encryption panel The default setting is WEP Disabled and initially the key sections are blank. The pull-down Method box lists two options: •...
  • Page 33: Snmp Access Control

    Another WEP key generation method is to insert the key values directly from the keyboard. Enter your own key into one of the Key 1~4 fields. Select that field number in the Default Key field. SNMP Access Control The outdoor bridge contains an SNMP access table to limit access to its configurations.
  • Page 34: Trap Server

    Two levels of access rights may be assigned: Read Read-only rights. The user may read everything except the Access Control settings, but is not allowed to alter anything Read/Write The user may read and alter all settings Note: Do not set all the stations in the Access Control table to Read only. Once this is set and enabled, it will be impossible to modify the outdoor bridge.
  • Page 35: Figure 21. Configuration Window

    Figure 21. Configuration window — Trap Server panel Assign a station as a trap server by entering its IP address. Right-click on a blank in the list and click Edit address. To remove a trap server from the list, right-click it and click Clear address. Click Clear all address to remove all assigned trap servers from the list (Figure 22).
  • Page 36: Trap View

    Trap View To view trap log information, click the Start Trap View icon (a ringing telephone) in the upper left corner of the main WLAN Management System window. A window such as that shown below will appear (Figure 23). Figure 23. Trap View window The log shows the time, the IP address of the reporting outdoor bridge, and the event.
  • Page 37: Figure 24. Configuration Window

    Figure 24. Configuration window — Advanced panel RTS Threshold: Transmitters contending for the medium may not be aware of each other. The RTS (Request to Send) mechanism can solve this “Hidden Node Problem”. If the packet size if smaller than the present RTS threshold size, the RTS mechanism will NOT be enabled.
  • Page 38: Monitor

    Monitor The Monitor tool allows the outdoor bridge’s status, Ethernet statistics, wireless statistics, and other configuration information to be viewed/monitored. In the Hosts View window, select a bridge and click the Monitor button on the toolbar or on the pop-up menu. An information window will appear.
  • Page 39: Statistics

    Statistics The Statistics window shows both Ethernet and wireless transmission/reception statistics. To refresh the statistics, click on the button to continually refresh the information. Click on the button to stop updating the information. Figure 27. Monitor window — Statistics panel Restart Restarting the outdoor bridge will take about 30 seconds (Figure 28).
  • Page 40: Factory Reset

    Factory Reset Click Factory Reset if you want to return the device to its factory default settings. A warning dialog box will open (Figure 29). Figure 29. Warning before factory defaults are loaded Click Yes to return the outdoor bridge to the factory default settings. Upgrade Firmware The outdoor bridge’s embedded software is contained in “flash”...
  • Page 41: Antenna Alignment Utility

    The Upgrade button will then become enabled. Click Upgrade to start downloading the file to the outdoor bridge. The WLAM Management System and the outdoor bridge’s built-in Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP) client/server will load the new executable into the outdoor bridge’s flash ROM area. If the download activity fails, an error message will be shown in the message box.
  • Page 42: Figure 31. Antenna Alignment For Bridges

    Figure 31. Antenna alignment for bridges Step 2: Set the parameters for testing The calculation of the antenna alignment is conducted by the following procedure: • Bridge A sends a packet to Bridge B • When Bridge B successfully receives the packet from Bridge A, it will automatically echo the packet back.
  • Page 43: Figure 32. Antenna Alignment

    • Peer Bridge: In a Point to Multi-Point application environment, all the wireless bridges configured to communicate with each other are shown in the pull-down Peer Bridge box. A peer bridge has to be specified by indicating its MAC address before starting the antenna alignment test. The selected bridge must be set up to be able to communicate with the bridge initializing the alignment test.
  • Page 44: Figure 33. Throughput Presented As A

    Figure 33. Throughput presented as a 3D graphic During the antenna alignment test, the bridge might receive interference owing to some unexpected reason. Under this circumstance, the wireless communication data rate will automatically fall back. The numbers of packets sent or received at different data rates can be viewed as shown below (Figure 34).
  • Page 45: Figure 35. Saving The Test Results To A File

    use. Click the Save Current Alignment Info icon (a floppy disk) on the toolbar to open the Save As box (Figure 35). Figure 35. Saving the test results to a file A previously saved test data file can also restored back and shown in the window. Use the previously stored file as a reference to compare with the latest test results and evaluate the difference between them.
  • Page 46: Figure 37. Zooming In For A Magnified View

    Step 5: View test results as a three-dimensional graphic The Antenna Alignment utility allows the user to view the test results in multiple ways: • 2D (two-dimensional) or 3D (three-dimensional) • Zoom in for a magnified view or zoom out for a wider view •...
  • Page 47: Figure 38. Zooming Out For A Wider View

    Figure 38. Zooming out for a wider view 3D Enhancement: Adjust the 3D slider at the bottom of the window. Figure 39. Enhanced 3D effect Rotation and Elevation for X, Y, and Z axes: Adjust the Rotation and Elevation sliders at the bottom of the window. 11-Mbps Wireless Outdoor Bridge...
  • Page 48: Figure 40. Rotation And Elevation Effects

    Figure 40. Rotation and elevation effects Step 6: Export the chart to file or clipboard Click Export Chart icon on the toolbar to select ‘Save to File’ or ‘Copy to Clipboard’ buttons. Figure 41. Exporting the chart to a file 11-Mbps Wireless Outdoor Bridge...
  • Page 49: Advanced Management

    Advanced Management Batch mode operation In order to maximize the efficiency of wireless LAN management, you can use batch mode operation to manage your outdoor bridges. You can sort wireless devices by device type first. Then select the multiple outdoor bridges you would like to manage. Next, click the right mouse button to open the pop-up menu;...
  • Page 50 Create Host Table via Automatic Discovery Click the Automatic Discovery icon to find all compatible devices. Select the desired outdoor bridges (for example, those located in Building A). Click the right mouse button to open the pop-up menu. Choose Export Host Table to save the Host Table to a file (for convenience, you can save the Host table on a network disk for ease of access).
  • Page 51: Exporting A Configuration Profile To A File

    Figure 43. New/Edit Address dialog box Exporting a Configuration Profile to a File The configuration file can be saved to a text file and safely stored. To do this, first click the Export button in the Configuration window. Then enter the file name for the configuration profile to be saved to.
  • Page 52 Figure 45. Importing a configuration profile from a file (1) In the Step 2 display (Figure 46), you can select or uncheck the sessions of the configuration profile to be imported. Click Next. Figure 46. Importing a configuration profile from a file (2) Encryption The configuration profile does not contain the security key settings.
  • Page 53 will appear before the Step 3 display (Figure 48), and you will be asked to enter the security key settings manually. Figure 47. Encryption dialog when importing a configuration profile In the Step 3 display (Figure 48), click Import. Figure 48. Importing a configuration profile from a file (3) 11-Mbps Wireless Outdoor Bridge...
  • Page 54: Faqs

    FAQs The FAQs section attempts to answer the most commonly asked questions about the 11-Mbps Wireless Outdoor Bridge. Question Answer How can I manage the The bridge does not have a console port. You may bridge? easily configure and manage the bridge remotely via its standard RJ-45 Ethernet network interface.
  • Page 55 How do I set the outdoor You can apply Factory Reset option from the menu of bridge back to its factory the WLAN Management System or use Kick Start default settings? function by the following way: 1. Connect the outdoor bridge to your PC. Please make sure the Ethernet connection is normal.
  • Page 56: Troubleshooting

    Troubleshooting This section provides you with some troubleshooting info should you encounter installation or operation problems on 11-Mbps Wireless Outdoor Bridges. If the problems still cannot be remedied after going through the Troubleshooting section, check the FAQs on page 47 of this manual. If your problems still cannot be remedied after going through the FAQs and this Troubleshooting section, contact your network equipment supplier for assistance (see “Technical Support,”...
  • Page 57: Technical Support

    Technical Support If assistance is required, call your supplier for help. Have the following information ready before you make the call. 1. LED status 2. A list of the product hardware (including revision levels), and a brief description of the network structure 3.
  • Page 58: Limited Warranty

    Limited Warranty Hardware The manufacturer warrants its products to be free of defects in workmanship and materials, under normal use and service, for a period of 12 months from the date of purchase from the manufacturer or its Authorized Reseller, and for the period of time specified in the documentation supplied with each product.
  • Page 59 Limited Warranty Service Procedures Any product (1) received in error, (2) in a defective or non-functioning condition, or (3) exhibiting a defect under normal working conditions, can be returned to the manufacturer by following these steps: You must prepare: Dated proof of purchase Product model number and quantity Product serial number Precise reason for return...
  • Page 60 Service after Warranty Period After the warranty period expires, all products can be repaired for a reasonable service charge. The shipping charges to and from the manufacturer’s facility will be borne by the purchaser. Return for Credit In the case of a DOA (Dead on Arrival) or a shipping error, a return for credit will automatically be applied to the purchaser’s account, unless otherwise requested.
  • Page 61: Regulatory Domains And Channels

    Regulatory Domains and Channels This appendix lists the channels supported by the world’s regulatory domains. The channel numbers, channel center frequencies, and regulatory domains are shown in the table. Channel Center FCC/ ETSI Spain France Japan Number Frequency Canada (MHz) 2412 2417 2422...
  • Page 62: Index

    Index Auto-discovery ....3, 16, 33, 42 Monitor ......... 30 Basic Rates ........22 Peer Bridge ........23 Bridge Mode......... 23 Radio frequencies ..6, 22, 46, 53 Reset ..... 18, 29, 31, 32, 47 BSSID ..........6 Channel number10, 22, 31, 46, 48, 53 Restart...........

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