ZyXEL Communications ZyAir 100 User Manual
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ZyXEL Communications ZyAir 100 User Manual

ZyXEL Communications ZyAir 100 User Manual

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ZyAIR 100
Wireless PC Card
User's Guide
Version 1.0
September, 2000

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Summary of Contents for ZyXEL Communications ZyAir 100

  • Page 1 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card User’s Guide Version 1.0 September, 2000...
  • Page 2 ZyXEL Communications Corporation. Published by ZyXEL Communications Corporation. All rights reserved. DISCLAIMER ZyXEL does not assume any liability arising out of the application or use of any products, or software described herein.
  • Page 3 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Interference Statement (No. M4Y-XI-300) This device complies with Part 15 of FCC rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: This device may not cause harmful interference. This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operations.

  • Page 4: Information For Canadian Users

    ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Information for Canadian Users The Industry Canada label identifies certified equipment. This certification means that the equipment meets certain telecommunications network protective, operation and safety requirements. The Industry Canada does not guarantee that the equipment will operate to a user's satisfaction.

  • Page 5: Zyxel Limited Warranty

    ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card ZyXEL Limited Warranty ZyXEL warrants to the original end user (purchaser) that this product is free from any defects in materials or workmanship for a period of up to two years from the date of purchase. During the warranty period and upon proof of...

  • Page 6: Customer Support

    ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Customer Support If you have questions about your ZyXEL product or desire assistance, contact ZyXEL Communications Corporation offices worldwide, in one of the following ways: Method EMAIL – Support Telephone Web Site Regular Mail Region EMAIL –...

  • Page 7: Table Of Contents

    System Requirements........................2-1 Installing the ZyAIR 100.......................2-1 Chapter 3 Software Installation....................3-1 Setting Up the ZyAIR 100 for Windows® 95 (OSR2) / 98............3-1 Setting Up the ZyAIR 100 for Windows® NT 4.0..............3-7 Setting Up the ZyAIR 100 for Windows® 2000 ...............3-12 Basic Setup Complete ........................3-13 ADVANCED MANAGEMENT, TROUBLESHOOTING, APPENDICES, GLOSSARY AND INDEX Chapter 4 Parameter Configuration ..................4-1...
  • Page 8 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Chapter 5 Troubleshooting......................5-1 Problems During Installation......................5-1 Problems With the Configuration ....................5-2 Problems With the Settings for the Access Point.................5-2 Problems Communicating With the Computer ................5-3 Appendix A Network Configuration...................A Appendix B Hardware Specifications..................D Appendix C Important Safety Instructions................E Glossary of Terms ........................F...
  • Page 9 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card List of Figures Figure 2-1 Inserting the ZyAIR 100 into the Notebook Computer ..............2-2 Figure 4-1 Utility – Main Menu.........................4-3 Figure 4-2 Utility – Network Configuration Screen..................4-4 Figure 4-3 RTS Threshold..........................4-6 Figure 4-4 Utility – WEP Encryption Screen....................4-7 Figure 4-5 Diagnostic Tools Screen ........................4-9...

  • Page 11: Preface

    Internet accessing. A mobile investment saves you office construction cost, maintenance effort, and it's easy to extend the connection nodes by just adding a ZyAIR 100 on a laptop. A mobile office can highly increase the office efficiency. It is designed for: Home offices and small businesses with Cable, DSL and wireless modem as Internet access media.
  • Page 12 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Syntax Conventions • “Enter” means for you to type one or more characters and press the carriage return. “Select” or “Choose” means for you to select one from the predefined choices. • A single keystroke is in Arial font and enclosed in square brackets, for instance, [Enter] means the Enter, or carriage return key;...

  • Page 13: Getting Started

    Getting Started Part I: GETTING STARTED Chapters 1 to 3 are structured as a step-by-step guide to help you connect, install and setup your ZyAIR 100 to operate on your notebook computer.

  • Page 15: Chapter 1 Getting To Know Your Zyair 100

    The ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card The ZyAIR 100 is an 11 Mbps IEEE 802.11(b) Wireless PC Card and standard PCMCIA adapter that fits into any standard PCMCIA Type II slot on a notebook computer. Its 11 Mbps data rate gives equivalent Ethernet speed to access corporate networks or the Internet in a wireless environment.

  • Page 16: Applications For Zyair 100

    ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Applications for ZyAIR 100 ZyAIR 100 offers a fast, reliable and cost-effective solution for wireless client access to the network with applications such as these: l Remote Access to Corporate Network Information For accessing emails, file transfer and terminal emulation.

  • Page 17: Chapter 2 Hardware Installation

    500 Kbytes free hard disk space (minimum) for driver and utility program installation. Installing the ZyAIR 100 This section outlines how to install the ZyAIR 100. Please also see the Appendices for important safety instructions on handling the ZyAIR 100.

  • Page 18: Figure 2-1 Inserting The Zyair 100 Into The Notebook Computer

    NOTE: The PCMCIA slot allows “hot swapping” of PCMCIA adapter, allowing you to insert or remove the ZyAIR 100 from the slot whenever you like, even when the power to your computer is on. However, you are advised to always disable the ZyAIR 100 prior to removing the card from the PC Card slot.

  • Page 19: Chapter 3 Software Installation

    Chapter 3 Software Installation This chapter shows you how to install the driver for using the ZyAIR 100 on the Windows® 95 (OSR2) / 98 / NT 4.0 / 2000 Operating Systems. Setting Up the ZyAIR 100 for Windows® 95 (OSR2) / 98 NOTE: Before starting driver installation, make sure that the ZyAIR 100 has been inserted into a standard type II PCMCIA slot on your notebook computer.
  • Page 20 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Step 3. Insert the ZyAIR Support CD-ROM disc into the CD-ROM drive and select the location where the corresponding driver is located, then click on the Next button. Software Installation...
  • Page 21 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Step 4. Windows® 95 (OSR2) / 98 will locate ZyAIR 100 PCMCIA, then click on the Next button. Step 5. Click on the Next button to install the necessary driver to support your new ZyAIR 100.
  • Page 22 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Step 6. Set the parameters for the ZyAIR 100, then click on the OK button (refer to the next chapter for the definition of each parameter). Software Installation...
  • Page 23 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Step 7. Click on the Finish button to complete the driver installation. Software Installation...
  • Page 24 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Step 8. Click on the Yes button when you are prompted to restart your computer. Step 9. Click on the Start button (Windows® taskbar), then Control Panel/System/Device Manager. Check the item Network Adapters to see if any error icon appears. If no, that means your ZyAIR 100 is working well with your Windows®...

  • Page 25: Setting Up The Zyair 100 For Windows® Nt 4.0

    Step 10. Click on the OK button. This completes your driver installation for Windows® 95 (OSR2) / 98 operating system. Setting Up the ZyAIR 100 for Windows® NT 4.0 NOTE: Before starting driver installation, make sure that the ZyAIR 100 has been inserted into a standard type II PCMCIA slot on your notebook computer. Step 1.
  • Page 26 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Step 2. Click on the Start button (Windows® taskbar), then Control Panel. Double-click on Network, click on the Adapters tab, then click on the Add button. Step 3. Windows® NT will present a list of all the supported adapters. Select OTHERS, or click on the Have Disk button.
  • Page 27 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Step 4. Windows® NT will ask for the drive/path containing the ZyAIR 100 drivers. Insert the ZyAIR Support CD-ROM disc into the CD-ROM drive and type the location where it is located. Step 5. Windows® NT will attempt to locate the INF file in the specified path. If you have entered the path name correctly, Windows®...
  • Page 28 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Step 6. The ZyAIR 100 setup dialog box will appear. Select the Default Channel, Network Type and ESSID manually according to the setting in the next figure. Your ZyAIR 100 will thereafter work on this configuration under Windows® NT. Click on the OK button to continue.
  • Page 29 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Step 7. The driver should now be copied. Click on the Start button (Windows® taskbar), then Control Panel. Double-click on Network, click on the Adapters tab, then click on the Properties button. Please specify each parameters required for the network to operate on such as IP Address, Subnet Mask and Default Gateway.

  • Page 30: Setting Up The Zyair 100 For Windows® 2000

    ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Step 9. To find out if the ZyAIR 100 can function properly or not, click on the Start button (Windows® taskbar), then Control Panel. Double-click on Devices, then verify whether the ZyAIR 100 has Started by looking on the Status column. Click on the Close button to exit.

  • Page 31: Basic Setup Complete

    Follow the on screen instructions to complete driver installation. NOTE: Restart your computer when you are prompted to do so. Basic Setup Complete Well Done! You have successfully installed and set up your ZyAIR 100 to operate on your notebook computer. 3-13...

  • Page 32: Advanced Management, Troubleshooting, Appendices, Glossary And Index

    Part II: ADVANCED MANAGEMENT, TROUBLESHOOTING, APPENDICES, GLOSSARY AND INDEX Chapter 4 provides information on configuring parameters, solving common problems, followed by some Appendices, a Glossary of Terms and an Index.

  • Page 34: Chapter 4 Parameter Configuration

    Setting Up the ZyAIR 100 Utility Step 1. Insert the ZyAIR 100 Support CD-ROM disc into your CD-ROM drive and run the setup.exe file found in the Utility folder. Follow the on-screen instructions that guides you through the entire installation process.

  • Page 35: Using The Zyair 100 Utility

    Using the ZyAIR 100 Utility Your ZyAIR 100 is a plug-and-play device and its default settings can be set for a typical Infrastructure Wireless LAN. Simply install the ZyAIR 100 into your computer and it is ready for use. In special circumstances however, you may need to change configuration settings depending on how you would like to manage your wireless network.

  • Page 36: 4.2.1 Main Menu

    Figure 4-1 ZyAIR 100 Utility – Main Menu 4.2.1 Main Menu When the Main Menu appears, the ZyAIR 100 hardware information is displayed in real time. Shown is the current adapter configuration information in terms of MAC Address, Firmware Version, Frequency Domain, BSS connected with, Current Channel, Current Transfer Rate and ESS ID of the wireless LAN adapter that you installed in your desktop or notebook computer.
  • Page 37 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Figure 4-2 ZyAIR 100 Utility – Network Configuration Screen ESS ID The ESSID is a unique ID given to the Access Point. Wireless clients associating to any Access Point must have the same ESSID. Select Specified ESSID as and enter a specific ESSID (Access Point) you desire to connect with.
  • Page 38 Access Point, the roaming function will automatically connect your computer to another Access Point. NOTE: Once the ESSID is set on the initial ZyAIR 100 and the rest of the clients are set to the default value of ANY, then the initial ZyAIR 100 with the ESSID must be started first.

  • Page 39: Figure 4-3 Rts Threshold

    Use WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) To prevent unauthorized wireless stations from accessing data transmitted over the network, ZyAIR 100 offers highly secure data encryption known as WEP. If you require high security in transmission, please select Enable and click the Key List button.
  • Page 40 The Fragmentation function is used for improving the efficiency when high traffic flows along in the wireless network. If your ZyAIR 100 often transmit large files in the wireless network, you can enable the Fragmentation Threshold by clicking the Enable button and the function will split the packet. The value can be set from 256 to 2432.

  • Page 41: 4.2.3 Diagnostic Tools Screen

    In most networking scenarios, you will see that the factory default Fully Auto will prove the most efficient. This setting allows your ZyAIR 100 to operate at the maximum transmission (data) rate. When the communication quality drops below a certain level, ZyAIR 100 will automatically switch to a lower transmission (data) rate.

  • Page 42: Figure 4-5 Diagnostic Tools Screen

    ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Check the quality of your wireless network environment. Test point-to-point communication quality. Displays all active Access Points at your site. Figure 4-5 Diagnostic Tools Screen The instructions for performing each diagnostic tool are as follows: Site Survey When the Site Survey screen is displayed, the channel quality of all 14 radio channels will be displayed.

  • Page 43: Figure 4-6 Diagnostic Tools - Site Survey Screen

    ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Figure 4-6 Diagnostic Tools – Site Survey Screen Link Quality Test The Link Quality Test is a useful diagnostic tool for you to test point-to-point data transmission quality between two wireless LAN stations. Or, if you use the Infrastructure wireless LAN configuration (Network Type), you can test the transmission quality between your wireless LAN station and Access Point.

  • Page 44: Figure 4-7 Diagnostic Tools - Link Quality Test (Master Test Station)

    ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Figure 4-7 Diagnostic Tools – Link Quality Test (Master Test Station) The following table explains the status/statistical information found in the Master Test Station screen. Table 4-1 Diagnostic Tools – Link Quality Test Menu Fields (Master Test Station)

  • Page 45: Figure 4-8 Diagnostic Tools - Link Quality Test (Slave Test Station)

    ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Act as a Slave Test Station (Ad-hoc Network Type) Click on the Start button to start the Slave Test Station and display the following screen. Figure 4-8 Diagnostic Tools – Link Quality Test (Slave Test Station) The following table explains the status/statistical information found in the Slave Test Station screen.

  • Page 46: Figure 4-9 Diagnostic Tools - Link Quality Test (Loopback Through Access Point)

    ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Signal Level The signal level when receiving the last test packet. The signal level is calculated as the percentage of its signal level measurement relative to the full signal level. Loopback Through the Access Point (Infrastructure Network Type) If you use the Infrastructure wireless LAN configuration (network type), you may select the Access Point loopback test to verify the communication quality between your wireless station and Access Point.

  • Page 47: Figure 4-10 Diagnostic Tools - Access Point Browser Screen

    ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Table 4-3 Diagnostic Tools – Link Quality Test Menu (Loopback Through Access Point) ITEM DESCRIPTION Packet Sent Total test packets that have been sent. Packet Received Total responding packets that have been received. Time Elapsed Total test time.

  • Page 48: Table 4-4 Diagnostic Tools - Access Point Browser Screen Menu Fields

    Access Point Browser session. This item only shows in the Single-Channel browser screen. Supported Rates The data rates that ZyAIR 100 supports. For the 11 Mbps product the supported rates are 11M, 5.5M, 2M and 1M. Capacity This is information from the beacon of the Access Point.

  • Page 50: Chapter 5 Troubleshooting

    Power and Link LED should be on if the adapter is properly inserted. Check if the I/O and IRQ for the ZyAIR 100 has conflict problems with other devices connected to your computer. For Windows® 95 (OSR2) / 98 / NT / 2000 operating system, make sure that the PCMCIA card service driver is installed on your computer.

  • Page 51: Problems With The Configuration

    Use the utility Site Survey to check whether there is high interference around the environment. Ensure that you have set the correct IP address for the ZyAIR 100. Use the Ping command to ping the unit itself. If Netbeui is installed and relevant parameters are set properly, you can go to the Network Neighborhood found on your Windows®...

  • Page 52: Problems Communicating With The Computer

    ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Problems Communicating With the Computer Table 5-4 Troubleshooting Communication Problems PROBLEM CORRECTIVE ACTION The ZyAIR 100 station Make sure that the Access Point with which the station is associated with cannot communicate with is powered on.

  • Page 54: Appendix A Network Configuration

    ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Appendix A Network Configuration The ZyAIR 100 supports the same network configuration options of the Legacy Ethernet LANs as defined by the IEEE 802 standard committee. The ZyAIR 100 can be configured as: Ad-hoc for departmental or SOHO LANs.
  • Page 55 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card An Ad-hoc wireless LAN is a group of computers, each equipped with one wireless adapter, connected as an independent wireless LAN. Computers in a specific Ad-hoc wireless LAN must be configured at the same radio channel. An Ad-hoc wireless LAN is applicable at a departmental scale for a branch or SOHO operation.
  • Page 56 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card The ZyAIR 100 provides access to a wired LAN for wireless workstations. An integrated wireless and wired LAN is called an Infrastructure configuration. A group of wireless LAN PC users and an Access Point constitute a Basic Service Set (BSS). Each wireless-equipped PC in this BSS can talk to any computer in the wired LAN infrastructure via the Access Point.

  • Page 57: Appendix B Hardware Specifications

    ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Appendix B Hardware Specifications Table 1 ZyAIR 100 Specifications PRODUCT FEATURES Operating Channels 11 for North America, 14 for Japan, 13 for Europe (ETSI), 2 for Spain, 4 for France Operating Frequency 2.412 ~ 2.462 GHz (North America) 2.412 ~ 2.484 GHz (Japan)

  • Page 58: Appendix C Important Safety Instructions

    Appendix C Important Safety Instructions The following safety instructions apply to the ZyAIR 100: 1. Be sure to read and follow all warning notices and instructions. 2. Do not service the product by yourself. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel.

  • Page 59: Glossary Of Terms

    ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Glossary of Terms 802.11 The IEEE standard that specifies Wireless LAN Medium Access Control (MAC) and Physical Layer (PHY) specifications. 802.11b The IEEE standard that specifies Higher-Speed Physical Layer Extension in the 2.4 GHz Band for 5.5 and 11 megabit per second wireless LANs.
  • Page 60 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Cryptoanalysis The act of analyzing (or breaking into) secure documents or systems that are protected with encryption. Data Communications Equipment is typically a modem or other type of communication device. The DCE sits between the DTE (data terminal equipment) and a transmission circuit such as a phone line.
  • Page 61 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card General Packet A packet-based data transmission technology that will initially provide data transfer rates of Radio Service up to 115 Kbps. GPRS will work with CDMA and TDMA and it supports both the IP and (GPRS) X.25 communication protocols.
  • Page 62 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card On a local area network (LAN) or other network, the MAC (Media Access Control) address is your computer’s unique hardware number. (On an Ethernet LAN, it is the same as your Ethernet address.) The MAC layer frames data for transmission over the network, then passes the frame to the physical layer interface where it is transmitted as a stream of bits.
  • Page 63 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Port An Internet port refers to a number that is part of a URL, appearing after a colon (J right after the domain name. Every service on an Internet server listens on a particular port number on that server.
  • Page 64 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card install traffic or mail filters. Routers are also prone to attacks because they contain a great deal of information about a network. RTS Threshold Transmitter contending for the medium may not hear each other. RTS/CTS mechanism can solve this “Hidden Node Problem.”...
  • Page 65 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Wireless Local A flexible data communications system implemented as an extension to, or as an alternative Area Network for a wired LAN. Using radio frequency (RF) technology, wireless LANs transmit and receive (WLAN) data over the air, minimizing the need for wired connections.

  • Page 66: Index

    ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Index Access Point Setting Problem........5-2 ESS ID............4-4, 4-15 Access Points Browser ........4-14 Ad-hoc Network Type.........4-10 Ad-hoc Topology ............ A Features ..............1-1 Frag Threshold............4-7 Fragmentation function..........4-7 Basic Service Set............. C Frequency Beacon..............4-15 Operating............D BSS .......... See Basic Service Set BSS ID ...............4-15...
  • Page 67 ZyAIR 100 Wireless PC Card Netbeui..............5-2 Safety Instructions........... E Network Configuration..........A Security in transmission.........4-6 Network Configuration Screen.......4-4 Sensitivity...............D Network Type ............4-5 Signal Level............4-15 Noise Level............4-15 Site Survey............4-9 Slave Test Station..........4-12 Structure of this Manual .........xv Syntax Conventions of this Manual......xvi System Requirements ..........2-1...

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