PCI/PC Card 2Mbps Wireless LAN User’s Guide P/N: 85-506300-00 Rev. A1 March 2000 National Datacomm Corporation 4F, No. 24-2, Industry East 4th road Science Park, Hsin-Chu Taiwan, R.O.C. Technical Support E-mail: techsupt@ndc.com.tw NDC World Wide Web www.ndc.com.
TRADEMARKS NDC and InstantWave are trademarks of NDC Communications, Inc. All other names mentioned in this document are trademarks/registered trademarks of their respective owners. NDC provides this document “as is,” without warranty of any kind, neither expressed nor implied, including, but not limited to, the particular purpose. NDC may make improvements and/or changes in this manual or in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this manual at any time.
Packing List The package contents vary depending on whether you have purchased the PnP PCI Card, or the PC Card version: The PCI Card package should contain the following items: • One PCI Card • One Antenna • One CD ROM (Windows Driver and Utility program) • One Diskette for Windows NT • This User’s Guide The PC Card package should contain the following items: • One PC Card • One CD ROM (Windows Driver and Utility program) • One Diskette for Windows NT • This User’s Guide InstantWave PCI/P
Table Of Contents INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................................1 INSTANT W AVE FAMILY ................................................................................................... 1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS.................................................................................................. 1 Hardware Platform......................................................................................................
TECHNICAL SUPPORT.............................................................................................. 30 NDC LIMITED WARRANTY..................................................................................... 31 INDEX.................................................................................................................................
List of Figures FIGURE 1. A N A D-HOC NETWORK ..................................................................2 FIGURE 2. A N INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORK..................................................2 FIGURE 3. A W IRELESS CELL (GROUP ) ..........................................................3 FIGURE 4. ROAMING IN THE SAME DOMAIN ..................................................3 FIGURE 5. INSERTING THE CARD .....................................................................5 FIGURE 6.
Introduction Congratulations on choosing an InstantWave wireless networking family product. InstantWave was designed with a “Maximizing the convenience of networking” philosophy in mind. You will find InstantWave very easy to configure and use. This User’s Guide gives comprehensive instructions on installing and using the InstantWave PCI and PC Cards, and also explains how to install and use the InstantWave Utility Program.
Glossary Wireless Network In the IEEE 802.11 definition, a wireless network is classified as an Ad-Hoc network or an Infrastructure network. Ad-Hoc Network An Ad-Hoc network is formed by a number of wireless stations (without an Access Point) communicating via radio waves. For the users, the shared resources on the wireless network appear exactly as they would on a regular wired network. The wireless operation of the network is totally transparent. Figure 1 depicts a typical Ad-Hoc network scenario.
Group ID /BSSID A Group ID (the 802.11 standard uses the term BSSID) is the ID of a wireless cell. A wireless cell is usually made up of stations in an area that the radio signal can comfortably cover. In other words, any wireless station in the cell can communicate with any other within reach of the radio signal (Figure 3). Access Point Wireless Stations Figure 3.
Access Point An Access Point (AP) provides a transparent bridged connection between a wired network and a wireless network and allows wireless stations to communicate with devices attached to a wired network. It manages the flow of data packets from the wired LAN to the Wireless LAN and vice versa.
Getting Started This section explains how to quickly setup a wireless station. Hardware Installation PCI Card Installation To install the InstantWave PCI Card into a computer, simply follow these steps: step1. step2. Turn off the power to your computer and all peripherals and unplug the power cord from the wall socket Remove the computer’s cover step3. Select a free PCI Bus expansion slot and remove the slot cover step4.
step7. Repeat the above procedure to fit an InstantWave card into each of the other computers to be networked PC Card Installation The PC Card fits into a Type II or Type III PCMCIA slot. The antenna is encased in a plastic case, in line with the main body of the PC card, such that it extends outside the PCMCIA slot when the card is inserted. The slot must allow for a card extension of up to 30mm as specified in the PC Card specifications. step1. Insert the PC Card into the Type II slot of the computer.
Driver Installation/Uninstallation For Windows 95 see the following section, for Windows 98 go to page 12, for Windows NT 4.0 go to page 14. Installation in Windows 95 As the installation method for the Windows 95 versions is slightly different, you should begin by identifying your version. Right click My Computer and click Properties. The System Properties screen will open (Figure 8). Check the version number Figure 8.
step3. Choose Driver from disk provided by hardware manufacturer, and click OK. The Install From Disk dialog box will open (Figure 10) Figure 10. Install From Disk step4. step5. Insert the InstantWave CD-ROM in the CD drive. The driver is in the root directory of the CD-ROM. Type D:\ (or whatever your CD drive is) and click OK. The system will copy the driver files to the Windows 95 system Go to page 10, and follow steps 7 to 13 as described in Procedure B Procedure B (For Windows 95 4.00.950 B and 4.
. Figure 12. Update Device Driver Wizard-2 step5. The installer will copy the driver files into the system. There is a known problem with the Windows 95 OSR2 device installer. The installer may default to the wrong source location. Typically, the installer source path defaults to the Windows installation location. The user should manually redirect the installer to the correct source location. The following dialog boxes will be displayed Figure 13. Insert Disk Figure 14. Copying Files step6.
step7. After the InstantWave Utility files have been copied, the Network Identification dialog box will open (Figure 15). Enter a unique computer name and the Domain Name (ESSID) of the network to which the wireless adapter will connect Figure 15. Network Identification step8. Click Next. The Network Properties dialog box will open (Figure 16) Figure 16. Network Properties step9. Select the Network Type and Carrier Set.
step11. The System Settings Change dialog box will ask you if you want to restart your computer. Remove the CD-ROM from the drive and click Yes step12. After rebooting, the system will automatically install the InstantWave Utility Program and execute it.
Installation in Windows 98 Driver installation and uninstallation in Windows 98 is basically the same as that of Windows 95 OSR2. Complete the following procedure to install the driver program for Windows 98. step1. Turn on the power and start Windows 98 step2. Windows 98 will detect the adapter and the Add New Hardware Wizard dialog box will open (Figure 17) Figure 17. Add New Hardware Wizard-1 step3. Click Next step4. Choose Search for the best driver for your device (Figure 18).
Figure 19. Add New Hardware Wizard-3 step5. Insert the InstantWave CD-ROM and click Next step6. The Add New Hardware Wizard will indicate that Windows 98 found the driver in the root directory of the CD-ROM (Figure 20). Click Next Figure 20. Add New Hardware Wizard-4 step7. Go to page 10, and follow steps 7 to 13 The default network protocol for Windows 98 is TCP/IP. If other network protocols are required they can be added via Control Panel/Network. Uninstalling the Adapter from Windows 98 step1.
Installation in Windows NT 4.0 Important: Before installing the driver in Windows NT 4.0, check that in the computer’s BIOS on the PnP and PCI Settings page, “PnP OS Installed” is set to NO. step1. Double-click My Computer, double-click Control Panel step2. step3. Double-click the Network icon to open the Network window. Select the Adapters card Click Add. The Select Network Adapter dialog box will open step4. Click Have Disk step5.
step8. Click OK. The InstantWave PCI Adapter Setup dialog box will open (Figure 23). Select the Network Type and Carrier Set. If the station is connected to an Access Point, Infrastructure mode must be specified. Select Ad Hoc mode to make a peer to peer connection to other wireless stations. If the country of operation is different from the country in which the product was purchased, the user can change the carrier set.
step11. Security is enabled to restrict unauthorized access. When security is enabled a Security ID is requested (Figure 26) Figure 26. Enter Security ID step12. The longest string for the security ID is eight characters. All the wireless devices must have the same Security ID in order to communicate with each other. Enter a Security ID and click OK. Windows NT will begin copying files step13. The InstantWave Adapter will now be shown on the Adapters card in the Network configuration box.
The InstantWave Windows Utility Program The InstantWave Utility program is a Windows-based application that allows users to monitor and configure the wireless adapter. The program includes a Network Watcher tool that allows users to determine the best location to place the InstantWave products, or to diagnose the wireless network for problems.
step3. From the Choose Destination Location dialog box, click Next to copy the program files to the default location, C:\Program Files\InstantWave, or click Browse to choose another location step4. The setup program will copy the necessary files into the specified directory. File copying progress will be displayed in the InstantWave utility setup screen. Check I would like to launch InstantWave Utility, and click OK . The InstantWave Information dialog box will be displayed step5.
step4. Click the icon for the task you wish to perform. The functions provided by the utility program are, reading from left to right on Figure 29: • Adapter Properties • Network Watcher • Signal Quality Indicator • Throughput Monitor step5. Right-click the InstantWave Utility toolbar.
§ Pop up message dialog is used to display a warning message in case of abnormal conditions § Play sound is used to generate an alert sound in case of abnormal conditions Right-click on the icon to open a popup menu for fast access to the Utility program, Preferences, and Help. Adapter Properties There are two ways to access Adapter Properties. One is by clicking Start/Programs/InstantWave Utility/Adapter Properties.
(Extended Service Set ID). Having the same Domain Name allows all wireless nodes in the same Domain (or Cell) to communicate with each other. The default setting is Wireless • Carrier Set - This is preset to the U.S.A., Canada, Europe, Spain, France, or Japan depending on where the product is sold. The parameter shown indicates which Radio Frequency (RF) 802.11 specification is currently in use in the adapter • Enable Roaming - Roaming can be turned on or off.
• Hardware Configuration Information - Shows the adapter bus type, IO address, IRQ number, and the station MAC address • Adapter Status - Displays the adapter’s working status Troubleshooting Should a problem be encountered using the wireless adapter that cannot be resolved using the ‘Troubleshooting’ section of this manual, click the Troubleshooting tab (Figure 34). A diagnosis program will run and report the message.
Network Watcher (Infrastructure) In an Infrastructure network, Network Watcher scans for all existing wireless cells in range and displays the AP names, the MAC address, the Domain Name, the Signal Strength, the number of stations currently connected to each AP, and the connection status. When Network Watcher is run, the program first reads and displays information stored in the database. The signal strength entry shows either Green (strong signal), or Yellow (average signal).
Refresh Click Refresh to obtain and display updated data. You may need to wait a short time depending on the number of replies received. Signal Quality Indicator Signal Quality Indicator dynamically displays the present radio signal quality (Figure 37). The quality level is indicated by colors. Green means the signal is good, Yellow indicates the signal is fair, Red denotes the signal is poor. When the signal color reaches the yellow to red border, the station will start to roam if roaming is enabled.
Software Upgrade Procedures Windows NDIS Driver Upgrade Follow the instructions below to install a new NDIS PCI/PC Card driver release. step1. step2. step3. In Control Panel, click the Network icon, then highlight the InstantWave adapter driver entry Click the Remove button to remove the old InstantWave adapter driver Click Close. The system will ask you to reboot the PC. Click Yes After removing the old InstantWave adapter driver, follow the installation procedure for your operating system.
Troubleshooting Windows 95/98 Installation Problems Windows could not find the adapter • The adapter is not properly inserted in the slot 1. 2. 3. • Power off the computer Remove and reinsert the wireless adapter Reboot the computer and re-install the adapter driver A previous adapter installation was aborted by the user, or by Windows 1. 2. 3.
There are more than one wireless adapter entries shown in the Control Panel/Network folder. You do not know which one is the current one • A previously installed wireless adapter entry for a different card was not removed 1. Remove all wireless LAN adapter entries from the Network window 2. Reboot the PC to re-install the wireless adapter Windows NT 4.0 Installation Problems Windows NT 4.0 could not find the adapter • The adapter is not properly inserted in the slot 1. Power off the computer 2.
General Utility Error Messages Cannot find the Wireless adapter • The Wireless adapter driver is installed, but the wireless adapter is not in the computer slot If you are using the wireless PC card, you will only need to reinsert the PC card into the PCMCIA slot to re-enable the driver. However, if you are using the PCI adapter, you will need to power down the PC and insert the PCI card, then reboot the computer Adapter is not responding • The card is in the system.
Radio signal quality indicates Yellow or Red whilst in Infrastructure mode • The connected AP is too far away 1. 2. • Use Network Watcher to find an AP with a stronger signal Move your PC closer to the connected AP The adapter antenna is not connected, or its signal path is blocked by metal casing, e.g. metal filing cabinets 1. 2.
Technical Support If you are having a problem using an NDC product and cannot resolve it, please note the following information and contact NDC Technical Support: • What you were doing when the error occurred • What error messages you saw • Whether the problem can be reproduced • The serial number of the product Send the above information and the output of the Troubleshooting screen (see page 22) to one of the following addresses: support@ndclan.com (US only) techsupt@ndc.com.
NDC Limited Warranty Hardware NDC 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 NDC or its Authorized Reseller, and for the period of time specified in the documentation supplied with each product.
1. Inform the distributor or retailer 2. Ship the product back to the distributor/retailer with prepaid freight. The purchaser must pay the shipping freight from the distributor/retailer to NDC. Any package sent C.O.D. (Cash On Delivery) will be refused 3. Charges: Usually RMA (Returned Material Authorization) items will be returned to the purchaser via Airmail, prepaid by NDC. If returned by another carrier, the purchaser will pay the difference.
EC DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY For the following equipment: Product Name: : InstantWave Wireless PCI/PC Card Model Number: : NW610A (PC Card) NW630A (PCI Card) Produced by: Manufacturer’s : NATIONAL DATACOMM CORPORATION Name Manufacturer’s : 2F, NO. 28, INDUSTRY EAST 9TH ROAD Address SCIENCE PARK, HSINCHU, TAIWAN, R.O.C.
Index A Access Point ........................................4 Adapter Bus type ..............................22 Adapter Properties ............................21 Adapter Properties ............................20 Ad-Hoc Network.................................2 Antenna PC Card.............................................6 PCI card ............................................5 in Windows NT 4.0......................14 PC Card ............................................6 PCI Card ...........................
Utility Tools .......................................18 W V Wireless Cell........................................3 Wireless Domain...............................21 Wireless Domain Name ...................20 Wireless Network Type...................17 View Station Throughput ................