ACCESS POINT User Guide Access Point i
ACCESS POINT Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 1 1.1 PRODUCT FEATURES .............................................................................................1 1.2 NETWORK OVERVIEW ...........................................................................................2 1.2.1 Infrastructure Mode ......................................................................................2 1.2.2 Microcells and Roaming ........
ACCESS POINT 5.2.3 Wireless LAN...............................................................................................22 5.2.4 Privacy Options ..........................................................................................23 5.2.5 Operational Settings ...................................................................................24 5.2.6 Advance Operational Setting ......................................................................26 5.2.7 Authorized MAC addresses.................
ACCESS POINT Copyright © 2002 Manufacturer all rights reserved. The information in this document is subject to change without notice. The statements, configurations, technical data, and recommendations in this document are believed to be accurate and reliable, but are presented without express or implied warranty. Users must take full responsibility for their applications of any products specified in this document. The information in this document is proprietary to Manufacturer.
ACCESS POINT 1. Introduction This user guide provides an overview of the Wireless LAN Technology and instruction for using the Access Point. Actually, Wireless LAN is a flexible data communication system implemented as an extension to, or as an alternative for, a wired LAN within a building or campus. Using electromagnetic waves, WLANs transmit and receive data over the air, minimizing the need for wired connections.
ACCESS POINT 1.2 Network Overview 1.2.1 Infrastructure Mode In an infrastructure network, the wireless device (such as Access Point) links the WLAN to the wired network to offer users more mobilities in movement and resources sharing within the network service area. It enables users to have freedom from network cabling.
ACCESS POINT 1.2.2 Microcells and Roaming WLANs use cells, called microcells, similar to the cellular telephone system to extend the range of wireless connectivity. At any point in time, a mobile PC equipped with a WLAN adapter is associated with a single access point and its microcell, or area of coverage. Individual microcells overlap to allow continuous communication within wired network. They handle low-power signals and allow users to roam through a given geographic area.
ACCESS POINT 1.3 Network Service Set Identification (SSID) Overview On a wireless network, a mobile user can roam freely within the service area of the Access Point with the same service Set Identification SSIDs without losing connection to the wired network. In order for a mobile unit to roam seamlessly from one Access Point to another, the SSIDs of all Access Points and the wireless LAN cards must be the same.
ACCESS POINT 1.4 Channel Services Overview The Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) modulation has the effect of suppressing radio frequency interference in the same frequency bands. The IEEE 802.11b DSSS service is a channelized service, listed as Table 1. Table 1 - Channel Usage by Country Country Channels Used by the Access Point United States 1 through 11 Canada Europe France Spain Japan 1 through 11 1 through 13 10 through 13 10 through 11 14 1.
ACCESS POINT 2. Installation AP 2.1 Package contents Before using the Access point, please make sure that all the items listed below are present in your package. Wireless Access Point 5V DC power adapter Installation CD Quick Installation Guide If any items are missing or damaged, please contact your dealer immediately. 2.2 Notice 1. Keep the Number of Wall and ceilings to a minimum. Each of Wall or Ceiling will reduce 20-30% transmission range. 2.
ACCESS POINT 2.4 Physical Description 1st – WLAN (Wireless LAN lamp) 2nd – LAN (LAN lamp) 3rd – PWR (POWER lamp) Figure 5 - Access Point Diagram To install your Access Point, plug the power cord into the Access Point.
ACCESS POINT 2.7 Default Setting Functions Default IP Address 192.168.100.2 Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0 Gateway 0.0.0.0 DHCP Disable Access Point Name AP-xxxxxx* ESSID AP-xxxxxx* SSID Broadcasting Enable Enable/ Disable Channel 10 1~14 (Depend on Regulatory Domain) Fragmentation Threshold 2346 Options Enable/ Disable 256 ~ 2346 RTS Threshold 2346 0 ~ 2347 Rates 1/ 2/ 5.5/ 11 1, 2, 5.
ACCESS POINT 3. Specification 3.1 Hardware Specification Item Data transfer rate Data Rates, Distance Range AP without external Antenna AP with external Antenna (May vary depending on operation environmental) Network Interface Ethernet Radio Specification Modulation Technique Wireless LAN Standard Frequency range Channels: Output Power EMC certification: Modulation @ 11 Mbps @ 5.
ACCESS POINT 3.2 IEEE 802.
ACCESS POINT 4. Configuration AP The first step to configure the AP is to set its IP Address. This procedure can be done through the Ethernet/Wireless port by using a combination of ARP/ PING commands and the SNMP Manager, or by the network DHCP server. 4.1 Setting up Access Points IP Address You can use ARP/PING commands to set the access point IP address or let the network DHCP server set the address automatically.
ACCESS POINT Step B 1. Open the SNMP Manager application. If you haven’t installed SNMP Manager application, please refer to the Installing SNMP Manager section. 2. Connect to the access point by selecting Connect AP, which is a submenu under File menu. Type the IP address of the access point (which has been temporarily set in Step A) in the panel that appears. Type “public” at the password field; select “Administrator” in the authority combo-box and then press “OK”.
ACCESS POINT 5. Installing SNMP Manager Insert your installation CD into your CD-ROM. Auto run screen will appear. Click on “SNMP Utility Installation” to start the installation process. Follow the instructions of the setup program to finish installation. Refer to the Using SNMP Application section for information regarding how to use the SNMP manager.
ACCESS POINT 5.0.1 Using SNMP Application This section describes how to use your SNMP application. You can open up SNMP application from the start menu as shown below. Figure 7 - SNMP Application When you start up the application, there will be only two menus available, namely File and Help. You will need to connect to an access point first before other menus will become available. Refer to Connection to AP section if you need help with establishing connection with AP.
ACCESS POINT 5.1 File Menu Figure 8 - File Menu Click on the topics below to see a full detail description of each submenu. Connect to Access Point – Connect to a known AP. Find Access Point – Search for an available AP to connect to. Exit – Exit SNMP application. The following menus will be enabled once connection to the AP has been made. Close Connection AP – close the current connection with the AP. Download changes – Upload configuration changes to the access point.
ACCESS POINT 5.1.1 Connection to Access Point To connect to the access point, you need to do the following: 1. Type the access points IP address in the IP Address field. 2. Type in the appropriate password in the Password field. (The default password is “public”.) Note: Password is case sensitive. 3. In Authority combo-box, choose either Administrator or User Authority.
ACCESS POINT 5.1.2 Find Access Point This option allows you to find and connect with an access point without the necessity of knowing its IP. Choose this option in order to find the access points available for connection. Select one of the available access points and press “Connect”. Figure 10 - Available Access Points The following screen will appear indicating the IP address of the selected access point and prompting you to select authority and to input the appropriate password at the Password field.
ACCESS POINT If connection to the access points is successful, then the following window will appear. Figure 12 - Connection successful When the connection has been successfully established, a message in the bottom left hand corner of the screen indicating, “Get Configuration done” will appear. IP address of the connected AP will appear at the bottom right hand corner of the screen. Refer to troubleshooting section if you have trouble connecting to the AP.
ACCESS POINT 5.2 Setup Menu Figure 13 - Setup menu Under the setup menu are the following submenus: Bridge – Provides routing setup for your AP. Wireless LAN – Provides configurations for your APs wireless activities. Enable SNMP Traps – Provides trap messages. Authorization – Let your AP accept/decline packets from authorized remote APs.
ACCESS POINT 5.2.1 Bridge Figure 14 - Bridge configuration There are two menus under bridge menu. They are: 1. IP Configuration – Let you modified AP IP settings. 2. Filtering – If filtering is enabled, then only the IP protocol packets will pass through the WLAN and other protocol packets will get filtered out. Note: If you change any of the settings, remember to save your changes by choosing Download Changes under the file menu.
ACCESS POINT 5.2.2 IP Configuration The IP address and subnet mask can be modified through “IP Configuration”. If DHCP client is enabled the IP Address field displays the IP address that was dynamically assigned to AP and the Subnet Mask field displays the subnet mask utilized by the network DHCP server. In addition, you have to select the primary port that determines the DHCP server.
ACCESS POINT 5.2.3 Wireless LAN Figure 16 - Wireless LAN Under Wireless LAN are the following sub-menus: • • • Privacy Options – Specifies whether to use encryption or not. Operational Settings – Specifies AP operational settings Authorized MAC Addresses – Specifies which APs are allowed to communicate with you. Note: If you change any of the settings, remember to save your changes by choosing Download Changes under the file menu.
ACCESS POINT 5.2.4 Privacy Options Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is an authentication algorithm that protects authorized wireless LAN users against eavesdroppers. Ten hexadecimal digits must be supplied in keys 1 to 4 if 64 bits encryption selected. If 128 bits encryption selected, then 26 hexadecimal digits must be supplied in keys 1 to 4. Choosing disable will disable WEP encryption and every packet will be send without any encryption. Finally, if you are using encryption, choose a default key to use.
ACCESS POINT 5.2.5 Operational Settings Using this option you can either view or modify the wireless LAN parameters of the access point. These parameters are described below: Figure 18 - Operational settings Access Point Name: Specifies the name of your access point. ESSID: Up to 32 ASCII characters used to identify a wireless LAN. It prevents the unintentional merging of two co-located WLANs. The ESSID value must be the same in all stations and access point in the extended WLAN.
ACCESS POINT Channel: There are 14 channels available. Select the channel to be used. Refer to radio channel selection table to see which channels are available in your region. Fragmentation threshold: The size at which packets will be fragmented. Choose a setting within a range of 256 to 2346 bytes. Refer to tutorial section if you are unfamiliar with fragmentations. RTS Threshold: Minimum packet size to require an RTS (Request To Send). Authentication Type: Select Open System, Shared Key, or Both.
ACCESS POINT 5.2.6 Advance Operational Setting Figure 19 - Operating modes Access Point: This mode provides access for wireless stations to wired LANs and from wired LANs to wireless stations. Furthermore, wireless stations within the range of the access point device may communicate with each other via the access point. Access Point Client: This mode allows the connection of one or more remote LANs with a central LAN, creating thus an extended single virtual LAN.
ACCESS POINT To connect to a central LAN, tick the Preferred BSS check box and enter the MAC address of the central LANs AP. If you don’t know the MAC address of the central LANs AP, click on Site Survey and then on “Get / Refresh” button. A list of the available APs will appear. Click on the SSID of the AP you wish to connect to and click the Connect button. In addition to setting the preferred BSS, you also need to make sure that the remote AP has the same ESSID as yours.
ACCESS POINT Figure 22 - Wireless Bridge environment 28
ACCESS POINT 5.2.7 Authorized MAC addresses Figure 23 - Authorized MAC address For security reasons, the access points have the ability to associate with authorized MAC address stations. To activate this option, click on the Authorization Table Enable check box. Load file: Load a file with the authorized MAC addresses. To create load file, compose a file with MAC addresses, (12 consecutive digits, no ‘-‘) one per line. Download: Download the authorized MAC addresses to the access point.
ACCESS POINT 5.2.8 SNMP Traps SNMP traps are messages that are displayed in the bottom right hand corner of the main window specifying AP actions. Available trap messages are: • Trap Re-association: This trap message is sent when a Station’s re-association request is received from the AP - Bridge. • Trap Association: Indicates the reception of an association request packet and the sender station's successful association with the wireless bridge.
ACCESS POINT 5.2.9 Authorization This menu let the administrator change the password that referred to the Password field for the user and also the fields in Administrator Authority. Type in the password in the appropriate field and again in the confirm field to confirm password. Click “Apply” to save settings.
ACCESS POINT 5.3 Commands Menu Figure 25 - Command options Reset Device – Reset the AP Restore Defaults – Restore AP configurations to factory defaults.
ACCESS POINT 5.4 Information Menu Figure 26 - Information menu Wireless Statistics – Displays several statistical values on your wireless activities.
ACCESS POINT 5.4.1 Wireless Statistics Report statistics concerning the unit’s wireless activities.
ACCESS POINT 5.4.2Ethernet Statistics Report statistics concerning the unit’s Ethernet port activity.
ACCESS POINT 5.
ACCESS POINT Figure 30 - Trap recorder Trap menu contains trap records of your AP.
ACCESS POINT 5.6 Network Menu Figure 31 - Network menu Associated stations shows you the MAC addressees of access points you are associated (connected) with.
ACCESS POINT Figure 32 - Associated stations 39
ACCESS POINT 5.7 Window Menu Figure 33 - Window menu Under this menu there are the following submenus • Cascade - All opened windows are arranged on the desktop in a cascade fashion. • Tile - All open windows are visible on the desktop.
ACCESS POINT 5.8 Help Menu Figure 34 - Help menu Help Topics: Display quick listing of help topics. About SNMP Manager: Displays the manger version.
ACCESS POINT 6. Tutorial This section explains some of the simple network concepts concerning wireless LAN’s and networking in general. Topics covered are: Packet Fragmentation Encryption Subnetting 6.1 Packet Fragmentation Packet fragmentation means splitting a data packet into several smaller packets. We need to fragment packets because of: o Hardware limits – some hardware do not support packets up to certain threshold.
ACCESS POINT Setting fragmentation threshold can be a tricky business. Getting the best performance out of fragmentation depends on the network traffic condition. 6.2 Encryption • All users throughout the Internet can read unencrypted data, illustrated below with a simple wired network. Figure 35 - Intercepted data • B want to send some data to A, but the data was intercepted by C. Figure 36 - Retransmitted data • C then modifies the data and transmits it to A.
ACCESS POINT Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) provides techniques to prevent intruders invading your data. With the current IEEE specification, WEP encryption has two types, 64 and 128 bits1 encryption. For 64bits encryption, 10 hexadecimal2 values must be presented in the key field. While 128 bits encryption, 26 hexadecimal values must be in the key field. Authentication Type Share Key: Encryption algorithm used on each of the computers or access points might different.
ACCESS POINT 6.3 Subnetting Subnetting allows an organization to use one network address to span many small physical networks, illustrated below. Figure 37 - Example of subnet configuration Subnetting breaks up host ID portion of the IP address and separate it into subnet ID and host ID. Without subnet Net id With subnet Host id Net id Host id Subnet id Figure 38 - Class B IP address using subnetting Subnet mask is used to identify a particular network within the organization.
ACCESS POINT 7. Troubleshooting Problem 1: I can’t find an access point through the wireless LAN adapter. Answer: i) Check the following Access point is powered on. Make sure the operational mode of the AP is in Access Point mode. (Please refer to operational settings section and advance operational setting for more details.) The AP is within the valid transmission range. Keep the number of wall and ceilings to a minimum. Keep the AP away from electronic devices.
ACCESS POINT Problem 6: I forgot my password Answer: If you have forgotten your password, then you need to reset your AP so it can restore factory settings and therefore restore default password as well. The default password is “public”. Refer to resetting the access point section to see how to reset and reconfigure your AP. Problem 7: I receive this error message when I try to set my AP to “Access Point Client” mode.
ACCESS POINT Problem 10: I receive the following error message: Answer: This error arises because you try to open up two SNMP Manager applications. Only one SNMP Manager application can be run at one computer at any time. Problem 11: I have set authorized MAC addresses but then realize the addresses I entered are wrong, and I can’t connect to the AP now. Answer: Your AP will only be allowed to communicate with wireless LANs/APs that the MAC specifies.
ACCESS POINT 7.1 Checking Valid IP Addresses There are restrictions on which IP addresses you can and cannot use. Some IP addresses are reserved for testing, multicasting and some IP are restricted by your ISP. Following IP addresses cannot be used: • • • • 127.X.X.X – this is a loop back address, used for testing 0.0.0.0 – this IP address represent the host address. • 0 or 255 in host ID portion of your IP are not valid.
ACCESS POINT 7.2 Connection Troubleshooting VI receive this error message when I try to find access point. Solution: Check the following: AP is powered on and connected If AP is powered on but you still can’t find the access point, then you have probably have or set the APs IP address to one of the invalid addresses. To fix the problem, you need to reset the AP. Refer to resetting AP section for more information on how to reset your AP.
ACCESS POINT 7.3 Resetting the Access Point Resetting the access point will restore the factory settings. WARNING: All the settings you made to the access point will be lost after resetting the device. To reset the AP, use a pin or something small to push and hold the reset button. Reset button is located on the reverse side of the AP. Resetting procedure should take no more then 10 seconds. After the device has been reset, you need to reconfigure its IP and saving it again.
ACCESS POINT 7.4 Encryption Troubleshooting Following discusses problems that may arise when setting your encryption keys. VI got error messages when I press the set button Error message type: Unable to Set Privacy Configuration. Possibly Access Point is not connected. This problem arises because you have typed in a non-hexadecimal digit. That is, you have typed a key outside the range 0 ~ 9 and A ~ F. VI cannot communicate with other parties. This is probably the most common error when setting encryption.
ACCESS POINT 7.5 Troubleshooting Check Table If you can’t establish connection, please check the configurations below. Item SSID Channel Encryption Operational mode Key Authentication Protocol #1~4 Type & Network Domain * Access Point Disable 64 Bit or 128 Bit N/A Open System or Both ** *** N/A AP Client Disable N/A Open System or Both 64 Bit or 128 Bit Wireless Bridge N/A Disable N/A Open System or Both 64 Bit or 128 Bit Note: * ** *** Encryption must be set to the same type.
ACCESS POINT 8. FAQ Q1: What is an Access Point (AP)? Answer: An AP is the bridge to connect two different protocols, Ethernet 802.3 and wireless 802.11b. It can be used as the center of a wireless infrastructure, providing connections to your wired networks. Or, it can act as a repeater, increasing wireless communication range. The maximum communication range is based on how you configure your wireless infrastructure.
ACCESS POINT Q6: How can I remove the SNMP Manager utility in Windows? Answer: You can uninstall the manager utility by executing the un-installation program, which is located under the following path: Start ⇒ Programs ⇒ Atmel Utilities ⇒ AP Configuration ⇒ Uninstall AP Configuration Q7: Can I select any of the 14 channels to use? Answer: There are regulations to which channels that can be used. Refer to the channel usage by country table to see which channel is available in your region.
ACCESS POINT 9. WLAN Glossary Access Point (AP) A device that transports data between a wireless network and a wired network (infrastructure). Ad-hoc network A wireless network composed only of stations (no access point). Also known as peer to peer network Authentication The process a station uses to announce its identity to another station. IEEE 802.11 specifies two forms of authentication: open and shared key. Basic Service Set (BSS) A set of 802.
ACCESS POINT Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) Combines a data signal at the sending station with a higher data rate bit sequence, which many refer to as a chip sequence (processing gain). A high processing gain increases the signal’s resistance to interference. Extended Service Set (ESS) A collection of basic service sets tied together via a distribution system.
ACCESS POINT Open system authentication The IEEE 802.11 default authentication method, which is a very simple, two-step process. First the station wanting to authenticate with another station sends an authentication management frame containing the sending station’s identity. The receiving station then sends back a frame alerting whether it recognizes the identity of the authenticating station.
ACCESS POINT Shared key authentication A type of authentication that assumes each station has received a secret shared key through a secure channel independent from an 802.11 network. Stations authenticate through shared knowledge of the secret key. Use of shared key authentication requires implementation of the 802.11 WEP algorithms. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) An optional IEEE 802.11 function that offers frame transmission similar to a wired network.
ACCESS POINT Federal Communications Commission Interference Statement FCC Class B Certification The device complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules. Operation is subject to the following conditions: 1. This device may not cause harmful interference. 2. This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules.
Radio Channel Selection Table Center Channel Frequency ID MKK1 (MHz) Regulator domains FCC DOC ETSI MKK U.S.
