ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility User's Guide Version 2.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Copyright Copyright ©2003 by ZyXEL Communications Corporation The contents of this publication may not be reproduced in any part or as a whole, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, translated into any language, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, photocopying, manual, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of ZyXEL Communications Corporation. Published by ZyXEL Communications Corporation.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility 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 one (1) year from the date of purchase.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility 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. Before installing this equipment, users should ensure that it is permissible to be connected to the facilities of the local telecommunications company.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Interference Statement The Wireless LAN Adapter has been tested to the FCC exposure requirements (Specific Absorption Rate). The 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.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Customer Support When contacting your Customer Support Representative, please have the following information ready: Product model and serial number. Warranty Information. Date you received your product. Brief description of the problem and the steps you took to solve it. E-MAIL SUPPORT/SALES METHOD TELEPHONE/FAX WEB SITE/ FTP SITE REGULAR MAIL LOCATION WORLDWIDE support@zyxel.com.tw +886-3-578-3942 www.zyxel.com www.europe.zyxel.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Table of Contents Copyright .......................................................................................................................................................ii ZyXEL Limited Warranty ..........................................................................................................................iii Information for Canadian Users.................................................................................................................
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility 4.2.1 Configuring the WEP Encryption on the ZyAIR .................................................................4-1 Chapter 5 Advanced Configuration .........................................................................................................5-1 5.1 Overview......................................................................................................................................5-1 5.1.1 Threshold Control ..................................................
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility List of Figures Figure 1-1 Ad-hoc Application Example 1 ..................................................................................................1-2 Figure 1-2 Infrastructure Application Example............................................................................................1-2 Figure 2-1 Windows XP: System Tray Icon.................................................................................................
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility List of Tables Table 3-1 ZyAIR Utility: System Tray Icon ................................................................................................3-1 Table 3-2 ZyAIR Utility: Link Info .............................................................................................................3-2 Table 3-3 Common Screen Command Buttons............................................................................................3-3 Table 3-4 ZyAIR Utility: About..............
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Preface Congratulations on the purchase of your new ZyAIR! About This User's Guide A practical and comprehensive tool, this manual provides information about the ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility. Familiarize yourself with the Syntax Conventions listed for better and faster understanding. This guide is for ZyXEL ZyAIR series wireless LAN adapters that use the ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility for configuration, thus the model name shown in the screens may vary from what you actually purchased.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Chapter 1 Wireless Network Basics This chapter gives you an overview of what a wireless network is, its advantages and applications. 1.1 Introduction A wireless LAN (WLAN) provides a flexible data communication system that you can use to access various services (navigating the Internet, email, printer services, etc.) on the wired network without additional expensive network cabling infrastructure.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Figure 1-1 Ad-hoc Application Example 1 1.3.2 Infrastructure When wireless clients wish to access and share resources on the wired network, they should use infrastructure mode. Wireless clients may move from one coverage area to another seamlessly without network interruption. This is called roaming.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Chapter 2 Disable Windows XP Wireless LAN Configuration Tool Windows XP includes a configuration tool for wireless devices. DO NOT use the Windows XP configuration tool and the ZyAIR Utility at the same time. It is recommended you use the ZyAIR Utility to configure the ZyAIR. Follow the steps below to disable the configuration tool in Windows XP after you install the ZyAIR Utility. Step 1. Double-click on the network icon for wireless connection in the system tray.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Step 3. Double-click on the icon for wireless network connection to display a status window as shown next. Figure 2-2 Windows XP: Wireless Network Connection Status Step 4. Click Properties and click the Wireless Networks tab. Then skip to Step 6. Step 5. When a Connect to Wireless Network window displays, click Advanced….
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Step 6. In the Wireless Network Connection Properties window, make sure the Use Windows to configure my wireless network settings check box is not selected. Click OK.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Chapter 3 Using the ZyAIR Utility This chapter shows you basic ZyAIR wireless LAN configuration using the ZyAIR Utility. Install the ZyAIR before you proceed. Refer to the Quick Installation Guide. For Windows XP users: disable the Windows XP wireless configuration tool first before you proceed. Refer to Chapter 2. Screen shots for Windows XP are shown unless otherwise specified. 3.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Figure 3-2 ZyAIR Utility: Link Info The following table describes the fields in this screen. Table 3-2 ZyAIR Utility: Link Info LABEL DESCRIPTION Device Select an available wireless card from the drop-down list menu if you have more than one wireless cards in your computer. Re-Connect Click Re-Connect to re-establish connection to the wireless device whose SSID is shown in the Current Service Set Identifier field.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Table 3-2 ZyAIR Utility: Link Info LABEL Current Service Set Identifier DESCRIPTION This field displays the name of the wireless device to which the ZyAIR is associated. Tx/Rx Frame Transmitted Received This field displays the number of data frames transmitted. This field displays the number of data frames received. Link Quality The status bar and the percentage number show the quality of the signal.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Figure 3-3 ZyAIR Utility: About The following table describes the read-only fields in this screen. Table 3-4 ZyAIR Utility: About FIELD DESCRIPTION Driver Version This field displays the version number of the ZyAIR wireless card driver. Utility Version This field displays the version number of the ZyAIR Utility. 3.4 Wireless LAN Parameters This section describes each wireless LAN parameter.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility 3.4.1 SSID The SSID (Service Set Identity) is a unique name shared among all wireless devices in a wireless network. Wireless devices must have the same SSID to communicate with each other. 3.4.2 Channel A range of radio frequencies used by IEEE 802.11b wireless devices is called a channel. 3.4.3 Transmission Rate (Tx Rate) ZyAIR provides various transmission (data) rate options for you to select. Options include Fully Auto, 1 M bit/sec, 2 M bit/sec, 5.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Figure 3-4 Ad-hoc Network Example To set up an ad-hoc network, configure all wireless clients in ad-hoc network type and use the same SSID and channel. 3.5.2 Infrastructure When a number of wireless clients are connected using a single AP, you have a Basic Service Set (BSS). Figure 3-5 BSS Example A series of overlapping BSS and a network medium, such as an Ethernet forms an Extended Service Set (ESS) or infrastructure network.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Figure 3-6 Infrastructure Network Example 3.6 Roaming In an infrastructure network, wireless clients are able to switch from one AP to another as they move between the coverage areas. During this period, the wireless client maintains uninterrupted connection to the network. This is roaming. As the wireless client moves from place to place, it is responsible for choosing the most appropriate AP depending on the signal strength, network utilization or other factors.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Figure 3-7 Roaming Example 3.7 The Site Survey Screen Use the Site Survey screen to scan for and connect to a wireless network automatically.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Figure 3-8 ZyAIR Utility: Site Survey The following table describes the fields in the table. Table 3-5 ZyAIR Utility: Site Survey FIELD DESCRIPTION SSID This field displays the SSID (or name) of each wireless device. BSSID This field displays the MAC address of the wireless device. Channel This field displays the channel number used by each wireless device. Signal This field displays the signal strength of each wireless device.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Table 3-5 ZyAIR Utility: Site Survey FIELD Connect DESCRIPTION Click Connect to associate to the selected wireless device. The following table describes the colors used for the entries in the Site Survey screen. Table 3-6 Color Indicator for Link Quality/Link Strength COLOR Green DESCRIPTION Excellent link quality or link strength. Blue Good link quality or link strength. Red Poor link quality or link strength. 3.7.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Figure 3-10 ZyAIR Utility: Configuration Follow the instructions in the table below to configure the wireless LAN related parameters. Refer to the next section for Profile field descriptions. Table 3-7 ZyAIR Utility: Configuration FIELD DESCRIPTION Configuration Operating Mode Select Infrastructure(BSS) or Ad-Hoc(IBSS) from the drop-down list box. Select Infrastructure(BSS) to associate to an AP. Select Ad-Hoc(IBSS) to associate to a peer ad-hoc computer. Refer to Section 3.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Table 3-7 ZyAIR Utility: Configuration FIELD DESCRIPTION Service Set Identifier (SSID) Enter the SSID of the AP or the peer ad-hoc computer to which you want to associate in this field. To associate to an ad-hoc network, you must enter the same SSID as the peer ad-hoc computer. Enter Any to associate to or roam between any infrastructure wireless networks. This is the default setting. Transfer Rate Select a transmission speed from the drop-down list box.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility 3.9.3 Using a Pre-configured Profile To use a previously saved network profile select the profile file name from the drop-down list box and click Activate. 3.9.4 Deleting a Profile To delete an existing wireless network configuration select a profile from the drop-down list box and click Remove.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Chapter 4 Wireless LAN Security This chapter shows you how to set up the wireless LAN security available in the ZyAIR. 4.1 Introduction Wireless LAN security is vital to your network to protect wireless communication between wireless clients and the wired network. Configure the wireless LAN security using the Security screen.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Figure 4-1 ZyAIR Utility: WEP Encryption Follow the instructions in the table to configure the WEP encryptions. Table 4-1 ZyAIR Utility: WEP Encryption FIELD Encryption (WEP) DESCRIPTION Select either 64 Bits or 128 Bits from the drop-down list box to activate WEP encryption and then fill in the related fields. Select Disable to deactivate the WEP encryption. WEP Key Entry The WEP keys are used to encrypt data before it is transmitted.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Table 4-1 ZyAIR Utility: WEP Encryption FIELD DESCRIPTION Passphrase Manual Entry Enter the passphrase when you select the Create with Passphrase option. The WEB keys are automatically generated and displayed in the key fields below. The passphrase is case-sensitive. You must use the same passphrase for all ZyAIR wireless devices with this feature in the same WLAN.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Chapter 5 Advanced Configuration This chapter shows you how to configure advanced features of the ZyAIR. 5.1 Overview The following sections introduce the advanced features you can configure. 5.1.1 Threshold Control Fragmentation Threshold A Fragmentation Threshold is the maximum data fragment size (between 256 and 2432 bytes) that can be sent in the wireless network before the ZyAIR will fragment the packet into smaller data frames.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility When station A sends data to the AP, it might not know that the station B is already using the channel. If these two stations send data at the same time, collisions may occur when both sets of data arrive at the AP at the same time, resulting in a loss of messages for both stations. RTS/CTS Threshold is designed to prevent collisions due to hidden nodes.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Long preamble mode allows more processing time for each transmitted data packet. Short preamble mode allows less processing time for the transmitted data packets. Using short preamble mode may minimize overhead and maximize network throughput. However, short preamble mode is supported by IEEE 802.11b compliant wireless devices, thus wireless stations using short preamble mode cannot communicate with wireless stations using the original IEEE 802.11 standard. 5.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Table 5-1 ZyAIR Utility: Advanced FIELD DESCRIPTION Transmit Threshold Control Fragmentation Threshold RTS/CTS Threshold The threshold (number of bytes) for the fragmentation boundary for directed messages. It is the maximum data fragment size that can be sent. Move the slider to set the fragmentation threshold. Data with its frame size larger than this value will perform the RTS/CTS handshake.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Chapter 6 Removing and Upgrading the ZyAIR Utility This chapter describes how to uninstall or upgrade the ZyAIR Utility. 6.1 Removing the ZyAIR Utility Follow the steps below to remove (or uninstall) the ZyAIR Utility from your computer. Step 1. Click Start, Programs, ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility, Uninstall. Step 2. When prompted, click Yes to remove the driver and the utility software. Step 3. 6.2 When prompted to restart your computer, click Yes and then click Finish.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Chapter 7 Troubleshooting This chapter covers potential problems and the possible remedies. After each problem description, some instructions are provided to help you to diagnose and to solve the problem. 7.1 Problems Starting the ZyAIR Utility Program Table 7-1 Troubleshooting Starting ZyAIR Utility Program Cannot start the ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Make sure the ZyAIR is properly inserted and the LED(s) is on. Refer to the Quick Installation Guide for the LED descriptions.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility 7.2 Problems Communicating With Other Computers Table 7-2 Troubleshooting Communication Problems PROBLEM CORRECTIVE ACTION The ZyAIR computer cannot communicate with the other computer. A. B. 7.3 Infrastructure Ad-Hoc (IBSS) Make sure that the AP and the associated computers are turned on and working properly. Make sure the ZyAIR computer and the associated AP use the same SSID.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Table 7-3 Troubleshooting Link Quality PROBLEM The Site Survey screen displays all entries in red. Troubleshooting CORRECTIVE ACTION Move your computer closer to the AP or peer computer(s) within the transmission range. There is too much radio interference (for example microwave or another AP using the same channel) around your wireless network. Relocate or reduce the radio interference.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Index A About ..............................................................3-3 Access Point....................................................1-1 Accessing the ZyAIR Utility...........................3-1 Advanced Configuration .................................5-1 AP ............................................. See Access Point Applications Ad-hoc ........................................................1-1 Infrastructure...............................................
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Infrastructure............................................... 3-6 O Online Registration........................................... iii Open authentication mode .............................. 5-2 Operating Mode ......................See Network Type P passphrase....................................................... 4-1 Passphrase....................................................... 4-3 Power Saving Mode...................................... 3-12 Preamble Mode..................
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Z ZyAIR Utility..................................................6-1 About ..........................................................3-4 Before you upgrade.....................................6-1 Index Link Info .....................................................3-2 Removing ....................................................6-1 Site Survey ..................................................3-9 Upgrading....................................................6-1 WEP Encryption...
