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 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. 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.
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.com NORTH AMERICA sales@zyxel.com.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Table of Contents Copyright .......................................................................................................................................................ii ZyXEL Limited Warranty ..........................................................................................................................iii Information for Canadian Users.................................................................................................................
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Chapter 4 Troubleshooting .......................................................................................................................4-1 4.1 Problems Starting the ZyAIR Utility Program.............................................................................4-1 4.2 Problems Communicating With Other Computers ......................................................................4-2 4.3 Problem with the Link Status......................................................
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility List of Figures Figure 1-1 Windows XP: System Tray Icon.................................................................................................1-1 Figure 1-2 Windows XP: Wireless Network Connection Status ..................................................................1-2 Figure 1-3 Windows XP: Connect to Wireless Network..............................................................................1-2 Figure 1-4 Windows XP: Wireless Network Connection Properties.......
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility List of Tables Table 1-1 ZyAIR Utility: System Tray Icon ................................................................................................1-4 Table 2-1 Link Info ......................................................................................................................................2-5 Table 2-2 Configuration...............................................................................................................................
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Preface Congratulations on the purchase of your new ZyAIR! About This User's Guide This manual provides information about the ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility. This guide is for ZyAIR 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. Syntax Conventions • “Type” or “Enter” means for you to type one or more characters.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Chapter 1 Getting Started This chapter prepares you to using the ZyAIR Utility. 1.1 ZyAIR Hardware and Utility Installation Follow the instructions in the Quick Installation Guide to install the ZyAIR Utility and driver and make hardware connections. 1.2 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.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Step 3. Double-click on the icon for wireless network connection to display a status window as shown next. Figure 1-2 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. Figure 1-4 Windows XP: Wireless Network Connection Properties 1.3 Accessing the ZyAIR Utility After you installed the ZyAIR Utility, an icon for the ZyAIR Utility appears in the system tray. When the ZyAIR Utility system tray icon displays, the ZyAIR is installed properly.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Table 1-1 ZyAIR Utility: System Tray Icon COLOR DESCRIPTION Red The ZyAIR is working properly but is not connected to any AP or wireless station. Blue The ZyAIR is connected to a wireless network. Double click on the ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility icon in the system tray to open the ZyAIR Utility.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Chapter 2 Using the ZyAIR Utility This chapter shows you basic ZyAIR wireless LAN configuration using the ZyAIR Utility. 2.1 About Wireless LAN Network This section describes the wireless LAN network terms and applications. 2.1.1 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. 2.1.2 Channel A range of radio frequencies used by IEEE 802.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility For ZyAIR B122 and ZyAIR B-320, you may select the proprietary transmission rates of 16.5M bit/sec or 27.5M bit/sec if you are connecting to another ZyAIR B320, ZyAIR B-122 client or ZyAIR B-500 AP and vice versa. 2 2.1.4 Wireless Network Application Wireless LAN works in either of the two modes: ad-hoc and infrastructure. To connect to a wired network within a coverage area using Access Points (APs), set the ZyAIR operation mode to Infrastructure(BSS).
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Figure 2-2 Infrastructure Network Example 2.1.5 Roaming Roaming is where in an infrastructure network, wireless clients are able to switch from one BSS to another as they move between coverage areas. During this period, the wireless client maintains uninterrupted connection to the network. As the wireless client moves from place to place, it scans for the most appropriate AP depending on the signal strength, network utilization or other factors.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Figure 2-3 Roaming Example 2.2 The Link Info Screen When the ZyAIR Utility starts, the Link Info screen displays, showing the current configuration of your ZyAIR. The model name shown in the screens may vary depending on the model you are using.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Figure 2-4 Link Info The following table describes the fields in this screen. Table 2-1 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 network whose SSID is shown in the Current Service Set Identifier field. Current Channel This field displays the radio channel the ZyAIR is currently using.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Table 2-1 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 2-5 Configuration The following table describes the labels in this screen. Table 2-2 Configuration FIELD DESCRIPTION Profile The Profile function allows you to save the wireless network settings in this screen, use one of the preconfigured network profiles or reset the settings in this screen to the factory default values. Remove Create To delete an existing wireless network configuration, select a profile from the drop-down list box and click Remove.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Table 2-2 Configuration FIELD Activate DESCRIPTION To use a previously saved network profile, select the profile file name from the dropdown list box and click Activate. 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.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Table 2-2 Configuration FIELD Help 2.4 DESCRIPTION Click Help to display the on-line help window. The Site Survey Screen Use the Site Survey screen to scan for and connect to a wireless network automatically. Figure 2-6 Site Survey The following table describes the fields in the table.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Table 2-3 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. WEP This field shows whether the WEP data encryption is activated (Enable) or inactive (Disable).
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Figure 2-7 Site Survey Warning Step 4. Step 5. 2.5 Click OK to display the Security screen and refer to Section 2.6 to set up WEP keys. Otherwise click Cancel and connect to another wireless network without WEP encryption. To verify that you have successfully connected to the selected network, check the network information in the Link Info screen.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Figure 2-8 Security Follow the instructions in the table to configure WEP encryption. Table 2-5 Security LABEL 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 transmitting.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Table 2-5 Security LABEL Passphrase Manual Entry DESCRIPTION When you select the Create with Passphrase option, enter the passphrase. As you enter the passphrase, the ZyAIR automatically generates four different WEP keys and displays them in the key fields below. Write down the automatically generated WEP keys in and use them to manually set the WEP keys in other WLAN adapters. The passphrase is case-sensitive.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Table 2-5 Security LABEL Help 2.7 DESCRIPTION Click Help to display the on-line help window. Advanced Wireless LAN Parameters The following sections describe the wireless LAN parameters in the Advanced screen. 2.7.1 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 RTS/CTS Threshold is designed to prevent collisions due to hidden nodes. An RTS/CTS Threshold defines the biggest size data frame you can send before an RTS (Request To Send)/CTS (Clear to Send) handshake is invoked. When a data frame exceeds the RTS/CTS Threshold value you set (between 0 to 2432 bytes), the station that wants to transmit this frame must first send an RTS (Request To Send) message to the AP for permission to send it.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Select Long Preamble if you have a ‘noisy’ network or are unsure of what preamble mode the access point or the other wireless clients support as all IEEE 802.11b compliant wireless adapters must support long preamble. However, not all wireless adapters support short preamble.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Table 2-6 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 Figure 2-11 About The following table describes the read-only fields in this screen. Table 2-7 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. Firmware Version This field displays the version of the firmware on which the driver and the utility are based. OK Click OK to save all changes and close the ZyAIR Utility.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Chapter 3 Maintenance This chapter describes how to uninstall or upgrade the ZyAIR Utility. 3.1 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 OK to remove the driver and the utility software. Step 3. 3.2 When prompted to restart your computer, click Yes and then click Finish.
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Chapter 4 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. 4.1 Problems Starting the ZyAIR Utility Program Table 4-1 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 4.2 Problems Communicating With Other Computers Table 4-2 Troubleshooting Communication Problems PROBLEM CORRECTIVE ACTION The ZyAIR computer cannot communicate with the other computer. A. B. 4.3 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 Index A H About ............................................................2-17 Accessing the ZyAIR Utility...........................1-3 Authentication Mode.....................................2-15 Auto ..........................................................2-15 Open..........................................................2-15 Shared .......................................................2-15 Auto authentication mode .............................
ZyAIR Wireless LAN Utility Proprietary transmission rates..................2-2, 2-8 W R Warranty ...........................................................iii Note...............................................................iii WEP..............................................................2-11 WEP Data Encryption Configuring...............................................2-11 WEP Data Encryption with...........................2-11 WEP Key .............................................
