3Com Wireless LAN 11 Mbps manual

http://www .3com.com/ http://support.3com.com/registration/fr ontpg.pl/ 11 Mbps Wireless LAN Access Point 8000 User Guide V ersion 1.1 Published April, 2002 V ersion 1.1.2[...]

3Com Corporation 5400 Bayfront Plaza Santa Clara, California 95052-8145 Copyright © 2002 3Com Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of this documentation may be repr oduced in any form or by any means or used to make any derivative work (such as translation, transformation, or adaptation) without written permission from 3Com Corporation. 3Com [...]

C ONTENTS 1 I NTRODUCTION Wireless and W ir ed Networks 1 Access Point 8000 Feature Summary 1 Installation Overview 2 2 I NSTALLING THE A CCESS P OINT Before Y ou Begin 5 Deciding Where to Place Equipment 5 Connecting the Standard Antenna 6 Placing the Access Point 6 Mounting on a W all 7 Mounting on a Ceiling 8 Connecting Power 9 Connecting to an [...]

Using the Configuration Management System 25 Changing Access Point Properties 26 Setting Network Properties 26 Setting Data T ransmission Properties 27 Setting Advanced Data T ransmission Properties 28 Setting up Security 29 Security Settings 29 Access Point Encryption Settings 30 Setting up a User Access List 30 Setting up a MAC Address Access Li[...]

Returning Products for Repair 48 R EGULATORY C OMPLIANCE I NFORMATION I NDEX[...]

[...]

1 I NTRODUCTION The 3Com wireless pr oduct family lets you set up a local area network (LAN) without the restraints of network cabling. If your of fice already has an Ethernet LAN, the 3Com 11 Mbps W ir eless LAN Access Point 8000 can extend the network without additional cabling. The access point security features extend the security of installed[...]

2 C HAPTER 1: I NTRODUCTION Installation Overview 1 Choose the best place for the installation (flat surface, wall, or acoustical ceiling). Look for a location away from equipment that might cause radio interfer ence. The site should be elevated and centrally located relative to the users on your wir eless network. 2 Make sure that you ar e famili[...]

Installation Overview 3 5 After hardwar e installation is complete, install the access point tools, utilities, and user guide from the installation CD. See “Installing Softwar e Utilities” on page 14. 6 T o set up a wireless client to authenticate thr ough the access point to your RADIUS server , r efer to “Using the W ireless 802.1x Agent”[...]

[...]

2 I NSTALLING THE A CCESS P OINT Before Y ou Begin The following items are r equired for installation: ■ 3Com Integrated Power -over -Ether net power supply and power cord. ■ Standard category 5 straight (8-wir e) Ether net cable for connecting the access point to the power supply . This length of cable must r each from the access point to the [...]

6 C HAPTER 2: I NSTALLING THE A CCESS P OINT selecting the final location and be sure to allow for r outing the antenna cable as requir ed. Do not install the access point in wet or dusty areas without pr otection. Make sure the temperature ranges between –20˚ C to 55˚ C (–4˚ F to 131˚ F). Connecting the Standard Antenna The access point i[...]

Placing the Access Point 7 Mounting on a W all T o mount an access point on a wall, follow the instructions on the mounting template supplied in the box and refer to the following illustration. Pr eferably , mount the access point near the ceiling above any obstructions that could block transmission. Position the antenna so that the arms point out [...]

8 C HAPTER 2: I NSTALLING THE A CCESS P OINT Mounting on a Ceiling T o mount an access point to the T -rail grid of an acoustical ceiling, you must first attach the mounting bracket to the access point as shown. Align the T -rail grips with the ceiling T -rail, adjusting them so they grip the T -rail snugly . Tighten the screws on the T -rail grip[...]

Connecting Power 9 Connecting Power The access point is powered by the 3Com Integrated Power -over -Ethernet power supply , which pr ovides power over a standard category 5 straight (8-wire) Ethernet cable. This eliminates the need to run standard power dir ectly to the access point. The power supply can be located at any point between the access p[...]

10 C HAPTER 2: I NSTALLING THE A CCESS P OINT Connecting to an Ether net Network Use a standard Ethernet cable to connect the access point to an Ethernet network, as shown below . Checking the LEDs T o avoid damaging other components connected to the network, make sure that the Ethernet cable connected to the LAN port is plugged into the To Hub/Swi[...]

Selecting A Different Antenna 11 Selecting A Different Antenna The standard detachable portable antenna supplied with the access point is a multi-purpose antenna suitable for a variety of environments, including of fice LANs, physical plants, and factory floors. If your site has special requir ements that might be served by differ ent types of an[...]

12 C HAPTER 2: I NSTALLING THE A CCESS P OINT a design, be sure that it can pass signals used in the 2.5 GHz signal range. Many inexpensive units are available with F connectors, but these ar e typically designed for cable TV -UHF applications and may degrade the signals in the band used by the access point. Ceiling Mount Omnidirectional Antenna Th[...]

Selecting A Different Antenna 13 Directional Panel Antenna The ceiling, wall, and corner -mount flat-panel directional antenna (model 3CWE498) provides stable coverage both indoors and outdoors. The panel can be mounted virtually anywhere and in any orientation. The flat-panel directional antenna operates with a gain of 8 dBi. Depending on the co[...]

14 C HAPTER 2: I NSTALLING THE A CCESS P OINT antenna to achieve the maximum possible received signal str ength. See “Using the Site Survey T ool” on page 39 for more information. 1 Position the antenna so that there ar e minimal obstacles between it and any client with which it will communicate. While maintaining a direct line of sight between[...]

Installing Software Utilities 15 ■ Install the 3Com Network Supervisor . The 3Com Network Supervisor v . 3.5 (3NS) graphically discovers, maps, and displays network links and IP devices, including 3Com wireless access points. It is not r equired for access point management. It is included for sites that requir e centralized network management and[...]

[...]

3 A CCESS P OINT S ECURITY The advanced security features of the Access Point 8000 addr ess the two primary aspects of wireless networking security: network authentication and transmission encryption. The access point provides standar dized methods for authentication and encryption, but also offers innovative technology fr om 3Com that extends the [...]

18 C HAPTER 3: A CCESS P OINT S ECURITY them. After successful authentication, the TLS server securely sends the session keys to the access point and user data is allowed to pass. EAP-TLS is currently supported only under W indows XP . 3Com Serial Authentication Serial Authentication , a 3Com-proprietary upper layer authentication mechanism, uses a[...]

802.1x RADIUS Support 19 3Com 128-bit Dynamic Security Link Encryption. 3Com’ s proprietary 128-bit Dynamic Security Link is built into the access point and permits user -level authentication. This option can be used only with local access point authentication. Users must log in with username and password. (The access point username and password [...]

20 C HAPTER 3: A CCESS P OINT S ECURITY If authentication fails, the access point will continue to block traffic fr om that client. The user may also manually log off and stop the agent, which suspends the authentication process until the client manually logs on again or intentionally re-associates with an access point. When a computer is logged o[...]

Using the Wireless 802.1x Agent 21 whenever an untrusted certificate is received. The 802.1x agent r emembers the last trusted certificate, whether imported or manually verified, and automatically accepts that certificate.[...]

[...]

4 C ONFIGURING THE A CCESS P OINT 8000 If the access point factory default configuration does not meet your network requir ements, or if you want to customize the configuration settings, you can use these tools, which are included on the 3Com Access Point 8000 Installation CD, to change the configuration. ■ 3Com Wireless Infrastructur e Device[...]

24 C HAPTER 4: C ONFIGURING THE A CCESS P OINT 8000 6 After you install the device manager , you can launch it by double-clicking the device manager icon on your computer desktop, or , fr om the W indows Start menu select Start / Programs / 3Com Wireless Infrastructure Device Manager / 3Com Wireless Infrastructure Device Manager . Launching a Wirel[...]

Using the Configuration Management System 25 The following table describes the functions of the buttons in the 3Com W ir eless Infrastructure Device Manager window . Using the Configuration Management System From the Configuration Management System main page, you can select which configuration page to view by clicking on the page names in the na[...]

26 C HAPTER 4: C ONFIGURING THE A CCESS P OINT 8000 Changing Access Point Properties The Access Point Pr operties page displays the properties of the selected access point. Y ou can change pr operties by entering values in the fields and clicking the radio buttons described below . When you ar e finished, click Save. ■ Device Name —This name [...]

Setting Data Transmission Properties 27 T o tur n of f the access point DHCP server capability regardless of whether or not another DHCP server is available, click Disable and click Save . ■ Gateways —Y ou can specify up to thr ee additional gateway IP addresses. These settings are optional. (Only the default gateway is r equired). Setting Data[...]

28 C HAPTER 4: C ONFIGURING THE A CCESS P OINT 8000 be set to Diversity Off. Generally , if the access point is using the standard detachable antennas, this parameter should be set to Diversity On to maximize the transmission and reception qualities of using both antennas. ■ T ransmit Power —Y ou can adjust the transmit power between these sett[...]

Setting up Security 29 Setting up Security The Encryption page lets you select the type of security to be used on the access point. The page is divided into Security Settings, which determine the type of access authentication, and Access Point Encryption Settings, which determine the type of encryption used if the access point is handling encryptio[...]

30 C HAPTER 4: C ONFIGURING THE A CCESS P OINT 8000 Access Point Encryption Settings The following encryption settings are available on the Encryption page. These encryption settings are for Security settings that use access point encryption: ■ No Security (Open System) —No encryption is used. The network communications could be intercepted by [...]

Setting up a MAC Address Access List 31 ■ Deleting users —T o delete users, check the boxes next to the users you want to delete and click Delete . If you click Reset , all checked boxes are clear ed and you may reselect which users to delete fr om the list. ■ Modify Passwords —T o modify a password, select the button next to the user name [...]

32 C HAPTER 4: C ONFIGURING THE A CCESS P OINT 8000 ■ Identify which traps to send to the trap host or hosts. Defining a TFTP Server A TFTP server must be set up in order to perform firmwar e updates, backups, and restor es. The TFTP Setup page identifies the TFTP server that will be used. If you do not have a TFTP server , you can install the[...]

Changing the Administration Password 33 4 Click the Access Point Firmware check box. 5 Enter the name of the upgrade file that you downloaded earlier . 6 Click Upgrade Now . The upgrade file is copied from the TFTP server to the access point and the access point restarts using the new upgrade. Changing the Administration Password When you log in [...]

points in a network. T emplate parameters do not affect nor overwrite settings unique to individual access points, such as device name, location, IP addresses, and administration passwords. Viewing Statistics The statistics pages display various categories of operational and performance statistics associated with the access point. The values do not[...]

Viewing System Status 35 ■ subnetwork unicast packets delivered to a higher -layer protocol ■ packets that higher -level pr otocols requested be transmitted to a non-unicast (a subnetwork-broadcast or subnetwork-multicast) addr ess, including those that were discar ded or not sent ■ non-unicast (subnetwork-broadcast or subnetwork-multicast) p[...]

36 C HAPTER 4: C ONFIGURING THE A CCESS P OINT 8000[...]

5 C ONDUCTING A S ITE S URVEY Setting up a basic wireless LAN can be as simple as placing a 3Com 11 Mbps W ir eless LAN access point in a central area, plugging it in, and setting up one or more clients. However , you can be certain that you have selected the best location if you conduct a site survey before installing an access point permanently .[...]

38 C HAPTER 5: C ONDUCTING A S ITE S URVEY Y ou should also consider the following items: ■ If there any radio fr equency (RF) systems already in use at the site, their signals could interfere with the access point signals. ■ If the access point will be connecting to a wired LAN, the access point must be installed close enough to connect to the[...]

Using the Site Survey Tool 39 ■ At the end of the testing, use the results fr om the Site Survey tool to help you decide on the best location for the access point. Based on the tests, the Site Survey tool lists the locations in descending order from best to worst. For mor e information, see “Interpreting T est Results” on page 40. Using the S[...]

40 C HAPTER 5: C ONDUCTING A S ITE S URVEY 3 From the Run menu, select Start T est . The tests take a few moments to run. When they are finished, the r esults appear in the window . For details on the information that is pr esented, see “Interpreting T est Results” on page 40. 4 Optionally , save the test: Fr om the File menu, select Save . Na[...]

Site Survey Menus 41 indicate faster ping rates. Y ou can sort this list in ascending or descending order by clicking the A vg Ping RTT column head. The Site Survey utility recommends access point locations based pur ely on the test numbers. Y ou can use the r ecommendations to guide your decision about access point locations. For example, you may [...]

[...]

6 T ROUBLESHOOTING If you have difficulty with the access point, try the solutions in the following table. Symptom Solutions Access point does not power up. Make sure the Ethernet cable is plugged into the port labeled To Access Point on the power brick. Check for a faulty access point power supply. Check for a failed AC power supply No operation.[...]

44 C HAPTER 6: T ROUBLESHOOTING While you are configuring the access point, the Configuration Management System stops responding. To maintain wireless association, the WLAN service area and the security settings on the client and the access point must match exactly. Therefore, if you are associated with the access point that you are configuring and[...]

A T ECHNICAL S UPPORT 3Com provides easy access to technical support information thr ough a variety of services. This appendix describes these services. Information contained in this appendix is correct at time of publication. For the most recent information, 3Com r ecommends that you access the 3Com Corporation World Wide Web site. Online T echnic[...]

46 A PPENDIX A: T ECHNICAL S UPPORT Support from Y our Network Supplier If you requir e additional assistance, contact your network supplier . Many suppliers are authorized 3Com service partners who ar e qualified to provide a variety of services, including network planning, installation, hardwar e maintenance, application training, and support se[...]

Support from 3Com 47 Europe, Middle East and Africa From anywhere in these regions, call: +44 (0)1442 435529 phone +44 (0)1442 436722 fax Europe and South Africa From the following countries, you may use the toll-free numbers: Austria Belgium Denmark Finland France Germany Hungary Ireland Israel Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal S[...]

Retur ning Products for Repair Before you send a pr oduct directly to 3Com for r epair , you must first obtain an authorization number . Pr oducts sent to 3Com without authorization numbers will be returned to the sender unopened, at the sender’ s expense. T o obtain an authorization number , call or fax: Country Telephone Number Fax Number Asia[...]

R EGULATORY C OMPLIANCE I NFORMATION FCC R ADIO -F REQUENCY E XPOSURE N OTICE This device generates and radiates radio-frequency energy. In order to comply with FCC radio-frequency radiation exposure guidelines for an uncontrolled environment, this equipment has to be installed and operated while maintaining a minimum body to antenna distance of 2 [...]

E UROPEAN C OMMUNITY - CE N OTICE Marking by the symbol: indicates compliance with the essential requirements of Directive 73/23/EC and the essential requirements of articles 3.1(b), 3 .2 and 3.3 of Directive 1999/5/EC. Such marking is indicative that this equipment meets or exceeds the following technical standards: ■ EN 300 328-2 - Electromagne[...]

I NDEX Numbers 128-bit Dynamic Security Link 30 128-bit dynamic security link encryption 19 128-bit Shared Encryption Key Settings 30 128-bit shared key encryption 18 3CDaemon 14 3Com 128-bit dynamic security link encryption 19 3Com 802.1x agent 17 3Com Knowledgebase Web Services 45 3Com Network Supervisor (3NS) 15 Advanced Package 15 3Com serial a[...]

M MAC address access list 31 MAC address, use in locating devices 24 management SNMP management 31 system log 32 TFTP setup 32 N network privacy mode 28 network properties 26 network supplier support 46 network traffic accelerator 27 NIC, choosing 25 nondedicated circuit, recommendations 38 O omnidirectional antenna 11 online technical services 45[...]