Adaptec WirelessTM USB Adapter manual

R Adaptec Ultra W ir eless TM USB Adapter User’ s Guide[...]

ii Copyright © 2002 Adaptec, Inc. All right s reserved. No part of this pub lication may be repr oduced, stored in a retrieval syste m, or tr ansmitted in any f orm or by any means, electr onic, mechanical, photocopyi ng, recor ding or otherwise, without the prior written co nsent of Adaptec, Inc., 69 1 South Milpitas Blvd., Milp itas, CA 95035. T[...]

iii Adaptec T echnical Support If you have questions ab out installing or using your Adaptec product, chec k this document first—you will find answers to most of your ques tions here. If you need further assistance, use the support options listed below . T echnica l Suppo rt Id entificati on (TSID ) Number ■ Before contacting T echnical Support[...]

iv Limited 2-Y ear Hardware W arranty 1. Adaptec, Inc. (“Adaptec”) warrants to the purchaser of this product that it will be fr ee from defects in material and workmanship for a period of two (2) years from the date of pur chase. If the product should become de fective within the warranty period, Adaptec, at its option, will repair or re place [...]

v Adaptec Software Li cense Agreement PLEASE READ CAREFULL Y : THE USE OF THIS SOF TW ARE IS SUBJECT TO THE SOF TW ARE LICENSE TERMS OF ADAPTEC, INC. AND OTHER LICENSORS WHOSE SOF TW ARE MA Y BE BUNDLED WITH THIS PRODU CT . BY YOUR USE OF THE SO F TW ARE INCLU DED WITH THIS PRODU CT YOU AGREE TO THE LICENSE TERMS REQUIRED BY THE LICENSOR OF THA T S[...]

vi 7. Limited W arranty . Adaptec and its Licensor warrant only that the media upon which the Software is furnished will be free fr om defect s in material or workmanship under normal use and service for a period of thirty (30) days from the date of delivery to you. ADAP TEC AND ITS LICENSORS DO NOT AND CANNOT W ARRANT THE PERFORMANCE OR RESUL TS Y[...]

vii Regulatory Comp liance Statements Federal Commun ications Commission Radio Frequenc y Interference Statement W ARNING: Changes or modifications to this unit not expressly approved by the party responsible fo r compliance could void the user ’s authority to operate the equipment. This equipment has been tested and found to comp ly with the lim[...]

1 In this Guide Getting Star ted 2 Installation T ask List 3 Installing the Wireless USB Adapter 4 Installing the De vice Dr iver 6 Installing the Adapte c Wireless Utility 17 Disabling Zero Configuration (Windows XP only) 21 Installing Network Protocols 23 Connecting to the WLAN 27 Checking Y our Network Connection 30 Changing the Set-up of Y our [...]

2 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide Getting Started This User ’ s Guide provides detailed instr uctions for installing and configuring your Adaptec A WN-8030 Ultra W ireless USB Adapter. See the Installat ion T ask Lis t on page 3 for an overview of the installation pr ocess. This Guide also includes a basic overview of wireless[...]

3 Installation T ask List Installation T ask List T o successfully install your W ireles s USB Adapter, complete each of these tasks, in order: ❏ If you are unfamiliar with wir eless technology or LANs, r ead About Wir eless T echnology and LANs on page 42 for a basic overview . ❏ Install the W ireless USB Adapter. See page 4 . ❏ Install the [...]

4 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide Installing the W ir eless USB Adapter Y our W ireless USB Adapter, shown below , connects to a USB port of your computer , and has two LEDs that help you monitor the status of your wireless connection. The adapter receive s power from the USB port. No power adapte r is re quired. Use the USB cab[...]

5 Installing the Wireless USB Adapter Removing the Wireless USB Adapter Y our W ireless USB Adapter is hot-swappable , which means that you can remove it while your computer is running. Caution: T o pr event data loss, stop all data transmission before yo u re m ov e t he Wirele s s U SB A da pt er . T o re mo ve t he W i rel e ss US B A da pt er :[...]

6 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide Installing the Device Driver Before you continue, ensure that y ou have: ❏ Reviewed About Wir eless T echnology and LANs on page 42 for a basic overview of WLANs. ❏ Installed the W irel ess USB Adapter. See page 4 . The next step on the Install ation T ask List ( page 3 ) is to install the d[...]

7 Installing the Device Driver Windows XP Driver Inst allation T o install the device driver on W indows XP: 1 Install the W ireless USB Adapter into your computer . See page 4 . W indows XP automatically detects the W ireless USB Adapter an d o p en s th e Fo un d Ne w Ha rd wa re Wiz ard . 2 Insert the Ultra W ireless USB CD into your CD-ROM driv[...]

8 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide 5 Click Finish . The device driver installation is complete. W indows XP automatically begins the next installation task by opening the softwar e installation wizar d for the Adaptec W ireless Utility . Go to Installing the Adaptec Wir eless Utility on page 17 to continue.[...]

9 Installing the Device Driver Windows 2000 Driver Installation T o install the devi ce driver on W indows 2000: 1 Install the W ireless USB Adapter into your computer . See page 4 . W indows 2000 automatically detects the W ireless USB Adapter an d o p en s th e Fo un d Ne w Ha rd wa re Wiz ard . 2 Click Next . 3 Select Search for a su itable driv[...]

10 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide 5 Select CD-ROM driver , then click Next . 6 Click Next .[...]

11 Installing the Device Driver 7 Click Ye s . 8 Click Finish . The device driver installation is complete. W indows 2000 automatically begins t he next installation task by opening the software installation wizard for the Adaptec W ireless Utility . Go to Installing the Adaptec W ireless Utility on page 17 to continue.[...]

12 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide Windows Me Driver Installation T o install the device dri ver on W indows Me: 1 Install the W ireless USB Adapter in to your computer . See page 4 . W indows Me automatically detects the W ireless USB Adapter and opens the Add New Har dware W izar d. 2 Insert the Ultra W ireless USB CD into you[...]

13 Installing the Device Driver 5 Click Ye s to restart your computer . When the restart is complete, W i ndows Me a utomatically begins the next installation task by opening the software ins tallation wizard for the Adaptec W ireless Utility . Go to Installing the Adaptec Wir eless Utility on page 17 to continue.[...]

14 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide Windows 98SE Driver Installation T o install the device dri ver on W indows 98SE: 1 Install the W ireless USB Adapter in to your computer . See page 4 . W indows 98SE automatica lly detects the W ireless USB Adapter and opens the Add New Har dware W izar d. 2 Click Next . 3 Select Search for th[...]

15 Installing the Device Driver 5 Select CD-ROM drive , then click Next . 6 Click Next . W indows 98SE copies files to your hard drive.[...]

16 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide 7 Click Finish . 8 Click Ye s to restart your computer . When the re start is complete, W indows 98SE automatically begins the next installation task by opening the software installation wizard for the Adaptec W i reless Utility . Go to Installing the Adaptec Wir eless Utility on page 17 to con[...]

17 Installing the Adaptec Wireless Utility Installing the Adaptec W ir eless Utility Before you continue, make sure that you have: ❏ Reviewed About Wir eless T echnology and LANs on page 42 for a basic overview of WLANs. ❏ Installed the W ireless USB Adapter. See page 4 . ❏ Installed the device d river . See page 6 . The next step on the Inst[...]

18 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide 2 The installation wizard choose s a default destination folder for the software files. Clic k Next to accept the default dest ination (recommended ), or click Browse to select an alternate destination. 3 Y ou can choose where to stor e program icons in the Pr ogram Folder . T ype a new folder [...]

19 Installing the Adaptec Wireless Utility 4 Click Next . 5 The software inst allation begins. The Setup Status appears on screen. 6 Click Finish .[...]

20 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide Note: W indows XP users only —W indows XP has a built-in configuration application called Zer o Configuration, which automatically takes over as the default utility for your W ireless USB Adapter. When the Adaptec W ireless Utility installation is complete, a message appears tell ing you that[...]

21 Disabling Zero Configuration (Windows XP only) Disabling Zer o Configuration (W indows XP only) Although the Adaptec W ireless Utility is installed on your W indows XP system, W indows XP has a built-in configuration application called Zero Configuration that automatically takes over as the de fault utility for your W ireless USB Adapt er. T o u[...]

22 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide 3 Ensure that the Use W indows to configure my wireless network settings box is deselected, then click OK . 4 Open the Adaptec W ireless Util ity . (See page 28 .) If the Adaptec W ireless Utility is already running, close it and re-open it. Ensure chec kbox is empty .[...]

23 Installing Network Protocols Installing Network Pr otocols Before you continue, make sure that you have compl eted these tasks: ❏ Reviewed About Wir eless T echnology and LANs on page 42 for a basic overview of WLANs. ❏ Installed the W ireless USB Adapter. See page 4 . ❏ Installed the device d river . See page 6 . ❏ Installed the A dapte[...]

24 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide Windows 98SE/Me User s T o install the appropri ate network pr otocols: 1 Fro m the Start me nu, clic k Settings , then click Control Panel . 2 Double-click Network . Note: Befor e you add a network p rotoco l, verify that the protocol is not alr eady instal led. (Refer to your W indows documen[...]

25 Installing Network Protocols 3 Select Adaptec W ireless USB Adapter , then click Add . 4 Select Protocol , then click Add .[...]

26 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide 5 Under Manufacturers, sel ect Microsoft , under Network Protocols, select TCP/IP , then click OK . 6 See Connecting to the WLAN on page 27 to continue with your last Installation T ask.[...]

27 Connecting to the WLAN Connecting to the WLAN Before you continue, make sure that you have: ❏ Reviewed About Wir eless T echnology and LANs on page 42 for a basic overview of WLANs. ❏ Installed the W ireless USB Adapter. See page 4 . ❏ Installed the device d river . See page 6 . ❏ Installed the A daptec W ireless Utilit y . See page 17 .[...]

28 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide T o link your W ireless USB Adapter to your WLAN: 1 Open the Adaptec W ireless Utility by double-clicking the Adaptec W ireless Utility icon on your taskbar . 2 Click the Config uration tab. a Ensure that the Operating Mode setting is correct for your WLAN. Each st ation on your WL AN must be s[...]

29 Connecting to the WLAN 3 Click the Encryption tab. a Ensur e that the Encryption Key Length setti ng is correct for your WL AN. Each station on your W LAN must have the same Encryption Key Le ngth setting. If your other WLAN stations are set to Disabled, you must set your W i r eless USB Adapter to Disabled. If your other WLAN stations have Encr[...]

30 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide Checking Y our Network Connection Y ou can check the status of your network connection thr ee ways: ■ L o o k a t t h e L i n k L E D o n y o u r Wir e l e s s U S B A d a p t e r . I f t h e L E D is flashing, the adapter is sear ching for a connection. If it’s glowing steady , the wireles[...]

31 Changing the Set-up of Y our WLAN Changing the Set-up of Y our WLAN Y ou can use the Adaptec W ireless Utility to change the set-up of your WLAN by: ■ Changing the operating mode. See page 32 . ■ Choosing a specific AP . See page 33 . ■ Changing the Encryption (WEP) settings. See page 34 . ■ Changing the tr ansfer rate . See page 37 . ?[...]

32 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide Changing the Operating Mode The Adaptec W ireless Utility offers two possible operating modes: ■ Ad-hoc mode (so metimes referred to as peer-to- peer mode ) allows two computers to connect to each other in wireless-to- wirele ss (or peer-to-peer) communication. ■ Infrastructure mode allows [...]

33 Changing the Set-up of Y our WLAN Choosing an Access P oint Y ou can choose to connect to a specific AP fr om a list of all APs currently available to your W ireless USB Adapter. Y ou might want to do this if you want to connect to a differ ent WLAN. T o connect to a specific AP: 1 Open the Adaptec W ireless Utility . S ee Step 1 on page 28 . 2 [...]

34 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide Changing the Encryption Settings Wir ed Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a security feature that encrypts the data being sent over th e radio waves of your WLAN. Disabled encryption allows your W ireless devices to s hare data in plain text. The default Encryption Key Length setting is Disabled . Se[...]

35 Changing the Set-up of Y our WLAN 3 In the Encryption (WEP) drop-down box, select the setting you want. 4 If you select either 64-Bit or 128-Bit , you must create WEP keys, which control encryption, and set a default key . (The default key determines which of the four key sets is use d for encryption and decryption.) See the next section to cont[...]

36 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide Creating the Keys with a P assphrase 1 Click Create with Passphrase , then type in your chosen word or phrase in the Passphrase text box. As you type, the Adaptec W ireless Utility will auto-generate the requir ed keys and set a default key . (In the example below , the passphrase lomce vak gen[...]

37 Changing the Set-up of Y our WLAN Changing the T ransfer Rate The default transfer rate setting, Auto Rate , allows your W ireless USB Adapter to automati cally adjust its transfer speed for optimal performance and the longest operating range. Adaptec r ecommends that whenever possible, you maintain the Auto Rate setting. However , if your W ire[...]

38 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide Enabling the P ower Saving Mode Y ou can enable the Power Saving Mode if you want your W ireless USB Adapter to enter sleep mode when not transmitting data. To e n a b l e P o w e r S a v i n g M o d e : 1 Open the Adaptec W ireless Utility . See Step 1 on page 28 . 2 Click the Config uration t[...]

39 Changing the Set-up of Y our WLAN Saving and Using Configuration Pr ofiles Y ou can save your W ireless USB Adapter set-ups in differ ent profiles for use in differ ent working environments. Using saved profiles r emoves the need to set up (r econfigure) your W ireless USB Ad apt er eac h t ime yo u m ove from on e WL AN to ano th er . F or inst[...]

40 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide T r oubleshooting If you encounter dif ficulties installi ng or using your W ireles s USB Adapter, work through these tr oubleshooting tips. My computer cannot link to the ot her Wireless devices on the WLAN. En su re th at yo u ha ve c on fi g ure d y o ur W ire le s s U SB A da pt e r t o wor[...]

41 T roubleshooting 3 Select an Access Point, then click Connect . If a link is made, the Adaptec W ireless Utility icon turns green (see page 30 ) and the Link LED on your W ireless USB Adapter lights up. If no link is made, click the Link tab. If the Link Quality or Signal Str ength values are lower than 25 per cent, it’s unlikely that you’ll[...]

42 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide About W ir eless T echnology and LANs This section pr ovides a general overview o f W ireless technology and LANs. Ther e are many books and W e b sites dedicated to this topic that can provide a mor e compr ehensive explanation . What’ s a LAN? A network is a gr oup of computers that are con[...]

43 About Wireless T echnology and LANs What About Security? Y ou have multipl e options for adding security to your WLAN. Set security according to th e needs of your network. ■ Y ou can limit access to parts of the network by setting passwords and creating special shar ed files. Refer to your operating system’s documentation for mor e informat[...]

44 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide T echnical Specifications Standards IEEE 802.1 1b USB 1.0, 1.1 Channels 1 1 channels (US, Canada) 13 channels (Eur ope) 14 channels (Japan) Antenna Dipole antenna inside Frequency 2.412 to 2.462 GHz (Ind ustrial Scientific Medical Band) Data Rate Up to 1 1 Mbps Operating Ranges Indoor (varie s [...]

45 Glossary Glossary Access P oint An Access Point (AP) is a w ired contr oller that sends data to the wireless NICs installed in your network computers, and r eceives data back from them. An AP is often connected to the network computer that has Inte rnet access, or is directly connected to the Internet by a DSL or cable modem. The AP then allows [...]

46 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide firewall A firewall is a security d evice th at helps prevent users outside your network from accessing your LA N or W LAN. A firewall use s special software that keeps unauthori zed users out of your network. hot-swap T o hot-swap is to r emove or atta ch a device without first shutting off y [...]

47 Glossary netw ork protocols Network protocols ar e rules that determine how devices on a network communicate with each other . NIC Stands for Network Interface Car d . A W ireless NIC is a computer card (such as a W ireless PCI adapter , W ireless P C Card, or W ireless USB adapter) that lets your computer link to a WLAN. operating mode Ad-hoc m[...]

48 Adaptec Ultra Wi reless USB Adapter User’ s Guide transfer ra te The transfer rate is the s peed at which your W i re less device is sending data . It is expressed in Mbps. The default transfer rate setting, Auto Rate (or Automatic ), allows your W ireless device to automatically adjust its transfer speed for optimal performance and the longes[...]

49 Glossary Wireless Network ID The W ireless Network ID (also refe rred to as the SSID) is like a secret cod e that your AP and your W ireless device s share to prevent unautho rized us ers from accessing your WL AN. Y our W i re l es s d e vi c e s ca n o n ly c o n ne c t t o y o u r A P i f t h ey h a v e th e s a me SS I D a s t h e AP . W i r[...]

R Adaptec, Inc. 691 South Milpitas Boulevard Milpitas, CA 95035 USA © 2002 Adaptec, Inc. All rights reserved. Adaptec and the Adaptec logo are trademarks of Adaptec, Inc. which may be registered in some jurisdictio ns. Stock Number: 513356-06, Ver. AA, LB 09/02[...]