Asus WL-120, User Manual

Page 1: ...ASUS WLAN mini PCI card WL 120 User Manual ...

Page 2: ...SUCH DAMAGES ARISING FROM ANY DEFECT OR ERROR IN THIS MANUAL OR PRODUCT Product warranty or service will not be extended if 1 the product is re paired modified or altered unless such repair modification of alteration is authorized in writing by ASUS or 2 the serial number of the product is defaced or missing Products and corporate names appearing in this manual may or may not be registered tradema...

Page 3: ... ASUS COMPUTER INTERNATIONAL America Address 44370 Nobel Drive Fremont CA 94538 USA General Fax 1 510 608 4555 General Email tmd1 asus com Technical Support Support Fax 1 510 608 4555 General Support 1 502 933 8713 Web Site www asus com Support Email tsd asus com ASUS COMPUTER GmbH Germany Austria Address Harkortstr 25 40880 Ratingen BRD Germany General Fax 49 2102 442066 General Email sales asusc...

Page 4: ...when you are enjoying the wireless link Verifying the TCP IP Protocol Windows 98 Me Right click My Network Place on the desktop and select properties Scroll down and look for TCP IP ASUS 802 11b Network Adap ter Make sure that the TCP IP protocal parameters IP adress gate way and subnet mask are set correctly Windows 2K XP Open the Control Panelthrough the Start menu Double click Network Connectio...

Page 5: ... PCI card utilities Refer to the User s manual for detailed information 1 Insert the ASUS WLAN mini PCI card support CD and an autorun menu will appear If your autorun is disabled double click SETUP EXE in the root directory of the support CD 2 From the autorun menu click Install ASUS WLAN mini PCI card Utilities 3 Follow the on screen instructions to complete the installation ...

Page 6: ...grator is still responsible for testing their end product for any additional compliance requirements required with this module installed for example digital device emissions PC peripheral requirements etc IMPORTANT NOTE In the event that these conditions can not be met for example certain laptop configurations or co location with another transmitter then the FCC authorization is no longer consider...

Page 7: ...de the following information in a prominent location IMPORTANT NOTE To comply with FCC RF exposure compliance requirements the antenna used for this transmitter must be installed to provide a separation distance of at least 20 cm from all persons and must not be co located or operating in conjunction with any other antenna or transmitter ASUS WLAN MiniPCI Card 7 ...

Page 8: ... Wireless Settings Allows users to control the ASUS WLAN mini PCI card Mobile Manager A convenient tool to setup and manage network location settings Site Monitor Measures the signal to noise SNR values of all wire less networks This tool is used for determining the best placement of Access Points to provide the most efficient coverage in a wireless net work Live Update Provides automatic driver a...

Page 9: ...buttons to decide your Windows XP wireless net working environment Only use XP wireless function Only use Windows XP wireless network settings to configure the ASUS WLAN mini PCI card Only useASUS utilities and disable XPwireless function Only useASUS WALN mini PCI card utilities to configure the ASUS mini PCI card You can return to the Wireless Option setting at any time by left clicking the cont...

Page 10: ...ontrol Center manually Click the Windows Start button select Programs select ASUS Util ity select WLAN Card and click ASUS WLAN Control Center or Double click the Control Center icon on the desktop Using the Control Center Taskbar 1 The Control Center Taskbar menu display the following information The link quality of the ASUS WLAN mini PCI card Excellent Good Fair Poor Not Linked Whether the ASUS ...

Page 11: ...indows Exit Closes the Control Center program Wireless Status Icons on the taskbar Excellent link quality and connected to Internet Infrastructure Good link quality and connected to Internet Infrastructure Fair link quality and connected to Internet Infrastructure Poor link quality and connected to Internet Infrastructure Not linked but connected to Internet Infrastructure Excellent link quality b...

Page 12: ...hat allows you to control your ASUS WLAN mini PCI card Use Wireless Settings to View or Modify the con figuration settings and monitor the operational status of your PC Card Once Wireless Settings is launched you can see the tabbed property sheet This property sheet is composed of tabbed pages each with its own group of feature specific settings Starting Wireless Settings Open the Windows Control ...

Page 13: ...rmation about theASUS WLAN mini PCI card from the general menu These fields are blank if the ASUS WLAN mini PCI card does not exist More than one ASUS WLAN Card If you have more than one ASUS WLAN Card You will be given a device selection window when you launch the Wireless Settings utility ...

Page 14: ...ID that the ASUS WLAN mini PCI card is currently using MAC address Indicates the hardware address of the ASUS WLAN mini PCI card MAC address is a unique identifier for networking devices typically written as twelve hexadecimal digits 0 through 9 and A through F six hexadecimal numbers separated by colons i e 00 01 24 F0 05 C0 This parameter is read only and unique Current Channel Shows the radio c...

Page 15: ...ds in this window display either a 0 or Not Applicable Click this button again to turn the radio back ON Rescan Force the radio to rescan all available channels If your link qual ity or signal strength is poor rescanning can be used to push the radio OFF a weak Access Point and search for a better link with anotherAccess Point This function will take some time Change SSID Click on this to set the ...

Page 16: ...ransmitted Thenumberofframesthatwerenotsuccessfullytransmitted Received The number of frames that were not successfully received Connection Quality Link Quality Reflects the quality level related to the Access Point the stationiscurrentlyconnectedto Ratingsare Excellent Good Fair andPoor Signal Strength Reflects the signal level related to the Access Point the stationiscurrentlyconnectedto Ratings...

Page 17: ...splay all the current TCP IP configuration values in cluding the IP address subnet mask default gateway and Windows Inter net Naming Service WINS and DNS configuration Button IP Release Releases the DHCP IP address for the ASUS WLAN mini PCI card IP Renew Renews the DHCP IP address for the ASUS WLAN mini PCI card NOTE The IP Release and IP Renew buttons can only be used on the ASUS WLAN mini PCI c...

Page 18: ... tion with an Access Point Your computer is able to access wireless LAN and wired LAN Ethernet via an associated access point The Channel field turns to Auto when Infrastructure is selected Ad Hoc Select the Ad Hoc mode to communicate directly with each other without using an Access Point An Ad Hoc network is typically formed quickly and easily without pre planning For example share meeting notes ...

Page 19: ...ect the correct frequency channel required to communicate with an Access Point this parameter will be fixed in Auto and cannot be changed In an Ad Hoc network you can decide the channel number for the ASUS WLAN mini PCI card Any ASUS WLAN mini PCI card can communicate in the same network if each has the same frequency channel setting The radio channels you may use depend on the regulations in your...

Page 20: ...e Chapter 3 Other WEP Click on this to show the Encryption page Advanced Click on this to show the Advanced tab In most cases the default values do not have to be changed Troubleshooting Click on this to show the Troubleshooting utility ...

Page 21: ...process can scramble frame bits to avoid disclosure to others Data encryption WEP enabled This option allows you to enable or disable the Wired Equivalent Privacy WEP function If this check box is selected a WEP Key is used to en crypt your data before it is transmitted over the air If you enable WEP encryption you will only be able to communicate with wireless devices that use the same WEP keys W...

Page 22: ...ers or symbols in the Passphrase column then the Wireless Settings Utility uses an algorithm to generate four WEP Keys for encryption NOTE This function eases users from having to remember their passwords and is compatible to some existing WLAN utilities but this is not very secure Manual Assignment is more secure Default Key The Default Key field lets you specify which of the four encryption keys...

Page 23: ...user control This together makes 64 bits 40 24 Some vendors refer to this level of WEP as 40 bits and others refer to this as 64 bits ASUS WLAN card products use the term 64 bits when referring to this lower level of encryption Second 104 bit WEP and 128 bit WEP are the same encryption method and can interoperate in the wireless network This higher level of WEP encryption uses a 104 bit 26 Hex cha...

Page 24: ... RTS threshold ranges from 0 to 2346 in 64 steps Fragmentation Threshold Define the number of bytes used for fragmentation boundary If the length of the data unit exceedsthis parameter it will be divided into smaller frag ments for transmission Each of the fragments is sent independently If there is a significant interference present set the fragment size smaller Otherwise set the fragment size la...

Page 25: ...ot Open System A null authentication algorithm A station can authenticate with any other station or Access Point and without checking any WEP Key even if one exists Share Key In a Share Key Authentication system four step exchange of frames is required to validate that the station is using the same WEP Key as the Access Point Using this Authentication mechanism requires imple mentation of the WEP ...

Page 26: ...d to The value is then normalized to a dBm value N dBm Noise field to view average noise level statistics and Rela tive Signal Strength Information RSSI This information is helpful in determining which network you should be associated to The value is then normalized to a dBm value Type View wireless network status information the value is either AP infrastructure or STA Ad Hoc WEP View wireless ne...

Page 27: ...card Reference Chapter 3 4 8 About Version Info Tab Click about to view version information The version under the copyright is the utility version The version information field includes driver hard ware and firmware versions ...

Page 28: ...tion settings you will be prompted to do so 4 9 Link Status ASUS WLAN mini PCI card connection quality icon appears on the left of the ASUS WLAN Card Settings Use the icon to view the current signal quality of the adapter Excellent Link Quality Infrastructure Good Link Quality Infrastructure Fair Link Quality Infrastructure Poor Link Quality Infrastructure Not linked Infrastructure Linked Ad Hoc N...

Page 29: ...anager Using Mobile Manager Quick Guide 1 The first time you launch the Mobile Manager utility it will automati cally generate configurations that stores the current settings of all in stalled network devices in your system 2 Change the name of the configuration to a descriptive name like Work Meeting Room or Home ADSL 3 On the File menu click New Configuration the New Configuration Wizard dialog ...

Page 30: ... It allows quick ac cess to some of the most useful features of Mobile Manager The commands provided by the toolbar buttons are also available from the pull down menu File Menu New Configuration Select New Configuration in the File menu to open a New Configuration Wizard dialog Use the New Configu ration Wizard dialog to create a new configuration See Using New Configuration Wizard for details on ...

Page 31: ... your computer but Windows 98 and ME usually will require a restart Edit Menu All these commands are also available from the context menu that appears when you right click with a configuration in the Mobile Manager window Edit Configuration Select Edit Configuration in the Edit menu to open an Edit Configuration dialog to edit selected configuration items See Using Edit Configuration for details o...

Page 32: ... right information for Mobile Manager Click on the logo to connect to ASUS website View Menu Large Icons Displays large icons for each configuration Small Icons Displays small icons for each configuration List Shows the configuration names in a list Details The Detailed view expands this list to include information about the configurations The information includes configuration name type and descr...

Page 33: ...following On the File menu click New Configuration or Double click New Configuration on the Main window Then the New Configuration Wizard dialog starts 2 Choose the type of configuration that you want to create and click Next Wireless Local Area Network Configuration You must have an ASUS WLAN mini PCI card installed in your PC WiredLocalAreaNetworkConfiguration YoumusthaveaNIC LAN card other than...

Page 34: ...uration Sharing settings for Wireless Wired Dialup Configuration See Using Edit Configuration for detailed information on each 5 Enter the appropriate information in the wizard After specifying the appropriate information on each page click Next to continue 6 On the final window of the New Configuration Wizard you will see a Finish button If you do not want to use this new configuration now click ...

Page 35: ...e JohnDoe Workgroup Type an existing workgroup name or create a new workgroup by typing a new name that contains up to 15 characters Use it to identify your computer group that you belong to Computer Description This information is displayed as a comment next to the computer name when the computer is seen in Details view select from the Windows pull down menu Use it to describe your computer for e...

Page 36: ...connect to any IEEE 802 11 Infrastructure Network it can find Channel Using the Channel filed to select the radio channel for PC Card In infra structure network your PC Card will automatically select the correct fre quency channel required to communicate with an Access Point this param eter will be fixed in Auto and can t change it In an Ad Hoc Network you can decide channel number for the PC Card...

Page 37: ...IP settings include five tabs Device IPAddress Gateway DNS and WINS Device Choose the network adapter that you want to use for this configuration IP Address Obtain an IP address from a DHCP server Dynamic host configu ration protocol DHCP server assigns IP addresses automatically within a specified range to devices Specify an IP address Ask your network administrator for the IP address and subnet ...

Page 38: ...main Enter the TCP IP domain name for your network The full domain name consists of one or more names that are separated by dots for example asus com DNS Server Search Order Specify the DNS Servers in the desired order to search for DNS information Domain Suffix Search Order Add any domain suffixes that may be valid attached to the end of Internet domain name WINS Specify the WINS server There can...

Page 39: ...code telephone number and country code for this connec tion Clear the Use area code and Dialing Properties checkbox if you want to ignore area code and dialing settings Server Type Type of Dial Up Server Select the server type for this connection Advanced options Select Log on to network checkbox to specify that Dial Up Networking will attempt to log on to the network you are connecting to using t...

Page 40: ...ss from a ppp server If the ppp server does not offer an IP address the IP address specified for TCP IP Dial Up Adapter in the Network dialog box is used Specify an IP address Provides a space for you to type the preferred IP address for this connection Dial Up Networking tries to use this address first Server assigned name server addresses Specifies whether Dial Up Networking accepts a DNS and WI...

Page 41: ...ou want to connect to a computer on your Intranet make sure you type its address in this box You can use wild cards to match domain and host names or addresses for example company com 192 72 111 Bypass proxy server for local addresses Specifies whether you want to use the proxy server for all local Intranet addresses You might be able to gain access to local addresses easier and faster if you do n...

Page 42: ...ing Site Monitor Click the Windows Start button select Programs select ASUS Util ity select WLAN Card and then click Site Monitor or Right click the Control Center icon on the Windows taskbar and then click Site Monitor 6 2 Main Screen Measures the signal to noise SNR values of all available wireless net works Some Access Points can disable broadcasting SSID to hide them selves from Site Survey or...

Page 43: ...cation Quality of the Basic Service Set to which the station is currently connected to Signal Level Specifies the Average Signal Level of the Basic Service Set to which the station is currently connected to Noise Level Specifies theAverage Noise Level of the Frequency Chan nel currently used for communications Throughput This sends a specified number of data packets to the re mote host and calcula...

Page 44: ... root directory of your CD ROM drive When the Main menu appears click Run Live Update 2 Select an update method from the pull down menu Update Firmware Driver from the Internet Lets you update the ASUSWLANmini PCIcard s firmware or driver from the Internet The updating running the flash utility or the installation program will be done automatically Update Firmware Driver from the Disk Lets you spe...

Page 45: ...ry When Live Update starts the firmware upgrade a warning message will tell you that incorrect firmware upgrades may cause your ASUS WLAN mini PCI card to malfunction You can cancel the up date process at this point If you continue a message will tell you that the update process has started Do not turn OFF your computer until the upgrade has completed The upgrade will take approximately 30 sec ond...

Page 46: ...nal strength Signal strength is represented by green bars with 5 bars meaning excellent signal and 1 bar meaning poor signal 4 The Wireless Networks page will show Available networks and Preferred networks Use the Add button to add the SSID of available networks and set the connection preference order with the Move up and Move down buttons The radio tower with a signal icon identifies the currentl...

Page 47: ...ter 3 5 The Authentication page allows you to add security settings Read Windows help for more information 6 The Advanced page allows you to set firewall and sharing Read Windows help for more information 8 Windows XP Wireless Properties Cont ...

Page 48: ... yellow question mark in Device Manager in front of ASUS 802 11b Network Adapter To resolve the problem you should update reinstall the ASUS WLAN mini PCI card driver In Device Manager right click ASUS 802 11b Network Adapter select Properties and select Driver tab Click on Up date Driver button then follow the Update Device Driver Wizard to complete the driver installation In addition you may be ...

Page 49: ...ovens and large metal objects Second is the distance decrease the distance between your ASUS WLAN mini PCI card and the Access Point or station or another ASUS WLAN mini PCI card The TCP IP protocol did not bind to the WLAN mini PCI Card This will occur when the computer already has six TCP IP bindings in Windows 98 or ten bindings in Windows Me These limits are imposed by the Microsoft operating ...

Page 50: ...l data units that may be used simultaneously in the same volume of space with other instances of medium use on other channels by other instances of the same physical layer with an acceptably low frame error ratio due to mutual in terference Extended Service Set ESS A set of one or more interconnected basic service set BSSs and integrated local area networks LANs can be configured as an Extended Se...

Page 51: ... In this environment the access point not only provides communication with the wired network but also mediates wireless network traffic in the immediate neighborhood IP Internet Protocol The TCP IP standard protocol that defines the IP datagram as the unit of information passed across an Internet and provides the basis for connectionless packet delivery service IP includes the ICMP control and err...

Page 52: ... usu ally includes routing information data and sometimes error detection in formation PCMCIA Personal Computer Memory Card International Association The Personal Computer Memory Card InternationalAssociation PCMCIA develops standards for PC cards formerly known as PCMCIAcards These cards are available in three types and are have about the same length and width as credit cards However the differen...

Page 53: ...ontaining IEEE 802 11 wireless medium access conformity TCP Transmission Control Protocol The standard transport level protocol that provides the full duplex stream service on which many application protocols depend TCP allows a pro cess or one machine to send a stream of data to a process on another Soft ware implementing TCP usually resides in the operating system and uses the IP to transmit inf...

Page 54: ...ore of the following measures Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected Consult the dealer or an experienced radio TV technician for help WARNING The use of a shielded type power cord is required in order to meet FCC emission limits an...

Page 55: ...achments could damage the transmitter and may violate FCC regulations Installation and use of this Wireless LAN device must be in strict accor dance with the instructions included in the user documentation provided with the product Any changes or modifications including the antennas made to this device that are not expressly approved by the manufacturer may void the user s authority to operate the...