3Com 3CRWE875075A manual

http://www .3com.com/ http://www .3com.com/support/en_US/productreg/frontpg.html/ User Guide W ir eless LAN Access Points 8250/8500/8750 3CRWE825075A 3CRWE850075A 3CRWE875075A (Models WL-450, WL-462, WL-463) Ve r s i o n 2 Published September , 2003 V ersion 2.3.3[...]

3Com Corporation 350 Campus Drive Marlbo rough, M A 01752-3064 Copyright © 2003 3Com Corporation . All rights reserved. No part of this documentation may be reproduced in any form or by any means or used to make any derivative work (such as translation, transformation, or adaptati on) without written permissi on from 3Com Corporation. 3Com Corpora[...]

Contents 1 Introduction Product Features 6 Security 7 Performance and Reliability 7 Manageability 7 W ireless Ne twork St andards 8 Far-Reaching 802.1 1g 8 High-Performance 802.1 1a 8 Network Configuration and Planning 9 Ad Hoc W ireless LAN 9 Infrastructure Wireless LAN 9 Infrastructure Wireless LAN for Roaming W ireless PCs 10 T erminology 11 2 I[...]

3 System Configuration Using the 3Com W ireless Device Manager 25 Launching a W ireless Device Configuration 25 Using the Pre-IP Configuration W izard 27 Configurati on Login 27 Setting the Country Code 27 Basic Setup 28 Advanced Setup 29 Identification 29 TCP/IP Settings 29 DHCP Clie nt 29 Secure W eb Server Connection 30 RADIUS 30 Authentication [...]

4 T roubleshooting A T echnical Support Obtaining Support for yo ur Product 52 Register Y our Product to Gain Service Benefits 52 Purchase V alue-Added Services 52 Where T o Go For Help 52 T roubleshoot Online 52 Access Software Downloads 5 3 Contact Us 53 T e lephone T echnical Support and Repa ir 53 Regulatory Compliance Information Index[...]

6 1 I NTR ODUCTION The 3Com® W ireless LAN Access Points 82 50, 8500, and 8750 offer a dual -mode architecture tha t supports 802.1 1g, 802.1 1a and 802.1 1b wireless users on a sin gle device. This means you can mi x and match radio band s to meet different coverage and bandwidth needs within the same area. Di f ferent a ccess point mo dels give [...]

7 n Access Point 8750 —Creates a high-performance enterprise-class dual-mode 802.1 1g and 802.1 1a wireless LAN supporting up to 250 simultaneous users up to 100 meters (328 feet). S ECURITY 3Com of fers one of the most robu st suite of standards-based secu rity on the market today . T o protect sensitiv e data broadcast o ver the wireless LAN, 3[...]

8 need to cons ider AC powe r outlet lo cations. Po E support ma kes it easie r than ever to overcome installati on problems with dif ficult-to-wire or ha rd-to-reach locations. W IR ELESS N ETWORK S TANDARDS Understanding t he characteristics of the 802.1 1g and 802.1 1a standards can h elp you make the best choice for yo ur wireless implementa ti[...]

9 n Supporting a dense user base confin ed to a small coverage area. Because 802.1 1a has a greater number of non-overlappi ng channels, you can pack more access points in a tighter spac e. N ETWORK C ONFIGURATION AND P LANNING The wireless solution supp orts a stand-alone wirel ess network conf iguration as well as an integrated configuration with[...]

10 The infrastructure config uration not only extend s the accessibility of wirel ess PCs to the wired LAN, but also increases the ef fective wireless transmission range for wireless PCs by passing their signal through on e or more access poin ts. A wireless infrastructure can be used for access to a central database, or for connection between mobi[...]

11 T ERMINOLOGY Access Point —An internetwork ing device that seamlessly connects wired and wireless networks. Ad Hoc —An ad hoc wireless LAN is a group of computers, each with LAN adapters, connected as an i ndependent w ireless LAN. Backbone —The core infrastructure of a network. Th e portion of the network that transports information from [...]

12 ESS —Extended Service Set. More than one B SS is configured to bec ome an ESS. LAN mobile users can roam be tween diff erent BSSs in an ESS (ESS-ID, SSID). Ethernet —A popular local area data commun ications network, which accepts transmission from comp uters and terminals. Infrastructure —An in tegrated wireless a nd wired LAN is called a[...]

13 2 I NSTALLING THE A CCESS P OINT This equipment must be installed in compliance with lo cal and national building codes, regulatory restrictions, and FCC rul es. For the safety of people and equipment, th is product must be inst alled by a professi onal technician/ installer . I NSTALLATION R EQUIR EMENTS The following it ems are required for in[...]

14 dedicated workstation for managi ng an d configuring the ac cess point and the wireless network. P OWER R EQUIR EMENTS The access point complies with the IEEE 802.3af power - over -Ethernet standard. It receives power over standard category 5 straig ht (8-wire) Ethernet cable. Insta llation requires the use of either the 3Com power sup ply provi[...]

15 D ECIDING W HER E TO P LACE E QUIPMENT AND P ERFORMING A S ITE S URVEY The access po int is ideally design ed for vertical installat ion on a wall surface, but ca n also be flat-su rface mounted in an elev ated location where it will not be disturbe d. Ceiling insta llation is not recomme nded. Whether you choose to mount th e access point on a [...]

16 B EFOR E Y OU B EGIN Record the access point MAC ad dress in a safe place before the access point is installed in a hard-to-re ach location. The MA C address is printed on the back of the access point housi ng. The following illustratio n shows the front and rear views of the access point, including the LEDs and connecting ports. C ONNECTING THE[...]

17 1 Carefully unpack th e standard de tachab le antenna s. 2 Screw an antenna into each of the sockets in the access p oint housing. 3 Hand-tighten the antennas at the very base of the SM A connectors without handling th e antenna tips. 4 Access Point 82 50 and Access Point 8750 : Position the ant ennas so they turn ou t and away from the access p[...]

18 n Connect the access point directly t o your own power -over -Ethernet hub or swi tch, which must also comply with the IEEE 802.3af standard. If you supply you r own Ethernet cable for c onnecting power , be sure that it is standard catego ry 5 straight-through (8-wire) ca ble that has not been altered in any way . Use of nonstandard ca ble coul[...]

19 4 T o link the access point to your Ethernet net work, plug one end of another Ethernet cable into the port lab eled T o Hub/Switch on the power supply , and plug the other end into a LAN po rt (on a hub or in a wall) . U SING A P OWER -O VER -E TH ERNET LAN P ORT If your LAN equi pment complies with t he IEEE 802.3af po wer-ove r-Etherne t stan[...]

20 1 Install the mounti ng plate as shown in the fo llowing illustration, on either a stud (or other hard wall surface), or ont o drywall. n Allow for a clearance of at least 25 cm (10 Inches) bet ween the ceiling an d the top of the mounting plate. n Make sure that “UP” is correctly oriented, and align the moun ting plate screw holes verticall[...]

21 3 Position the access point at an a ngle to th e mounting plate bayonet connection and turn the unit clockwise until it sna ps into place, as shown bel ow . F LAT S URFACE I NSTALLATION The access point can also be placed on a flat surface such as a tabl e, desk top or filing cabinet. Do no t install the access point on any type o f metal surfac[...]

22 S ELECTING AND C ONNECTING A D IFFERENT A NTENNA M ODEL The standard detachable antennas suppl i ed with the Access Point 8250 and Access Point 8750 are suitable for a broad varie ty of environments. If yo u require a dif ferent type of ante nna for the Acce ss Point 825 0 or Access Point 8750, several options are available by mo del number fr o[...]

23 ensure a strong signal . Ensure that access is availabl e for routing the ant enna cable from the antenna to the access point. 2 If they are installed, remove both arms of the stan dard detachable ante nna, making sure not to handle the tips of the antenna. 3 Connect one end of the opti onal antenna cable to the antenna and secure the antenna in[...]

24 I NSTALLING S OFTWAR E U TILITIES The installation CD includes documentatio n and software utilities to help you set up and administer the wire less co mponents of your network. T o vi ew product documentati on, select V iew the Documentation from the CD Startup Menu and then select the item you wish to view . The software T ools and Utilities i[...]

25 3 S YSTEM C ONFIGURATION The access po int can be configured using a W eb browser that has Jav a support (Internet Explorer 5.0 or newer). Usin g the W eb management interface, you can configure the access point a nd view st atisti cs to m onitor n etwork a ctivit y . The 3Com W ireless Infrastructure Device Manager helps you locate 3Com wireles[...]

26 exclamation points (!). Y ou can re fresh this display by clicki ng Refr esh . Y ou should refre sh the display , for example, after you change a device IP address. 2 In the W ireless Network T ree, select the device you want to config ure. If more than one wireless LAN devi ce appear s in the tree and you are not sure that you have sele cted th[...]

27 U SING THE P RE -IP C ONFIGURATION W IZARD Y ou can only configure de vices that are on the same subnet as your computer . T o configure a device on a different subnet, you must fi rst assign it an IP addr ess on the same subnet as your comp uter . After you launch the configuration, yo u can change settings as usu al. Just befor e you finish, y[...]

28 B ASIC S ETUP For a basic configuration, use the Setup W izard as described below . At any time, you c an click Home to return to the Home page of the config uration interface. If you want to configure more advanced features, click Advanced Set up in the Home page. 1 In the Home page, click Setu p W izar d. 2 In the “1-2-3” Setup W izard pag[...]

29 A DVANCED S ETUP The Advanced Setup pages allo w you to config ure features that are not available in the basic setup. On the Home page, click Advanced Setup to open the Advanced Setup menu. After making selec tions and entering d ata on each page, cl ick Apply to save the changes. The following sections describe th e Advanced Setup page s. I DE[...]

30 address of one or more domain name servers. Enter th ose addresses in Primary DNS Address and Secondary DNS Address fields. S ECURE W EB S ERVER C ONNECTION This option controls whe ther Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology is used to encrypt information between the computer and the de vice during a configuration se ssion. By default this op tio[...]

31 In the RADIUS Authenticat ion section, enter the required parameters for a primary and secondary RADIUS authent ication server . In the RADIUS Accounting section, click the Enable radio button, then enter required parameters for a primary and seco ndary RAD IUS accounting server . When you are fin ished configuring i tems on this page, clic k Ap[...]

32 Configure the o ptions as described bel ow . When you are fi nished, click Apply . n MAC Authentication — Selecting MAC aut hentication allows yo u to define access permission and precedence. Opt ions are: Local MAC — W ith this option, the MAC ad dress of the associating sta tion is compared against the local access cont rol list. Y ou must[...]

33 n Local MAC Authentication —Client c omputers can be filtered using the unique MAC addresses of th eir network cards. T o build t he MAC Authenticatio n T able, enter a MAC address in the space provid ed, ch oose the permission, a nd click Update. MAC addresses are listed in the MA C Authentication T able in the order that they were e ntered. [...]

34 F ILTERING BY VLAN The access po int supports filtering of u p to 64 VLANs (virtual local area networks). VLAN IDs must be configured for eac h clie nt on one of the RADIUS authentication servers specified on the RADI US configuration p age. If a RADIUS server is not being used or not setu p to update the VLAN ID, t hen the access point wi ll ta[...]

35 C LIENT L IST T IMEOUT This option sets the timeou t for inactive clients to be disassociated and removed from the associated clie nt list. The interval can be set to 1, 5, 10 , 30 or 60 minutes (defau lt is 30 minutes). U PLINK P ORT MAC A DDRESS F ILTERING This feature a llows associa ted wirele ss c lients to communicate only with specific se[...]

36 Although ther e are five types of IPX packets, th e Filter Control page shows onl y two options for IPX filtering. The following table shows how to filte r each IPX packet type: SNMP Use the SNMP page to display and enter a commun ity string for the Simple Ne twork Management Protocol. T o communicate with the access point, th e SNMP agent must [...]

37 recommended that you change the p assword from the def ault value (no password) to ensure ne twork security . n Firmware Upgrade —Y ou can upgr ade firmware from a downlo aded file that you have placed on the local c omputer , or from a remote FTP or TFTP server . n Local —Click Br owse to loca te the downloaded firmwa re file. Click Sta r t[...]

38 S YSTEM L OG The System Log page allows you to set up a server to store event logs a nd to specify how the access point obtains the date a nd time. When you are fi nished configuring items on this page, c lick Apply . Each logging message is tagged with a severity level , as defined in R FC3164. The severity leve ls are: n Emerg ency: system is [...]

39 n St a t i o n s St a t u s —Click S tations S tatus to view the configurations of conn ected stations. The Station Status page displays basic connection informatio n for all associated stations. Select “refresh” on you browser to see update station statu s. n Event Logs —Click Event Logs to d isplay the activity log of the access point.[...]

40 n Auto Channel Select (802.1 1g and 802.1 1a only) —Select Auto Channel Select Enable to allow the access point to select a radio channel automa tically . (Default: Enable) n T ransmit Power (802.1 1g and 802.1 1a only) —Set the signal strength transmitted from the access point. The longer t he tr ansmission dist ance, the h igher the transm[...]

41 synchronize to the incoming data st ream. Enabling the Sh ort preamble can boost your throug hput; however , this can cause intero perability issues. (Defau lt: Long) n Client Access Mode (802.1 1g only) —802.11g radios can support both 802.1 1b and 802.1 1g clients. This op tion determines which mode the radio wil l operate in and consequent [...]

42 There must be at least one entry in th e Use r Access List, which determines the users that can associate with the access point. Click Edit User Access List. In the User Access List pa ge, user names are listed. Scroll to the bott om of the list to perform t he following actions: T o add a new user, click Add Users. In the next page, type the us[...]

43 WEP—Provides standard WEP ciphering (Least Sec ure) 3 Select the type of WP A Key Management : WP A authent ication over 802.1x (More secure, but require s a RADIUS authenticati on server setup. See WP A note below ) WP A Pre-shared Key (PSK) ( see WP A note below ) 4 Select the Key T ype: Hexadecimal (0~9, A~F; fo r example, D7 0A 9C 7F E5) A[...]

44 The key selected as the transmit key inde x is used by the access point for all transmissions. Other keys defined can be used by the access point for decrypting station communications. When enabling 802.1x security with dynamic session keys, key index 4 is reserved for th e 802.1x client sess ion key . Therefore, when 802.1x clients are in the n[...]

45 5 Enter all the settin gs of your Primary RADIUS Authenticat ion Server (make sure the IP Address and Key match t hose on the RADIUS Authentication software). 6 Click on Apply 7 Choose Authentication from the left frame page Menu 8 Make sure the fo llowing setti ngs are set on th e Authentica tion page: aM A C Authentication is Disabled. (if Loc[...]

46 8 Make sure the fo llowing setti ngs are set on th e Authentica tion page: aM A C Authentication is Disabled. (if Local or RADIUS MAC Authentication is chosen MAC address filt ering or authentication, respect ively , will be done before the 802. 1x authentication. Th erefore, these setups must be validated individually and verifi ed functional b[...]

47 c Click on Apply . 6 Click Security on the 802.1 1a/b/g radio from th e left frame page Menu. 7 Make sure the foll owing setti ngs are set from t he Security pa ge: a Authentication is set to Open Sys tem. b Encryption is Enabled. c WP A Configuration is Checke d to “Allow only WP A Clients”. d Cipher Mode is set to AES/ TKIP/WEP (WEP Cipher[...]

48 Shared Disabled Not available WEP Shared Key Enable Enter static keys under WEP Configuration WPA AES Not available on 8200 TKIP Open System Enable WPA Configuration: Required Multicast Cipher Mode: TKIP WPA Key Manageme nt: WPA 802.1x WEP Open System Enable WPA Configuration: Required Multicast Cipher Mode: WEP WPA Key Manageme nt: WPA 802.1x W[...]

49 4 T R OUBLESHOOTING If you have dif ficulty with the 3Com W ireless LAN access poin t, first check the following items in the configuration: n Radio Setting s page: Ensure that the SSID is the same on clients an d the access point. n Security page: Ensure that Encr yption is the same on clients and the access point. n Authentication pag e: Ensur[...]

50 No operation. Verify the access point configura tion. Review access point firmw are revisions and update firmware if necessary. Make sure that there are no duplicate IP addresses on the network. Unplug the access point and ping the assigned address to make sure that no other device responds to that address. Access point powers up, but does not a[...]

51 While you are configuring the access point, the Configuration Management System stops responding. To maintain wireless a ssociation, the 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 you change the access point serv[...]

52 A T ECHNICAL S UPPORT O BTAINING S UPPORT FOR YOUR P R ODUCT R EGISTER Y OUR P RODUCT TO G AIN S ERVICE B ENEFITS T o take advantage of warranty an d other service benefits, you must first register your product at http://eSupp ort.3com.com/ . 3Com eSup port services are based on accounts that you crea te or ha ve authorization to access. First t[...]

53 Connection Assistant helps you ins tall, configure and troubleshoo t 3Com desktop and server NICs, wireless cards and Bluetooth device s. This diagnostic software is locate d at http://www .3com.com/prodforms/software/c onnection_assistant/ca_tha nkyou.html A CCESS S OFTWARE D OWNLOADS Software Updates are the bug fix / maint enance rel eases fo[...]

54 Country T elephone Number Country T elephone Number Asia, Pacific Rim T elephone T echnical S upport and Repair Australia Hong Kong India Indonesia Japan Malaysia New Zealand Pakistan 1 800 678 5 15 800 933 48 6 +61 2 9424 5179 or 0 0 0 8 0 0 6 5 0 1111 001 803 61 009 00531 616 439 or 03 5977 7991 1800 801 777 0800 446 398 +61 2 9937 5083 Philip[...]

55 Latin Americ a: T elephone T echnical Support and Rep air . Y ou can obtain support in this region usin g the followin g URLs: Latin Amer ica. Spanish speakers, enter the URL: http://lat.3com.com/lat/support/form.html Portuguese speakers, enter the URL: http://lat.3com.com/br/support/form.html English speakers in Latin Amer ica should send e-mai[...]

R EGULATOR Y C OMPLIA NCE I NFORMATIO N 3Com Wir eless LAN Access Points 8250/ 8500/8750 (Models WL-450, WL462, WL-463) FCC Radio-Frequency Exposure Notice This device generates a nd radiates radio-frequency energy. In order to comp ly with FCC radio-frequency radiation exposure guidelines for an uncontrolled en vironment, this equipment has to b e[...]

Industry Canada Notice (Applicable to Use Within Canada) This device complies wit h Canadian RSS-210. To prevent radio interference to the li censed service, thi s device is intended to be operated indoo rs and away from windows to provide maximum shield ing. Equipment (or it s transmit antenn a) that is installed out doors is subject to l icensing[...]

European Community—CE Notice (WL-463, 802.1 1g Radio Module) Marking by the symbol: indicates compliance with t he essential requirements of Directiv e 73/23/EC and th e essential re q uirements of articles 3.1(b), 3 .2 and 3.3 of Directive 1999 /5/EC. Such marking is ind icative that this eq uipment meets or ex ceeds the following technical stan[...]

Consult user documen tation for informati on on how to configure this product. Safety Compliance Notice This device has been tested an d certi fied according to the following safety st andards and is i ntended for use only in Informati on Technology Equipment which has been tested and certi fied t o these or oth e r equivalent standards: n UL Stand[...]

I NDEX Numbers 3Com 3CDaemon Server T ool 24 3Com Network Supervisor 24 3Com Passphrase encryption 44 3Com W ireless Infrastruct ure Device Manager 24, 25 802.1 1a, turbo mode 39 802.1x reauthentication refresh rate 33 802.1x setup 32 A access control, 42 access point installation 13 IP address, troubleshooting 50 resetting 37 accounting 31 ad hoc [...]

E encryption 3Com Passphrase 44 configuring 42 shared key 44 WEP 42, 43 WP A 42 Ethernet cable 13 Ethernet type filter 35 event logs 39 F filter control 33 firmware upgrade 37 flat surface inst allation 21 fragment length 40 G gateway , default 29 glossary of wireless networking terms 11 I identification 29 IEEE 802.3af power -over-Ethernet 17 infr[...]

RADIUS Authentica tion Setup S teps 44 RADIUS MAC authentication 32 reauthentication refresh rate 33 recording MAC address 16 Refresh button 26 resetting a bridge 30 resetting the access point 37 restore configuration 37 RF preamble 40 roaming 10 R TS threshold 40 S safety information 14 secure web server connection 30 session key refresh rate 33 s[...]