3Com WL-455 manual

http://www .3com.com/ http://www .3com.co m/support/en_US/productreg/fr ontpg User Guide Wir eless LAN Access Point 7250 3CRWE725075 (Model WL-455) Part No. DUA72507-5AAA01 Published April 2005[...]

3Com Corporation 350 Campus Drive Marlborough, MA 01752-3064 Copyright © 2005 3Com Corporation. All rights reserved. No part of this documentation may be repr oduced in any form or by any mean s or us ed to make any deriva tive work (such as translation, trans formation, or adaptation) without written permission from 3Com Corporation. 3Com Corpora[...]

Contents 1 Introduction Product Features........ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ .. 1 Security ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ ................ .. 1 Performance and Reliabilit y ..... ................ ................ ................ .........[...]

Installing Software Utilities...................... ................... ................... ............. 23 3 System Configuration Using the 3Com W ireless Device Manager .... ................ ................ ............. 2 5 Launching a W ireless Device Configuratio n .................... ................... ... 25 Using the Pre-IP Configur ati[...]

Bridge Address Entry ........ .................... ................ ................ ................ 46 Scanning for WDS Links .......... ................ ................ ................ ............. 47 Configuring Sp anning T ree Protocol Settings .. ................ ................ ...... 47 System Log ...... ................ ...............[...]

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1 1 I NTR ODUCTION The 3Com® W ireless LAN Access Point 7250 support s 802.11g and 802.11b wireless users. With their flexibility and unfettered acce ss, wir eless LANs are changing the way people work. Now with 3Com’ s enterprise-class wireless access points, you can build a cost-effective, r eliabl e, secure wir eless network that pr ovides us[...]

2  SSH v2  HTTP/HTTPS  SNMP v3  T emporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP)  Legacy WEP 40/64 bit, 128 bit and 152 bit  Wireless Protected Access (WP A)  Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) support: EAP-MD5, EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS, and PE AP P ERFORMANCE AND R ELIABILITY 3Com wireless access point performance features ensur e relia[...]

3 WDS Bridging and Spanning T ree Pr otocol (STP) Support A Distribution System (DS) is a network (typically a wired network) that interconnects separate access points in to a single LAN. W ith WDS, the interconnection no longer needs to be physically wired. WDS uses the wir eless medium to interconnect separate access po ints, ther eby eliminating[...]

4 Additionally , Spanning T ree Protocol (S TP) support pr events loops from being formed on the network. For more information on these items, see the Wireless LAN Access Points User Guide . For WDS and STP configuration instru ctions, see “WDS/STP Settings” on pag e 45 . M ANAGEABILITY 3Com offers a wide range of standards-based manageme nt su[...]

5 S TANDAR D N ETWORK C ONFIGURATION AND P LANNING The wireless solution supports a stand-al one wireless network configuration as well as an integrated config uration with 10/100 Mbps Ether net LANs. The wireless network cards, adapters, a nd access point can be configured as:  Ad hoc for departmental or SOHO LAN  Infrastructure for wir eles[...]

6 A wireless infrastructure can be used fo r access to a central database, or for connection between mobile workers, as shown in the following figure. I NFRASTRUCTUR E W IRELESS LAN FOR R OAMING W IRELESS PC S The Basic Service Set (BSS) is the commun ications domain for each access point. For wireless PCs that do not need to support roaming, set t[...]

7 A DVANCED N ETWORK C ONFIGURATION AND P LANNING Virtual Access Point (V AP) and WDS Bridging capabilities allow the access point to be integrated into many new netw ork configurations. Some common configurations are explaine d briefly in this section:  Public/private access point service  Remote building wireless access with the AP8250 and [...]

8 T ERMINOLOGY Access Point —An internetworking de vice that seamlessly connects wired and wireless networks. Ad Hoc —An ad hoc wireless LAN is a gr oup of computers, each with LAN adapters, connected as an independent wireless LAN. Backbone —The core infrastructur e of a network. The portion of the network that transports information from on[...]

9 VA P —Virtual Access Point. An access point radio capable of operating as two separate access points. VLAN —Virtual Local Area Network. A LAN consisting of g roups of hosts that are on physically differ ent segments but th at communicate as though they were on the same segment. WEP —W ired Equivalent Privacy is based on the use of security [...]

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11 2 I NSTALLING THE A CCESS P OINT This equipment must be inst alled in co mpliance with local and national building codes, regulatory r estrictio ns, and FCC rules. For the safety of people and equipment, this product must be installe d by a professional technician/installer . I NSTALLATION R EQUIR EMENTS The following items ar e requir ed for in[...]

12  T o access and use the Web configuration management system, you need a computer that is running Internet Explorer 5.0 or newer and one of the following operating sys tems: Wi ndows 98, W indows ME, W indows NT 4.0 Service Pack 6, W indows 2000, or Wi ndows XP . It is recommended that this computer become the dedicated work station for managi[...]

13 D ECIDING W HER E TO P LACE E QUIPMENT AND P ERFORMING A S ITE S URVEY The access point is ideally designed for ve rtical installation on a wall surface, but can also be flat-surface mounted in an elevated location where it will not be disturbed. Ceiling instal lation is not recommended. Whether you choose to mount the access point on a wall or [...]

14 Configuring a wireless LAN can be as ea sy as placing a 3C om W ireless Access Point in a centr al area and making the necessary connections to the AP an d the clients. However , installing multiple Access Points may requir e more planning. Using the 3Com Site Survey tool (locat ed on the installation C D) can help you determine if your wireless[...]

15 C ONNECTING THE S TANDAR D A NTENNAS The Access Point 7250 is supplied with standard detachable ant ennas. These should be attached before the access po int is installed. If using an alternate antenna, see “Selecting and Connect ing a Differ ent Antenna Model” on page 21 . 1 Carefully unpack the sta ndard detachable antennas. 2 Screw an ante[...]

16 C ONNECTING P OWER It is advisable to connect the power an d check the Ether net cables and LEDs before installing the unit in a har d-to-reach location. The access p oint complies w ith the IEEE 8 02.3af power -over -Ether net standard. It receives power over a standard category 5 straight (8-wire) Ether net cable. There ar e three ways to supp[...]

17 U SING AN O PTIONAL P OWER -O VER E THER NET I NJECTOR The Power -Over -Ethernet Injecto r can be located at any point between the access point and the LAN access port, wherever a convenient power outlet exists. If you supply your own Ethern et cable for connecti ng power , be sure that it is standar d category 5 straight-through (8-wire) cable [...]

18 U SING A P OWER -O VER -E THER NE T LAN P ORT If your L AN equipment complies with the IEEE 802.3af power -over -Ether net standar d, you can co nnect the access point directly to a LAN port. F or example, the illustration above right shows a connection through a 3Com Ethernet Po wer Supply to a 3Com SuperStack ® Switch. C HECKING THE LED S Whe[...]

19 1 Install the mounting plate as sho wn in the following illustration, on eit her a stud (or other hard wall surface), or ont o drywall.  Allow for a clearance of at least 25 cm (10 Inches) bet ween the ceiling and the top of the mounting plate.  Orient the bracket with the let ter “B” at the top of the brack et.  For installation on[...]

20 3 Connect the power cable to power port on the rear panel of the access point. 4 Position the access point at an a ngle to the mounting plate bayonet connection and tur n the unit clockwise until it snaps into place, as shown below . F LAT S URFACE I NSTALLATION The access point can also be placed on a flat surface such as a table, desktop or fi[...]

21 S ELECTING AND C ONNECTING A D IFFER ENT A NTENNA M ODEL The standard detachab le antennas supplied with the Access Point 7250 are suitable for a broad variety of environments. If you req uire a differ ent type of antenna for the Access Point 7250, several optio ns are av ailable by model number fr om the 3Com Web site (www .3Com.com). For each [...]

22 1 Position the antenna so that the re ar e minimal obstacles between it and an y client with which it will communicate. Whi le maintain ing a direct line of sight between the antenna and a client is not strictly necessary , such an arrangement helps to ensure a strong signal. Ensur e that access is available for routing the antenna cable from th[...]

23 European Community I NSTALLING S OFTWAR E U TILITIES The installation CD includes documentation and software utilities to help you set up and administer the wireless co mponents of your network. T o view product documentation, select View the Documentation from the CD Startup Menu and then select the item you wish to view . The software T ools a[...]

24 T o install a tool fr om the CD: 1 Power up the computer and put the 3Com CD in the CD-ROM drive. 2 The setup menu should appear when the CD autostarts . If no menu appears, you can run the setup.exe startup pr ogram from the Windows Start menu. For example, if your CD drive is th e D drive: Start / Run / d:setup.exe. 3 From the CD startu p menu[...]

25 3 S YSTEM C ONFIGURATION The access point can be configured using a Web browser that has Java support (Inter net Explorer 5.0 or newer). Using the Web management interface, you can configur e the access po int and view statist ics to monitor net work activity . The 3Com W ireless Infrastructure Devi ce Manager helps you locate 3 Com wire less LA[...]

26 The tree lists all WLAN service ar eas on the network and expands to show the 3Com wireless LAN devices that are associated to each service ar ea. Devices in a differ ent subnet than your computer are identified with exclamation points (!). Y ou can r efresh this display by clicking Refre sh . Y ou should refr esh the display , for example, afte[...]

27 U SING THE P RE -IP C ONFIGURATION W IZARD Y ou can only configure devices that are on the same subnet as your computer . T o configure a device on a differ ent subnet, yo u must first assign it an IP address on the same subnet as your computer . After you launch the configuration, you can change settings as usual. Just before yo u finish, you m[...]

28 B ASIC S ETUP For a basic configuration, use the Setup W izard as described below . At any time, you can click Home to return to the Home page o f the configuration interface. If you want to configure more adva nced features, click Advanced Setup in the Home page. 1 In the Home page, click Setup W izard. 2 In the “1-2-3” Setup W izard page, [...]

29 A DVANCED S ETUP The Advanced Setup pages allow you to configure featur es that are not available in the basic Se tup W izard. On the Home page, click Advanced Setup to open the Advanced Setup menu. After making selections and ente ring data on each page, click Apply to save the changes. The following sections de scribe the Ad vanced Setup pages[...]

30 W EB S ERVERS This option controls whether the web ma nagement interface is enabled. There are two pr otocols available for web server connect ion:  HTTP —Sends data une ncrypted over the ne twork.  HTTPS —Uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology to encrypt information between the access point and the web browser . By default, both pr[...]

31  Disable —The access point does not monitor the wired network, and therefor e, the radio interface does not shut do wn due to a br oken Ether net link. This is the default setting.  Enable —The access point monitors the Et hernet link and shu ts down radios if the link is broken.  Host PING Enable —When enabled, the access po int [...]

32 The access point uses the secondar y accounting server if a failure is detected in the primary accounting server . It continues to use the secondary accounting server until it fails, in which case it r etur ns to sending data to the primary accounting server . In the RADIUS Authentication section, enter the required parameters for a primary and [...]

33 A UTHENTICATION The Authentication page allows you to configur e the type of upper -layer authentication the access point uses for wi reless clients. This authentication setup is applicable for both radio interfaces. Access is checke d against the MAC Address authentication databa se stored on the access point. NOTE: This level of authentication[...]

34  Requir ed — Clients authenticate to a RADI US serve r via the access point. Clients are not allowed onto the wired LAN until authentication is successful. If two Radios are installed and WP A is being used, both radios’ security must be set to “WP A authen tication over 802.1x” for the WP A key management when 802.1x is Required. If [...]

35  Local MAC Authentication —Client computers can be filtered using the unique MAC addresses of their network car ds. T o build the MAC Authentication T a ble, enter a MAC address in the space provided, choose the permission, and click Update. MAC addresses ar e listed in t he MAC Authentication T able in the order that they were enter ed. Th[...]

36 F ILTER C ONTROL The Filter Control page allows you to control client communication within th e wireless network. Y ou may enable one or more types of supported filtering; however , some filter ch oices may supersede others. Configur e the optio ns as described below . When you are finished , click Apply . F ILTERI NG BY VLAN The access point su[...]

37 S ECURITY F ILTERS These options allow you to block communication amo ng wireless clients (client-to-client blocking) and prevent wireless clients fr om performing access point administration.  Ethernet Broadcast Storm Contr ol —This option allows users to limit broadcast/multicast traffic coming from the Ether net network. This feature all[...]

38 For securi ty reasons it is desirable to block client to client communications for wireless clients associated with an access po int (AP). It is also desirable to block client to client communications between c lients associated with differ ent AP’ s on the local sub net. For instance an airport may have several AP’ s to service several &quo[...]

39 SNMP Use the SNMP page to display and ente r a community string for the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). T o communicate with the access point, the SNMP agent must first be enable d and the Network Management Station must submit a valid community string for authentication. Y ou can set up to four trap destinations, each configurable wi[...]

40  T rap De stination 3 —Select Enable to set up a thir d trap manager to receive these messages.  IP Address —Fill in the IP addr ess box for the third trap manager that will receive these messages.  Community Name —Fill in the community stri ng box for the thir d trap manager that will r eceive these messages. (Maximum leng th: 23[...]

41 SNMP U SERS Security configuration is accomplished by managing groups and users. There ar e three default gr oups that correspond to three available security levels: Default Groups  RO (read-only) gr oup  RW Auth (read-write) gr oup  RWPriv (rea d-write) group Default Security Levels  NoAuthNoPriv (no authentication no privacy)  A[...]

42 Users can be created and placed into a gr oup. There are two parameters to configure: authentication and privacy . The selected authentication and privacy policy must ma tch the gr oup security le ve l. For example , if an SNMP user is configured for MD5 authentication and its group does not allow authentication, an error message appears. Duplic[...]

43 SNMP T ARGETS This table is used to select the manageme nt targets for receiving notifications, as well as the type of notifications that should be sent.  T arget ID —The name th at identifies the ta rget.  IP Address —The IP address of the target.  UDP port —The UDP port number of the target.  SNMP user —The SNMP user for t [...]

44 A DMINISTRATION The Administration page allows you to perform access point man agement tasks as described below .  Change Password —A passwo rd is r equired to configure the access point. Enter the user name and new password in the spaces provided and click Apply . It is r eco mmended that you change the password fr om the default value (no[...]

45 T o back up a configuration — T ype the IP address of the TF TP server and a name for the backup file in the spaces provided. Click Basic (to save a partial configuration) or Complete (to save an entire configuration) and click Backup Configuration . T o restor e a configuration — T ype the IP address of the TF TP server and the name of the [...]

46 C ONFIGURAT ION G UIDELINES Before configuring the WDS settings, review the following guidelines:  Only V AP1 in each radio interface can be specified to set up the WDS link. (There are two Virtual Access Points (V APs) for each radio interface on the access point—V AP1 and V AP2. V AP1 is designated as the physical access point, and theref[...]

47  Bridge Child —Enter the MAC address of the bridge child. The b ridge child must have the current access point configu red as the bridge parent. The MAC addr ess can be in either ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff , ff-ff-ff-ff-ff-ff , or ffffffffffff format. Leave this field blank or enter 00-00-00-00-00-00 if there ar e no bridge children to configure. S [...]

48  Bridge Hello Time (1-10 sec.)—Enter a value to determine how often the access point broadcasts the hello message.  Bridge Forwar ding Delay (4-30 sec.)—Enter a value to determine how long the access point remains in listening and learning states before its ports enter the forwarding state. Link Configuration There ar e two paramete rs[...]

49 T o use the acce ss point as an SNTP server : Selec t SNTP Server Di sable, specify time values in the spaces pr ovided, select the time zone from the pull-down list. If you select Enable Daylight Sa ving , the time adjusts automa tically for standard and daylight savings time. W hen the SNTP Serv er setting is disabl ed, date and time settings [...]

50  Channel —Displays the radio channel that the station is using.  BSSID —The Basic Service Set Identifier of the station. This is the MAC address of the broadcasting radio.  ST A Role —Describes the role of a nearby 3Com access point (model 7250, 8250, 8500, 8700, or 8750) if the acce ss point is running fir mwar e version 3.0 or l[...]

51 T o enable V AP service: 1 Open the Radio Settings page for the Radio Interface you want to configure. 2 Click Enabled next to V AP1 to enable a single V AP . 3 Click Enabled next to V AP2 to enable a second V AP . 4 Configure the following information for each V A P:  SSID —Enter the Service Se t ID (up to 32 alphanumeric characters). Clie[...]

52 C HANGING R ADIO S ETTINGS T o change radio settings on a V AP , select a V AP from the list to display its current configuration. When you are finished configuring items on this page, click Apply .  Country Code —Displays the country where this access point is installed and running.  Description —Enter a description for this access po[...]

53  Maximum Multicast Data Rate— Select the appropriate maximum broadcast/multicast data rate for your network. Setting a low multicast data rate helps to ensure that data can r eac h all client stations. Setting a high data rate can improve performan ce for high-b andwidth multicast applications (for example, multimedia str eaming service). ?[...]

54 S ECURITY The Security page allows you to set up lo wer -layer client auth enticati on and data encryption parameter s as described below . When you are finished configuring items on this page, click Apply . S ELECTING A V IRTUAL A CCESS P OINT (V AP) Open the Virtual AP drop-down box and select the V AP you want to configure. Each V AP has its [...]

55 WP A Configuration T o configure WP A encryption: 1 Choose open system, and then click the Required check box on the authentication page if you want to limit access to clients using WP A encryption. If you also want to allow WEP clients, do not check t his box. 2 Select the Cipher Mode, which determ ines the method by which key s are computed. W[...]

56  If only one Radio is in stalled and “W P A authen tication over 802.1x” is selected on the security page, then 802.1x W ir eless Setu p must be either “Supported” or “Req uired” on the Authentication Page.  If two Radios are installed and WP A is being used with “WP A authentication over 802.1x” selected for both radi os?[...]

57 152-bit—Each key contains 32 hexade cimal digits or 16 alphanumeric characters. 3Com Passphrase—This encryption strin g is for use only with other 3Com Wireless LAN devices. It is a case-sensi tive string between 6 and 30 characters long. T o enter the string, click 3Com Passphrase. Then type any combination of letters and numbers in the Key[...]

58 d Cipher Mode is set to WEP . e WEP Configurat ion has at least one valid WE P key . f Click on Apply . 11 The Access Point is now configured for RADIUS Authentication. H OW TO SETUP THE ACCESS POINT FOR WP A WITH 802.1 X S ESSION KEYS 1 Using the W ireless Infrastructure Device Manger access the configuration screen for the AP7250. 2 Enter your[...]

59 f WP A Key Manageme nt set to WP A Aut hentication over 802.1x . g Click on Apply . 11 The Access Point is now configured for WP A Authentication over 802.1x. H OW TO SETUP THE ACCESS POINT FOR WP A WITH P RE -S HAR ED (PSK) K EY 1 Using the W ireless Infrastructure Device Manger access the configuration screen for the AP7250. 2 Enter your User [...]

60 WP A C ONFIGURATION FOR W INDOWS XP The following table s hows how to configure the access point to su pport the various authentication and encryption o ptions available for W indows XP W ireless Zero Configuration. The following notes apply to configuring the access point for WP A under Wi ndows XP:  A WP A-capable wireless network in te r f[...]

61 WPA-PSK AES Not available on 8200 Open System (for 8750) Enable WPA Configuration: Required Multicast Cipher Mode: AES WPA Key Management: WPA 802.1x TKIP Open System Enable WPA Configuration: Required Multicast Ci pher Mode: TKIP WPA Key Management: WPA-PSK Select Key Type and enter Pre-Shared Key WEP Open System Enable WPA Configuration: Requi[...]

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63 4 T R OUBLESHOOTING If you have difficulty with the 3Com Wi reless LAN access point, first check the following items in the conf iguration:  Radio Settings page: Ensure that the SS ID is the same on clients and the access point.  Security pa ge: Ensure that Encryption is the same on client s and the access point.  Authentication page: E[...]

64 No operation. Verify the access point configuration. Review access point firmware revisions and update firmware if necessar y. 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 as[...]

65 While you are configuring the access point, the Configuration Management System stops responding. To maintain wireless associati on, 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[...]

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R EGULATORY C OMPLIANCE I NFORMATION 3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 7250 (Model WL-455, incorporating WL-463 radio module) General The 3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 7250 (3CRWE725075 ) must be installed and used in strict accordance with the manufacturer's in structions as described in the user documentation that comes wit h the product. This[...]

US Manufacturer's FCC Declarat ion of Conformity 3Com Corporation 350 Campus Drive Marlborough, MA 017 52-3064, USA (508) 323-5000 Date: 1 Fe bruary 2005 Declares that the Pr oduct: Brand Name: 3Com Cor poration Model Number: WL-455 Equipment Type: Wireless LAN Access Point Complies with Part 15 of the FCC rules. Operation is subject to th e f[...]

EU Compliance Intended use: IEEE 802.11b/g radio LAN device NOTE: To ensure product operation is in compliance with loc al regulations, select the country in which the product is installed. Refer to "Setting the Country Co de" in the chapter Sy stem Configuration. This equipment may be operated in AT BE CY CZ DK EE FI FR DE GR HU IE IT LV[...]

German Hiermit erklärt 3Com Corporation, dass sich dieser/d iese/dieses Mana ged Accces Point in Übereinstimmung mit den grun dlegenden Anforderungen und den anderen relevanten Vorschriften der Richtlinie 1999/5 /EG befindet". (BMWi) Hiermit erklärt 3Com Corpo ration die Übereinsti mmung des Geräte s RLAN device mit den grundlegenden Anfo[...]

A copy of the signed Declaration of Conformity can be d ownloaded from the Product Support web page for the 3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 7250 (3CRWE725075) at http://www.3com.c om. Also available at h ttp://support.3com.com/doc/AP7250 _WL-463.pdf EU - Restrictions for Use in t he 2.4GHz ba nd This device may be operated indoors or outdoors in all[...]

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I NDEX Numbers 3Com 3CDaemon Server T ool 23 3Com Network Supervisor 23 3Com Passphrase encryp tion 57 3Com W ireless Infrastructure Device Manager 23 , 25 802.11a, turbo mode 52 802.1x reauthentication r efresh rate 34 802.1x setup 33 A access point installation 11 IP address, troubleshooting 64 resetting 45 accounting 32 ad hoc 5 adapter , choosi[...]

Ethernet cable 11 Ethernet type filter 38 event logs 49 F filter control 36 firmware upgrade 44 flat surface installation 20 fragment length 53 G gateway , default 29 glossary of wireless networking terms 7 I identification 29 IEEE 802.3af power -over -Ethernet 16 infrastructure configuration 5 installation 11 access point 11 antenna 15 cable 11 fl[...]

RTS threshold 53 S safety information 12 secure web server connection 30 session key refr esh rate 34 setting the time and date 48, 49 settings TCP/IP 29 Setup Wizard 28 setup, 802.1x 33 shared key 54 shared key encryption 56 Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) 39 software utilities, installing 23, 24 SSID 49, 51 stations status 49 statistics[...]