Linksys WPC55AG manual

Dual-Band Wireless A+G Notebook Adapter Use this guide to install: WPC55AG User Guide[...]

COPYRIGHT & TRADEMARKS Specifications are subject to change without notice. Linksys is a r egistered trademark or trademark of Cisco Systems, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and certain other coun- tries. Copyright © 2003 Cisco Systems, Inc. All rights reserved. Other brands and pr od- uct names are trademarks or r egistered trademarks [...]

T able of Contents C hapter 1: Introduction 1 The Dual-Band W ireless A+G Notebook Adapter 1 F eatures 1 Chapter 2: Planning Y our Wireless Network 2 Netw ork T opolo gy 2 Ad-Hoc versus Infrastructure Mode 2 Chapter 3: The Dual-Band Wireless A+G Notebook Adapter’ s LEDs 4 Chapter 4: Installation and Configuration for Windows XP 5 Overview 5 Hardw[...]

Chapter 1: Introduction The Linksys Dual-Band W ireless A+G Notebook Adapter lets your notebook communicate with all three wireless netw ork standards. W ith one PC Card , you can connect to W ireless-A (802.11a), W ireless-G (draft 802.11g) and W ireless- B (802.11b) netw orks. W ireless-B networks ha ve a data rate of 11Mbps, and are commonl y fo[...]

If the wireless netw ork is relativel y small and needs to share resources only with the other computers on the wireless netw ork, then the ad-hoc mode can be used. (See Figure 2-2.) Ad-hoc mode allo ws computers equipped with wire- less transmitters and receiv ers to communicate directly with each other , elimi- nating the need for an access point[...]

5 4 Chapter 3: The Dual-Band Wireless A+G Notebook Adapter’ s LEDs The Adapter has tw o LEDs to let you kno w how the card is functioning. Here is a description of those LEDs: Powe r Green . The Po w er LED lights up when the Adapter is po w- ered on. Link Gr een . The Link LED lights up and sta ys solid when the Adapter is inserted cor rectly an[...]

7 1 . After installing the Adapter , the Windo ws XP W ireless Zero Conf iguration icon will appear in your computer’ s system tra y . Double-click the icon. 2. The screen that appears will sho w any a vailab le wireless netw ork. Select the netw ork you w ant. If this netw ork has WEP encryption disabled , go to Step 3. If this netw ork does not[...]

9 3. If WEP is enab led , the screen in Figure 4-7 will appear . Enter the WEP key of y our wireless net- w ork in the Network ke y f ield , and re-enter it in the Conf irm networ k key f ield. Then click Connect , and go to Step 4. 4. The screen in Figure 4-8 will appear if your con- nection is activ e. F or more infor mation about wireless netw o[...]

11 10 5. Choose a wireless mode for your netw ork. Click the Infrastructur e Mode radio button if you w ant your wireless computers to netw ork with computers on your wired netw ork using an access point. Click the Ad-Hoc Mode radio button if you w ant multiple wireless computers to netw ork directly with each other . In the SSID f ield , enter the[...]

13 12 7. Revie w your settings on the F inalize Settings screen, sho wn in Figure 5-7, before the Setup W izard starts to copy your f iles. Click the Next button to continue. 8. After the f iles hav e been successfully copied , the screen in Figure 5-8 will appear . Click the Exit button. Pr oceed to the next section, “Hard w ar e Installation. ?[...]

15 14 Chapter 6: Using the WLAN Monitor for Windows 98, Me , and 2000 Use the WLAN Monitor to check the link infor mation, search for a vailable wireless netw orks, or make additional conf iguration changes. After installing the Adapter , the Dual-Band W ireless A+G Notebook Adapter WLAN Monitor icon (see Figure 6-1) will appear in the system tra y[...]

17 The Link Information screen, sho wn in Figure 6-2, displa ys the Adapter’ s sig- nal strength and link quality information. Click the More inf ormation button for further infor mation about your wireless connection (see F igure 6-3). Ad-Hoc Mode or Infrastructur e Mode - The screen indicates whether the Adapter is cur rently w orking in ad-hoc[...]

If the wireless netw ork has WEP encryption enabled for security , you will see the screen sho wn in Figure 6-6. If the wireless netw ork has LEAP authentica- tion enabled for securi- ty , you will see the screen sho wn in Figure 6-7. If the wireless net- w ork emplo ys an Externally Managed 802.1x type of security , choose this selection. The Adap[...]

21 When manually , the encr yption ke y must consist of the letters “ A” through “F” and the numbers “0” through “9” and should be 10 characters in length for 64- bit encryption, 26 characters in length for 128-bit encr yption, or 32 characters in length for 152-bit encryption.) All points in your wireless netw ork must use the same[...]

23 Import - Click the Import button to import a prof ile that has been sa ved in another location. Select the appropriate f ile, as sho wn in Figure 6-10, and click the Open button. Export - Select the prof ile you w ant to sa ve in a different loca- tion, and click the Export button. Select the appropriate folder , as sho wn in Figure 6- 11, and c[...]

25 24 5. The Choose a networ k type screen (Figure 6-16) sho ws a choice of tw o net- w ork modes. Click the Infrastructure Mode radio button if y ou want y our wireless computers to communicate with computers on your wired netw ork via an access point. Click the Ad-Hoc Mode radio button if you w ant mul- tiple wireless computers to communicate dir[...]

If the wireless net- w ork has WEP encryption enabled for security , you will see the screen sho wn in Figure 6-20. If the wireless netw ork has LEAP authentica- tion enabled for security , you will see the screen sho wn in Figure 6-21. If the wireless netw ork emplo ys an Externally Managed 802.1x type of security , choose this selection. The Adap[...]

29 8. The Conf irm New Settings screen will appear . T o sav e the new settings, click the Sa ve button. T o cancel the settings and return to the Pr of iles screen without sa ving your changes, click the Cancel button. T o edit the new settings, click the Back button. 9. The Congr atulations screen will appear next. Click Acti v ate ne w settings [...]

31 30 3. I cannot communicate with the other computers linked via the Ethernet in the Infrastructure conf iguration. • Make sure that the notebook PC to which the Adapter is associated is pow- ered on. • Make sure that your Adapter is conf igured on the same channel and with the same security options as the other computers in the Infrastructure[...]

an unintended receiv er, FHSS appears to be short-duration impulse noise. Direct-Sequence Spread-Spectrum (DSSS) generates a redundant bit patter n for each bit to be transmitted. This bit patter n is called a chip (or chipping code). The longer the chip, the g reater the probability that the original data can be reco vered. Even if one or more bit[...]

35 34 Cardb us - A high-speed peripherals interface for notebook PCs that deliv ers 32-bit performance based on PCI bus architecture. CSMA/CA ( C ar rier S ense M ultiple A ccess/ C ollision A v oidance) - In local area netw orking, this is the CSMA technique that combines slotted time-divi- sion multiplexing with carrier sense multiple access/coll[...]

37 36 Gatew a y - A device that interconnects netw orks with different, incompatib le communications protocols. Hard war e - Hardware is the ph ysical aspect of computers, telecommunica- tions, and other information technology de vices. The ter m arose as a w a y to dis- tinguish the “box” and the electronic circuitry and components of a comput[...]

39 38 puter , typically w eighs less than f ive pounds and is three inches or less in thick- ness. OFDM - Dev eloped for wireless applications, Or thogonal F requency Di vision Multiplexing (OFDM) technolo gy offers superior performance-increased data rates and more reliable transmissions-than pre vious technologies, such as DSSS. OFDM is a scheme [...]

TCP ( T ransmission C ontrol P rotocol) - A method (protocol) used along with the IP (Internet Protocol) to send data in the for m of message units (datag ram) betw een network de vices o ver a LAN or W AN. While IP takes care of handling the actual deliv er y of the data (routing), TCP takes care of keeping track of the individual units of data (c[...]

Dimensions 4.72" x 0.51" x 2.13" (120 mm x 13 mm x 54 mm) Unit Weight 1.48 oz. (0.04 kg) Po w e r 3.3V Bus Powered Certifications FCC, CE, IC-03, Wi-Fi (802.11a, 802.11b), CCX WHQL: XP , 2000, Me Operating T emp. 0°C to 55°C Storage T emp. -20°C to 85°C Operating Humidity 10% to 85%, Non-Condensing Storage Humidity 5% to 90%, Non[...]

45 44 Appendix E: Contact Information F or help with the installation or operation of the Dual-Band W ireless A+G Notebook Adapter , contact Linksys T echnical Suppor t at one of the phone num- bers or Internet addresses below . Sales Information 800-546-5797 (LINKSYS) T echnical Support 800-326-7114 RMA (Return Mer chandise A uthorization) Issues [...]

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