3com HomeConnect 3CRWE50194 User manual

HomeConnect™

Home Wireless Gateway

3CRWE50194

Home Network Management Solution

http://www.3com.com/

http://www.3com.com/productreg

Part No. 09-2015-000

Published October 2000

User Guide

3Com Corporation

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5400 Bayfront Plaza

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Santa Clara, California

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95052-8145

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U.S.A.

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UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT LEGEND

If you are a United States government agency, then this documentation and the software described herein are

provided to you subject to the following:

All technical data and computer software are commercial in nature and developed solely at private expense.

Software is delivered as “Commercial Computer Software” as defined in DFARS 252.227-7014 (June 1995) or

as a “commercial item” as defined in FAR 2.101(a) and as such is provided with only such rights as are provided

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not to remove or deface any portion of any legend provided on any licensed program or documentation

contained in, or delivered to you in conjunction with, this User Guide.

3Com and the 3Com logo are registered trademarks and HomeConnect is a trademark of 3Com Corporation.

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Contents

1 Welcome To Home Wireless

HomeConnect Wireless Gateway 1

Wireless Gateway Advantages 2

Firewall Technology 2

Kit Contents 4

Installation Map 5

Minimum System and Component Requirements 5

Where Do I Go Next? 5

2 Home Wireless Gateway

Front Panel 7

Rear Panel 8

3 Basic Installation

Introduction 11

Home Networking and Wireless Networking Basics 11

Positioning the Home Wireless Gateway 12

Attaching the Non-skid Feet 12

Connecting the Wireless Gateway to the Internet 12

External Cable and DSL Modem Connections 12

Connecting the Wireless Gateway to Your Network 13

Installing Adapters for Wireless and Wired Connections 14

Powering Up the Gateway 15

Setting Up Computers for Wireless Networking 15

Windows 15

Macintosh 16

Setting Up Computers for Ethernet Networking 16

Windows 17

Macintosh 17

4 Running the Setup Program

Accessing the Setup Program 19

Navigating Through the Setup Program 20

Main Menu 20

Options Menu 20

Gateway Setup Wizard 21

Changing Settings After Initial Setup 21

Contents

Setting Up Your Home Wireless Gateway 21

Starting the Setup Procedure 21

Setting Up Your Gateway for an Internet Connection 23

Setting Up Your Gateway for Wireless Communication 27

5 Advanced Features and System Tools

Status 29

Advanced Settings 30

NAT (Network Address Translation) 30

Firewall 31

DHCP Server 32

Controlling Access by Setting Client Privileges 33

To assign client privileges: 34

Special Considerations for Advanced Settings 35

Tools 35

System Test 35

Security Log 35

Reset Home Wireless Gateway 36

Restore Factory Settings 36

Update Firmware 36

6 Troubleshooting

Home Wireless Gateway 39

Cable or DSL Modem 39

Wireless Network 39

Ethernet Networks 39

3Com KnowledgeBase 40

A Technical Support

Online Technical Services 41

World Wide Web Site 41

3Com FTP Site 41

Support from Your Network Supplier 41

Support from 3Com 42

Returning Products for Repair 44

Glossary

Contents

Index

Warranty and Regulatory Compliance

List of Figures

1 Home Network Without a Wireless Gateway 1

2 Home Network Using a Wireless Gateway 2

3 HomeConnect Wireless Gateway Kit Contents 4

4 Home Wireless Gateway 7

5 Home Wireless Gateway - Front Panel 7

6 Home Network Gateway - Rear Panel 8

7 Cable or DSL Modem Connected to the Gateway 13

8 Connecting the Gateway to an Ethernet Network 15

9 Web Browser Location Field 19

10 Home Network Gateway Main Screen 20

11 Setup Screen 22

12 Cable/DSL Setup | Standard Screen (Top Portion) 24

13 Cable/DSL Setup | Standard Screen (Bottom Portion) 25

14 Cable/DSL Setup | Advenced Screen 26

15 Status Page 29

16 Advanced Settings | NAT Screen 30

17 Advanced Settings | Firewall Screen 31

18 Advanced Settings | DHCP Server Screen 32

19 Advanced Settings | Client Privileges Screen 33

1

1 Welcome To Home Wireless

In today’s fast-paced world, communication and sharing information are

crucial. Computer networks are among the fastest ways to share information,

and wireless computer networks are rapidly becoming the most convenient

way of connecting computers. 3Com has brought this exciting technology into

the home with the HomeConnect

TM

Wireless Gateway.

The products that compose the HomeConnect line give you, the home user,

the same power, flexibility, and protection that has been available only to large

corporations. Now, you can network the computers in your home, connect

them all to a single Internet outlet, and harness the combined power of all of

your computers using both wired and wireless connections.

HomeConnect Wireless Gateway

The HomeConnect Wireless Gateway is designed to provide effective and

transparent management of both your home computer network, as well as

your connection to the Internet with the convenience of a wireless connection.

The gateway also provides protection in the form of an electronic “firewall,”

preventing anyone outside of your network from seeing your files or

damaging your computers.

As you can see in Figure 1, one computer is connected to the Internet. This

computer must always be powered on for the other computers on the

network to access the Internet.

Figure 1

Home Network Without a Wireless Gateway

When you use the wireless gateway in your network (Figure 2), it becomes

your connection to the Internet, as well as providing you with many other

options, such as network management, firewall protection, and roaming

Cable or DSL

modem

Internet

2

1 Welcome To Home Wireless

capability. Both wired and wireless connections can be made to the gateway,

expanding the number of computers you can have in your home network.

Figure 2

Home Network Using a Wireless Gateway

Wireless Gateway Advantages

■

Shared Internet connection without cables.

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Flexible wireless networking, featuring Ethernet connectivity and

seamless networking between both media.

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No need for a dedicated, “always on” computer serving as your Internet

connection.

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Cross-platform operation for compatibility with Windows and Macintosh

computers

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Easy access to corporate networks.

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Easy-to-use, Web-based setup and configuration.

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Use wireless systems from work, school, or home.

Firewall Technology

Your wireless gateway also provides your home network with always-on,

fully-integrated firewall technology. The preconfigured firewall security uses

dynamic packet filtering to provide a robust and flexible defense system for

your home network.

Cable or DSL

modem

Internet

Power

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1 Welcome To Home Wireless

3

The firewall looks for known data patterns used by hackers, and prevents

them from harming your network. Updates are available online to detect and

block out new hacker patterns.

Your firewall will:

■

Protect the personal, financial, and work-related information on your

network.

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Keep hackers from using your identity to send unauthorized messages.

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Keep out unwanted downloads.

The wireless firewall technology protects against the following types of hacker

attacks:

■

IP spoofing: The hacker finds a valid IP address in a target network that

is considered to be a "trusted address," then sends packets with a

modified packet header pretending to be sent from the "trusted

address".

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Land attack: The hacker utilizes a spoofed packet with the SYN bit set

and source/destination addresses matching with the target machine. The

target system then hangs or crashes. The firewall will inspect packets to

prevent this condition from happening.

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Ping of death: Some TCP/IP stacks will hang or crash when they receive

large ping packets because of packet memory allocation overflow. The

firewall blocks illegal ping packets that are longer than the specification.

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IP with zero length: The first fragment of an IP packet is not always

required to have an offset value of zero. By manipulating the "more

fragments" bit and sending decoy packets, the hacker can cause the

target system to assemble malicious packets. The firewall can block this

kind of attack.

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Smurf attack: In this “denial of service” attack, the hacker sends large

quantities of ICMP echo (ping) request traffic to IP broadcast destination

address with a spoofed source address. Most IP network hosts will

respond with an echo reply causing a massive traffic jam. The firewall

intercepts ICMP Echo packets with x.x.x.0 or x.x.x.255.

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UDP port loopback: Hackers use UDP scans (transmit 0 byte-length

UDP packets) to locate open ports, then access configurable ports. These

ports can then exploit vulnerable applications such as SNMP, tftp, or NFS.

The firewall detects and blocks these attacks.

■

Snork attack: This is a “denial of service” attack that makes vulnerable

systems continuously bounce packets and tie up CPU and network

resources. The firewall will deny all incoming UDP packets with a

destination port of 135 and a source port of 7, 19, or 135.

4

1 Welcome To Home Wireless

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TCP null scan: This is a more advanced hacker scan technique to detect

open ports that can be penetrated. The null scan packet turns off all

flags and is transparent to weaker firewalls that only block SYN packets.

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TCP SYN flooding: The SYN packet is the first packet sent when two

systems try to establish a TCP connection. The hacker floods the target

system with incomplete connection requests containing fake return

addresses. The system cannot complete these requests and is overloaded

by this “denial of service” attack.

Kit Contents

The Home Wireless Gateway kit includes the following items (Figure 3):

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HomeConnect Wireless Gateway

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Power adapter with plug adapters (3)

■

Nonskid feet (4)

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Ethernet cable (Category 5)

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Installation map

■

User guide

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Registration card

If any of these items are missing or damaged, please contact your retailer.

Figure 3

HomeConnect Wireless Gateway Kit Contents

Power adapter

Ethernet cable

Nonskid feet

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United

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Europe

Australia

1 Welcome To Home Wireless

5

Installation Map

If you want to perform a basic installation of your HomeConnect Wireless

Gateway, please refer to the included installation map. The installation map

provides a graphical, step-by-step procedure that allows you to set up your

home network for multiple computers and other devices.

Minimum System and Component Requirements

Your HomeConnect Wireless Gateway requires that the computer(s) and

components in your home wireless network be configured with at least the

following:

■

Windows Millennium Edition (Windows Me), Windows NT, Windows

2000, Windows 98, Windows 95, or Mac OS 8.5 or higher.

■

A wireless network interface card (NIC), purchased separately, for each

computer that you will use for a wireless connection to your home

wireless network.

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An Ethernet 10Mbps or 10/100 Mbps NIC, purchased separately, for

each wired computer to be connected to the three-port switch on your

home wireless gateway.

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A cable modem or DSL modem with an Ethernet port (RJ-45 connector).

■

Active Internet access account.

■

Web browser program, such as Netscape 3.0 or higher, or Internet

Explorer 4.0 or higher.

Where Do I Go Next?

The rest of this user guide contains detailed information about your gateway

and how to connect it to your home network and the Internet.

■

Chapter 2, Home Wireless Gateway,

familiarizes you with the front

and rear panels of the gateway, including descriptions of indicator lights

(LEDs) and ports.

■

Chapter 3, Basic Installation,

explains the physical connections

between the gateway and the Internet, the wireless and wired

connections between the gateway and your computer(s), as well as how

to configure the computers on your network.

■

Chapter 4, Running the Setup Program,

contains a basic overview of

the setup program for setting up wireless communication and Internet

connections.

6

1 Welcome To Home Wireless

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Chapter 5, Advanced Features and System Tools, explains the

additional features of your gateway, such as setting up client privileges

and performing firmware updates.

■

Chapter 6, Troubleshooting, provides troubleshooting tips.

■

Appendix A, Technical Support, provides information on how to

contact 3Com for technical support.

■

Glossary, which provides definitions for key terms concerning the

installation and operation of the gateway.

7

Home Wireless Gateway

This chapter will familiarize you with your HomeConnect Home Wireless

Gateway (Figure 4).

Figure 4

Home Wireless Gateway

Information in this chapter includes:

■

A description of the gateway front panel indicator lights (LEDs).

■

A description of the rear panel connectors.

Front Panel

The front panel of the gateway contains a series of indicator lights (LEDs) that

help describe the state of various networking and connection operations.

Figure 5

Home Wireless Gateway - Front Panel

Power

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WAN

HomeConnect

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LAN

Power

WirelessWAN

HomeConnect

Home Wireless Gateway

LAN

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2 Home Wireless Gateway

Rear Panel

The rear panel (Figure 6) of the gateway contains four ports, a reset switch,

and a power adapter socket.

Figure 6

Home Network Gateway - Rear Panel

Table 1

Front Panel LEDs

LED Description

Power The Power indicator LED informs you when the gateway is on or off. If this

light is on, the gateway is on; if it is not on, the gateway is off. During

firmware upgrades and resets, this light will blink yellow (see “Update

Firmware” on page 36).

WAN This light indicates the state of your Internet connection. When on, the WAN

light indicates that the gateway is connected to the Internet through your

external cable or DSL modem. When the WAN light is off, the gateway does

not have an active connection to the Internet.

Wireless This light displays the state of your wireless connection. If the light is blinking

rapidly, a connection is established with an associated wireless client. If the

light is blinking slowly, no wireless client is associated with the gateway.

LAN These three lights (one per port) display the state of your Ethernet

connections. If the light is on, that port is connected to your Ethernet

network. If the light is off, the port is not connected to your Ethernet

network.

Reset

Cable/DSL 1X 2X 3X

6V

+

_

2 Home Wireless Gateway

9

Table 2

Rear Panel Connectors

Connector Description

Power Adapter

Socket

The power adapter socket accepts the power adapter connector. To

power up the gateway, simply insert the connector into the socket,

and then plug the other end into a standard electrical wall socket.

For easy identification, the power adapter socket is surrounded by a

yellow border.

Plug Adapters

Three plug adapters are provided with your home wireless gateway to

connect the power adapter to international power sockets.

Reset The light blue Reset button is used to reset the gateway.

A “soft” reset keeps your gateway settings. To perform a “soft” reset,

push the reset button once.

A “hard” reset returns your gateway settings to their factory default

state. To perform a “hard” reset, push and hold the reset button for 3

seconds.

Cable/DSL The Cable/DSL port (identified by a dark blue border) accepts an RJ-45

connector to connect your gateway to the Internet.

See “External Cable and DSL Modem Connections” on page 12 for

more details.

Ethernet Three ports are available to connect to Ethernet hubs or to connect

other Ethernet-compatible computers to the gateway. These are

dual-speed (10/100 Mbps) ports that accept an RJ-45 connector. For

easy identification, the Ethernet ports are surrounded by a green

border.

See “Setting Up Computers for Ethernet Networking” on page 16 for

more details.

11

Basic Installation

Introduction

This chapter will guide you through a basic installation of the HomeConnect

Home Wireless Gateway, including:

■

Connecting the wireless gateway to the Internet.

■

Connecting the wireless gateway to your network.

■

Setting up your computers for wireless and/or wired (Ethernet)

networking with the gateway.

Home Networking and Wireless Networking Basics

A home network is a way to connect all of your computing devices together

(computers, printers, scanners, modems) in order to share files and resources.

Once you’ve created your home network, you will be able to connect to the

Internet from any computer in your house. If you have a printer, scanner, or fax

connected to your home network, you will also be able to print, scan, or fax

from any computer in your house. With the addition of the 3Com Home

Wireless Gateway to your home network, you can combine both wireless and

wired networking.

Your wireless gateway uses radio signals to transmit and receive data without

wires. You can communicate with the network by establishing radio links

between your computer(s) and the gateway. To do so, every computer you

want to use for a wireless connection must be equipped with a wireless

network interface card (NIC).

The gateway also uses Ethernet cables for connections to your wired network,

as well for connecting to the cable/DSL modem for connecting to the Internet.

Ethernet networking uses special Ethernet cables to connect computers,

printers, and other devices together. Among the advantages of Ethernet

networking is a higher network speed (up to 100 Mbps), and the ability to use

Ethernet hubs to expand your network.

NOTE:

You can use your wireless gateway for either wireless networking

or Ethernet networking, or both. You can also set up your home wireless

gateway for home networking only; connecting to the Internet is

optional.

3

12

3 Basic Installation

Positioning the Home Wireless Gateway

You should place the home wireless gateway in a location that:

■

is centrally located to the computers that will connect wirelessly to the

gateway. In a two-story home, this location might be on top of a

centrally-located high shelf or similar furniture to optimize wireless

connections to computers in both horizontal and vertical directions,

allowing coverage throughout the entire house.

■

is conveniently located for connection to the cable or DSL modem that

will be used to connect to the Internet (remember that connection to the

Internet is not required to use the wireless gateway).

■

allows convenient connection to the computers that will be connected to

the three LAN ports on the rear panel, if desired.

■

allows easy viewing of the front panel LED indicator lights, and access to

the rear panel connectors, if necessary.

Attaching the Non-skid Feet

1 Detach one of the four non-skid feet from the paper backing.

2 Apply the foot to one of the four bottom corners of the gateway

(each corner is marked with a small arc symbol to note the proper

location of the foot).

3 Repeat steps 1 and 2 for the remaining three non-skid feet.

Connecting the Wireless Gateway to the Internet

The first step for installing your gateway is to physically connect it to a cable or

DSL modem in order to be able to access the Internet. Connecting to the

Internet is optional. If you are not going to connect to the Internet through the

gateway, skip this procedure and proceed directly to the “Connecting the

Wireless Gateway to Your Network” procedure to connect your gateway to

your home network.

External Cable and DSL Modem Connections

To use your gateway to connect to the Internet through an external cable or

DSL modem (Figure 7):

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