http://www.3com.com/
http://support.3com.com/registration/frontpg.pl/
11 Mbps Wireless LAN
Access Point 6000
User Guide
Full featured wireless local area networking made simple.
Version 2.0
Published May, 2001
Version 2.0.2
3Com Corporation
5400 Bayfront Plaza
Santa Clara, California
95052-8145
Copyright © 2001 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 adaptation) without written permission from 3Com Corporation.
3Com Corporation reserves the right to revise this documentation and to make changes in content from time
to time without obligation on the part of 3Com Corporation to provide notification of such revision or change.
3Com Corporation provides this documentation without warranty, term, or condition of any kind, either
implied or expressed, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties, terms or conditions of
merchantability, satisfactory quality, and fitness for a particular purpose. 3Com may make improvements or
changes in the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this documentation at any time.
If there is any software on removable media described in this documentation, it is furnished under a license
agreement included with the product as a separate document, in the hard copy documentation, or on the
removable media in a directory file named LICENSE.TXT or !LICENSE.TXT. If you are unable to locate a copy,
please contact 3Com and a copy will be provided to you.
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 in 3Com’s standard commercial license for the Software. Technical data is provided with limited
rights only as provided in DFAR 252.227-7015 (Nov 1995) or FAR 52.227-14 (June 1987), whichever is
applicable. You agree 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.
Unless otherwise indicated, 3Com registered trademarks are registered in the United States and may or may
not be registered in other countries.
3Com, AirConnect, and XJACK are registered trademarks and the 3Com logo is a trademark of
3Com Corporation.
Microsoft, Windows, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
All other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they
are associated.
EXPORT RESTRICTIONS:
This product or software contains encryption code which may not be exported or
transferred from the US or Canada without an approved US Department of Commerce export license.
C
ONTENTS
1
I
NTRODUCTION
How Does a Wireless LAN Work? 1
Network Association 1
Roaming 1
Security 1
Ad Hoc Networks 1
Setting Up a 3Com Wireless LAN 2
All Wireless Networks 2
Wired/Wireless Networks 2
Product Registration and Support 3
2
I
NSTALLING
THE
A
CCESS
P
OINT
Before You Begin 5
Deciding Where to Place Equipment 5
Placing the Access Point 6
Placing on a Flat Surface 6
Mounting on a Wall 6
Mounting on a Ceiling 7
Connecting Power 7
Connecting to an Ethernet Network 8
Checking the LED Indicators 9
3
M
ANAGING
THE
W
IRELESS
LAN
Overview 11
Viewing Access Point Information 11
Selecting an Access Point for Configuration 12
Changing Access Point Properties 13
Setting Network Properties 14
Setting Data Transmission Properties 15
Changing Encryption Settings 15
Setting up Access Control 16
Changing the Administration Password 16
Using Configuration Templates 16
Creating a Template 16
Loading a Template 17
Saving Access Point Configurations 17
Backing up an Access Point Configuration 17
Restoring an Access Point Configuration 17
Viewing System Status 18
Upgrading the System 18
Downloading Upgrade Files 18
Installing an Upgrade 18
Installing the Management Tool on a Computer 19
Restoring an Access Point to Factory Defaults 19
Interoperating with Third-Party Equipment 19
4
C
ONDUCTING
A
S
ITE
S
URVEY
Choosing Trial Locations 21
Environmental Requirements 21
Electrical Requirements 22
Summary of the Survey Procedure 22
Using the Site Survey Tool 23
Setting up Equipment 23
Launching the Tool 23
Configuring the Site Survey 23
Running the Tests 24
Interpreting Test Results 24
Site Survey Menus 25
5
I
NSTALLING
THE
W
IRELESS
C
LIENT
Requirements 27
Disk Factory 28
Inserting the PC Card 28
Installing the Software 29
Windows Wizard Installation 30
Install Files 30
Set Up the PC Card 30
Install Utilities 31
Windows NT Installation with Networking Installed 31
Installation Under Service Pack 4 31
Installation Under Service Pack 5 and Above 32
Install Files 32
Install CardWizard 32
Set Up the PC Card 33
Install Utilities 33
Confirming the Installation 34
Custom Installation Options 34
WLAN Service Area 34
Security Settings 34
40-bit Shared Key (Wi-Fi) Encryption 34
128-bit Dynamic Security Link Authentication 35
Installing the Documentation 35
6
U
SING
THE
W
IRELESS
LAN
About the 3Com Icon 38
Interpreting Status Icons 38
Using the 3Com WLAN Configuration Utility 40
Using 3Com Administrator Utilities 41
7
C
ONFIGURING
THE
W
IRELESS
C
LIENT
Changing Network and Security Settings 43
Network Settings 43
Security Settings 44
40-bit Shared Key (Wi-Fi) Encryption Settings 44
128-bit Dynamic Security Link Settings 45
Setting up Auto Network Connect 45
Setting up an Ad Hoc Network 46
Starting an Ad Hoc Network Session 46
Joining an Ad Hoc Network Session 47
Ending an Ad Hoc Network Session 47
Changing Power, Traffic, and Address Settings 47
Changing Your Password 48
Running Diagnostics 49
Viewing Configuration Information 49
8
T
ROUBLESHOOTING
Diagnosing Problems 51
Access Point 51
PC Card 52
Using the Tools Window 54
Uninstalling the Card 54
Uninstalling Software Utilities 55
Upgrading PC Card Firmware 55
A
W
INDOWS
NT I
NSTALLATION
W
ITHOUT
N
ETWORKING
I
NSTALLED
Installation Under Service Pack 4 57
Installation Under Service Pack 5 and Above 57
Install Files and Networking 57
Install CardWizard 59
Set Up the PC Card 59
Install Utilities 60
B
T
ECHNICAL
S
UPPORT
Online Technical Services 61
World Wide Web Site 61
3Com Knowledgebase Web Services 61
3Com FTP Site 61
Support from Your Network Supplier 62
Support from 3Com 62
Returning Products for Repair 64
I
NDEX
R
EGULATORY
C
OMPLIANCE
I
NFORMATION
1
I
NTRODUCTION
3Com wireless technology brings the benefits of a local area network (LAN) to
your office without the restraints and expense of network wiring. If your office
already has an Ethernet LAN, the 3Com 11 Mbps Wireless LAN can extend the
network without adding more wires.
How Does a Wireless
LAN Work?
In a traditional LAN, computers communicate through wires. Instead of wires, a
wireless LAN uses radio signals to communicate.
Network Association
Computers that are equipped for wireless LAN communication are called wireless
LAN
clients
. The wireless communication is called network
association
. Clients
associate through one or more
access points
, which are wireless base stations that
act as wireless hubs.
An access point can be connected to a wired network device such as an Ethernet
hub, switch, or router to give clients access to the wired network where they can
share files and printers and gain access to the Internet.
Roaming
If the office space is large, you can set up multiple access points on the same
network to increase coverage. When a wireless client begins to lose the signal as it
moves away from an access point, it can reassociate seamlessly with another
access point. This is called
roaming
.
Security
You can set up security to encrypt your wireless transmissions so that your data
cannot be deciphered if it is intercepted, and to prevent access to the network by
unauthorized clients.
Ad Hoc Networks
Wireless clients can associate among themselves at close range without an access
point by using
ad hoc
(temporary) networks. You may wish to set up an ad hoc
network, for example, if a group is working away from the office, or if a group in
the office needs to share files apart from the LAN.
2
C
HAPTER
1: I
NTRODUCTION
Setting Up a 3Com
Wireless LAN
The type of network you decide to set up depends on the size of your office and
whether or not you require connection to a wired LAN. You can also set up
security for each of the different types of networks. Your setup will probably
resemble one or more of the following examples.
All Wireless Networks
The simplest 3Com wireless LAN consists of several clients associating in an ad hoc
network without an access point.
A simple configuration consists of one access point and several clients. The clients
can associate with the wireless network anywhere within the coverage area of the
access point. The access point is not connected to any other network segments.
For more complex requirements, you can configure several access points as
separate networks at the same site. The access points use different network
identifiers called
wireless LAN service areas
(
WLAN service areas
, also called
Extended Service Set Identities
or
ESSID
). Clients can roam within the coverage
areas of access points that have the same WLAN service areas. They cannot roam
to the coverage areas of access points that are configured with different WLAN
service areas.
Wired/Wireless
Networks
An access point can be connected to a wired LAN with an Ethernet cable to create
a mixed wired/wireless network. In this configuration, the access point provides
the link between the wired network and wireless clients. Clients can move freely
throughout the service area of the access point and remain associated with the
larger network for services such as printing and Internet access.
P
O
W
E
R
WIR
E
LES
S
ET
H
E
R
NET
Product Registration and Support
3
Multiple access points can be connected to an existing LAN to provide complete
wireless network coverage. Wireless clients can roam seamlessly between different
access points with the same WLAN service areas and remain associated with the
larger network.
Product Registration
and Support
To register your product with 3Com, go to the following Web page:
http://support.3com.com/registration/frontpg.pl
For support information, see “Technical Support” on page 61 or log on to the 3Com
Web site at http://www.3com.com and navigate to the product support page.
POWER
W
I
RE
L
E
SS
E
THER
N
E
T
POWER
WI
REL
E
SS
E
THERNE
T
2
I
NSTALLING
THE
A
CCESS POINT
Before You Begin Make sure that you have the following items, which are included with the
3Com 11 Mbps Wireless LAN access point 6000:
■ Power brick and power cord.
■ 35-foot standard Category 5 unshielded twisted pair (UTP) Ethernet cable for
connecting the access point to the power brick.
■ Female-female Ethernet connector (if you need to add an extra Ethernet cable
to the one supplied).
■ Mounting template and wall mount hardware kit (if you plan to mount the
access point on a wall).
■ Mounting bracket and two number 6 panhead screws (if you plan to mount
the access point to the T-rail grid of an acoustical ceiling).
To connect the access point to a wired network, you need an additional Ethernet
cable (not supplied).
Deciding Where to
Place Equipment
You should place the access point in a dry, clean location that provides a power
source and good reception. If you are connecting the access point to a wired
network, the location must provide an Ethernet connection. The location should
be away from transformers, heavy-duty motors, fluorescent lights, microwave
ovens, refrigerators and other equipment.
An access point provides coverage at distances of up to 300 feet. The antenna
should always be perpendicular to the floor. Signal loss can occur if metal,
concrete, brick, walls, or floors block transmission. If your office has these kinds of
obstructions, you may need to add additional access points to improve coverage.
Do not install the access point in wet or dusty areas without protection. Make sure
the temperature ranges between –20˚ C to 55˚ C (–4˚ F to 131˚ F).
You should conduct a site survey before you install the access point permanently.
A site survey tool is provided on the 3Com Administrator Utilities CD. To conduct
the survey, you need to set up a wireless client with the administrator utilities.
See “Conducting a Site Survey” on page 21.
6 CHAPTER 2: INSTALLING THE ACCESS POINT
Placing the Access
Point
The access point can be placed on a flat surface such as a table, desktop, or the
top of a cabinet; or it can be mounted on a wall or to the T-rail grid of an
acoustical ceiling.
Placing on a Flat Surface Find a surface that is clear of obstructions and provides good reception. Set the
access point down on its four rubber feet and adjust the antenna so that it stands
straight up.
Mounting on a Wall To mount an access point on a wall, follow the instructions on the mounting
template supplied in the box and refer to the following illustration. It is usually a
good idea to mount the access point near the ceiling above any obstructions that
could block transmission. Position the antenna so that it stands straight up.
1
2
3
4
Connecting Power 7
Mounting on a Ceiling To mount an access point to the T-rail grid of an acoustical ceiling, you must first
attach the mounting bracket to the access point as shown in the following illustration.
Align the T-rail grips with the ceiling T-rail, adjust them so that they grip the T-rail
snugly, and tighten the screws on the T-rail grip. Adjust the antenna so that it
points straight down. Refer to the illustration below.
Connecting Power The access point is powered by a standard Category 5 unshielded twisted pair
(UTP) Ethernet cable connected to a power brick, eliminating the need to run
standard power directly to the access point. A 35-foot Ethernet cable is supplied
for connecting the access point to the power brick. A female-female Ethernet
connector is also supplied, which you can use if you need to add extra cable. The
power brick can be located at any point between the access point and the LAN
access port (if you plan to connect to a wired LAN), where a convenient power
RESET
TO PO
W
ER SUPPLY
PO
W
ER
WI
RE
L
E
SS
E
THERN
E
T
R
ESET
TO PO
W
E
R
SUP
PLY
8 CHAPTER 2: INSTALLING THE ACCESS POINT
outlet exists. To connect the power, see the following illustration. Make sure you
connect the cable to the port labeled To Access Point on the power brick. When
the access point receives power, the LEDs light.
Connecting to an
Ethernet Network
Use a standard Ethernet cable (not supplied) to connect the access point to an
Ethernet network, as shown below.
CAUTION: If you supply your own Ethernet cable for connecting power, be sure
that it is standard cable that has not been altered in any way. Use of
nonstandard cable could damage the access point.
R
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/
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WI
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C
H
CAUTION: To avoid damaging other components connected to the network,
make sure that the Ethernet cable connected to the LAN port is plugged into the
To Hub/Switch port on the power brick (not the To Access Point port).
R
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th
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rn
et
Checking the LED Indicators 9
Checking the LED
Indicators
LED Indicator Description
Power ■ On—Access point is receiving power.
■ Off—Access point is not receiving power.
Wireless ■ Blinking—The access point is operating. The blink speed ranges from
approximately once every 2.5 seconds to approximately 10 times per
second, depending on the signal strength and transmission speed.
■ Off—The access point is not receiving power.
Ethernet ■ Blinking—Wired LAN traffic is detected. Faster blinking indicates
heavier traffic.
■ Off—There is no wired LAN connection or the access point is not
receiving power.
3
MANAGING THE WIRELESS LAN
Overview If your 3Com Wireless LAN has only one access point, a few clients, and no special
security requirements, you can use the 3Com 11 Mbps Wireless LAN access
point 6000 just as it was shipped from the factory. If your network is more
complex, you will want to organize access points so that you can manage the
wireless LAN easily, and you may want to add security.
These tools help you manage the wireless LAN:
■ Discover APs in Range—Lets you view information about access points that
are within radio frequency range. See “Viewing Access Point Information”.
■ AP Management—Lets you view the WLAN Service Areas and access points
in the current subnetwork, select an access point, and launch the Web-based
tool that lets you configure the selected access point. See “Selecting an Access
Point for Configuration” on page 12.
■ 3Com 11 Mbps Wireless LAN access point 6000 Configuration
Management System—Resides on the access point and lets you configure
that access point through your Web browser (Internet Explorer version 5 or
later, which is supplied on the 3Com CD). For instructions on accessing this
tool from a wireless client, see “Selecting an Access Point for Configuration”
on page 12. Optionally, you can install this tool on a computer. See “Installing
the Management Tool on a Computer” on page 19.
Viewing Access Point
Information
To view information about access points that are within radio frequency range,
launch the Discover APs in Range tool as follows:
1 In the Windows system tray, click the 3Com icon to display the
3Com WLAN Launcher.
If the 3Com WLAN Launcher is not already running, you can start it from the
Windows Start menu. Select Start/Programs/3Com 11 Mbps Wireless LAN/3Com
WLAN Launcher.
2 In WLAN Launcher, click the Hammer icon.
3 In the Tools tab, double-click the Discover APs in Range icon.
The Known Access Points List window appears and lists the access points that are
in range. The access point with which the client is associated is shown in bold
font. To update the display, click Refresh.
12 CHAPTER 3: MANAGING THE WIRELESS LAN
The following information appears for each access point:
Selecting an Access
Point for
Configuration
The Wireless Network Tree displays the WLAN Service Areas and access points in
the current subnetwork. You can select an access point from the tree and launch
the Configuration Management System in your Web browser to configure
parameters for the selected access point.
1 In the Windows system tray, click the 3Com icon to display the
3Com WLAN Launcher.
If the 3Com WLAN Launcher is not already running, you can start it from the
Windows Start menu. Select Start/Programs/3Com 11 Mbps Wireless LAN/3Com
WLAN Launcher.
2 In WLAN Launcher, click the Hammer icon.
3 In the Tools tab, double-click the Access Point Management icon.
The Wireless Network Tree appears in the Access Point Management window. The
tree lists all WLAN service areas that are on the same subnet as the client. Each
WLAN service area branch expands to show the access points that are configured
with that service area. You can refresh this display by clicking Refresh. You should
refresh the display, for example, after you change an access point IP address.
4 In the Wireless Network Tree, select an access point.
You can view the properties of the selected access point by clicking Properties.
5 Click Configure.
The Configuration Management System main page appears in your Web browser.
The Configuration Management System is a Web-based tool that gives access to
the configuration parameters for the selected access point. When the tool
launches in your Web browser, configuration pages appear on the right frame.
The navigation tree used to access the configuration pages appears in the
left frame.
The first time you launch the Configuration Management System on the access
point or after you reset an access point to factory defaults, you are prompted to
set an administrative password. Although a password is not required, 3Com
recommends that you set a password to protect against unauthorized access.
After you set the password, you must enter a user name and password each time
you launch the tool on the access point. Enter a user name of your choice, and the
password that you set.
Item Description
WLAN Service Area Shows the access point Wireless LAN service area. For information on
the WLAN service area, see “Changing Network and Security Settings”
on page 43.
Device Name The default name 3ComAccessPoint_xxxx (where ‘xxxx’ is the last four
hex digits of the MAC address) can be changed. See “Changing Access
Point Properties” on page 13.
AP MAC Address This number is a unique hardware name for the access point.
IP Address This number identifies the access point’s location on the network.
Channel This number identifies the radio frequency channel in use.
Changing Access Point Properties 13
Changing Access Point
Properties
In the Configuration Management System navigation tree under System
Configuration, click Access Point Properties. The Access Point Properties page
displays the properties of the selected access point. You can change properties by
entering values in the fields and clicking the radio buttons (see the following
table). When you are finished, click Submit.
The following table describes the properties.
Property Description Default Value
Device Name This name appears in the Known Access Points
List window. You can change the default name
to one of your choice.
3ComAccessPoint_xxxx
(where xxxx is the last
four hex digits of the
MAC address)
Device Location Optionally, you can enter the location of the
access point.
None
WLAN Service Area To enable clients to roam among multiple
access points, the access points must have
identical WLAN service areas. To maintain
wireless association, the WLAN service area on
the client and the access point with which it is
associated must match exactly. Therefore, if
you are associated with the access point that
you are configuring and you change the access
point WLAN service area, make sure to change
the client WLAN service area also.
3Com Wireless Network
Help File Location ■ Web Server: Help files are located on the
network at the specified Help File Path.
■ Local Drive: Help files are located on the
client at the specified Help File Path.
Local Drive
Help File Path The location of the Configuration
Management System help files on the web
server or on the local drive.
D:WLAN?APHELP
14 CHAPTER 3: MANAGING THE WIRELESS LAN
Setting Network
Properties
In the Configuration Management System navigation tree under System
Configuration, click Network Properties. The Network Configuration page
appears, where you can change the settings shown in the table below.
Setting Description
Access Point Network This setting allows you to change the IP address of the access point.
To let the access point get an IP address automatically, click Obtain an
IP address automatically and click Save.
To specify an IP address, click Specify an IP address, enter the IP address
parameters in the spaces provided, and click Save.
If you change the IP address, you cannot continue to configure the
access point using the old IP address. Therefore, if you want to
continue configuring this access point after you save this change, you
must do the following:
1 Close your browser.
2 Return to the Access Point Management tool Wireless Network Tree
and click Refresh.
3 Select the access point and click Configure to start a new
configuration session.
When you specify an IP address, the access point cannot act as a DHCP
server. Make sure that clients are using IP addresses on the
same network.
Wireless DHCP Server If your wired network has a DHCP server, it is recommended that you
use it. However, the access point provides a DHCP server so that
operating systems that do not support automatic IP addressing can
communicate with it.
The access point’s default IP address is 169.254.xxx.1, where xxx is the
last two bytes of the access point’s MAC address. When it is acting as a
DHCP server, the access point can assign up to 253 IP addresses to
currently associated wireless clients. The IP addresses range from
169.254.xxx.2 to 169.254.xxx.254.
If the access point detects that another DHCP server is available, all
wireless clients get IP addresses from that DHCP server.
If your wired LAN DHCP server goes down, the access point assigns IP
addresses after the lease periods on the previous IP addresses expire.
To let the access point act as a DHCP server when there is no other
DHCP server available, click Enable and click Save.
To turn off the access point DHCP server capability regardless of
whether or not another DHCP server is available, click Disable and
click Save.
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