3Com WL-305 - Manuals

6 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 set up will probably resembl...

Product Registration and Support 7 Product Registration and Support To register your product with 3Com, go to the following Web page: http://support.3com.com/warrantyregistration/frontpg.pl For support information, see “Technical Support” on page 39 and go to the following Web page: http://support.3...

2 I NSTALLING THE W IRELESS C LIENT Installing a wireless client consists of inserting the 3Com Wireless LAN PC Card with XJACK ® Antenna in your computer and installing the software driver and utilities. If you have 3Com Administrator Utilities installed on a wireless client, you can manage access ...

10 C HAPTER 2: I NSTALLING THE W IRELESS C LIENT with a CD-ROM drive and a floppy drive and eight or more diskettes. Make sure you have enough diskettes on hand. 1 For the driver software, prepare a diskette labeled Drivers. For the rest of the software, label diskettes numerically ( Disk 1, Disk 2,...

Installing the Software 11 Installing the Software Depending on how your computer is set up, the installation program may ask for the operating system installation media (usually a CD supplied with your computer) or for a path to the operating system files. If you have other networking software inst...

12 C HAPTER 2: I NSTALLING THE W IRELESS C LIENT Set Up the PC Card After the computer restarts, the 3Com 11 Mbps Wireless LAN Client Setup window opens, in which you specify the PC Card configuration. 1 In the 3Com 11 Mbps Wireless LAN Client Setup window, select Typical and click Next . Typical co...

Confirming the Installation 15 7 In the next window, if the option to restart the computer appears, select it and click Finish . If you had a service pack installed before setting up the PC Card, reinstall it and restart the computer. This completes the basic installation. To confirm the installatio...

16 C HAPTER 2: I NSTALLING THE W IRELESS C LIENT To get the best reception: ■ Clear the area around the antenna of items that could block radio transmission, such as metal objects, electronic devices, and cordless telephones. ■ Even a slight change in antenna orientation can affect the network assoc...

Installing the Documentation 17 To enter hexadecimal keys: 1 In the Security settings window, select 40-bit Shared Key (Wi-Fi) and click Next . 2 In the Encryptions Settings window, select Hexadecimal Keys . 3 Type the encryption key sequences in the spaces provided. You must enter key sequences for...

3 U SING THE W IRELESS LAN The 3Com WLAN Launcher shows the status of your network association and allows you to perform some network association and configuration tasks. The functions of the 3Com WLAN Launcher buttons are: Access Point Refreshes the association with the access point when you are as...

20 C HAPTER 3: U SING THE W IRELESS LAN About the 3Com Icon When the 3Com WLAN Launcher is running, the 3Com icon in the Windows system tool tray displays the status of the network association: If the 3Com WLAN Launcher is hidden, click the 3Com icon to display it. You can also right-click the 3Com ...

Using the 3Com WLAN Configuration Utility 21 Using the 3Com WLAN Configuration Utility You can use the 3Com WLAN Configuration Utility window to customize the wireless client set up after installation. If you have 3Com Administrator Utilities, you can also launch administration tools. A green dotted...

22 C HAPTER 3: U SING THE W IRELESS LAN To display the 3Com WLAN Configuration Utility window: 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/3C...

4 S ETTING THE W IRELESS C LIENT C ONFIGURATION Changing Network and Security Settings You can change security and network settings for the wireless client in the Network/Security tab. 1 In the Windows system tray, click the 3Com icon to display the 3Com WLAN Launcher. If the 3Com WLAN Launcher is n...

24 C HAPTER 4: S ETTING THE W IRELESS C LIENT C ONFIGURATION 3 In the Security/Network window, WLAN Service Area displays the name of the wireless network with which the wireless PC client can associate. You can change this setting as follows: Attach to any WLAN Service Area automatically Check this...

Setting up Auto Network Connect 25 ■ Hexadecimal keys are sequences of hexadecimal digits arranged into four keys. A hexadecimal digit may be a letter from A to F or a number from 0 to 9. This type of encryption is compatible with Wi-Fi certified equipment from other manufacturers. To enter an encry...

Changing Power, Traffic, and Address Settings 27 Joining an Ad Hoc Network Session The TCP/IP or NetBEUI protocol settings of clients participating in an ad hoc network session must match. For example, TCP/IP must be configured on the same subnet and NetBEUI must be configured with the same workgrou...

28 C HAPTER 4: S ETTING THE W IRELESS C LIENT C ONFIGURATION Manually set the power management When this radio button is selected, you can select the power mode manually. You may want to select this mode, for example, if your computer cannot detect its power source or if you want to improve performa...

Running Diagnostics 29 Running Diagnostics The Diagnostics tool checks adapter presence, network connection, signal strength, and link quality. 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...

5 T ROUBLESHOOTING Diagnosing Problems The 3Com WLAN Launcher window can help you can diagnose problems. To display the 3Com WLAN Launcher, double click the 3Com icon in the Windows system tray. If you have difficulty using the PC Card, try the solutions in the following table. If you continue to ex...

32 C HAPTER 5: T ROUBLESHOOTING The PC Card LED indicates the following: Using the Tools Window In the Tools window you can change your password, run diagnostics, or upgrade the PC card firmware. If you have 3Com Administrator Utilities, you can also connect to the access point and perform managemen...

Uninstalling the Card 33 ■ “Running Diagnostics” on page 29 ■ “Upgrading PC Card Firmware” on page 34 Uninstalling the Card Previous installations or interrupted installation attempts sometimes leave problems that affect card operation. Possible problems include: ■ PC Card fails to function. ■ Opera...

A W INDOWS NT I NSTALLATION W ITHOUT N ETWORKING I NSTALLED Use the following procedure to install the PC Card software while you are installing Windows NT Networking. For details on installing networking, see your Windows NT documentation. Install Files and Networking 1 Make sure that the computer ...

36 C HAPTER A: W INDOWS NT I NSTALLATION W ITHOUT N ETWORKING I NSTALLED 14 Click Next . The Windows NT Setup windows asks for the location of the Windows NT installation files. 15 Remove the 3Com CD from the CD-ROM drive, put the Windows NT CD in the drive and wait for it to spin up to speed. Make ...

B T ECHNICAL S UPPORT 3Com provides easy access to technical support information through a variety of services. This appendix describes these services. Information contained in this appendix is correct at time of publication. For the most recent information, 3Com recommends that you access the 3Com ...

40 A PPENDIX B: T ECHNICAL S UPPORT Support from Your Network Supplier If you require additional assistance, contact your network supplier. Many suppliers are authorized 3Com service partners who are qualified to provide a variety of services, including network planning, installation, hardware maint...

42 A PPENDIX B: T ECHNICAL S UPPORT Returning Products for Repair Before you send a product directly to 3Com for repair, you must first obtain an authorization number. Products sent to 3Com without authorization numbers will be returned to the sender unopened, at the sender’s expense. To obtain an a...

I NDEX Numbers 128-bit Dynamic Security Link 24, 25 3Com Administrator Utilities CD 9 3Com CDs 9 3Com End User Utilities CD 9 3Com icon, in Windows system tray 20 3Com Knowledgebase Web Services 39 3Com URL 39 3Com WLAN Configuration Utility 21 3Com WLAN Launcher 19 buttons 19 starting 15, 22, 23, 2...

R EGULATORY C OMPLIANCE I NFORMATION FCC R ADIO -F REQUENCY E XPOSURE N OTICE This device generates and radiates radio-frequency energy. In order to comply with FCC radio-frequency radiation exposure guidelines for an uncontrolled environment, this equipment has to be installed and operated while ma...