LINKSYS WPCI54G Wireless-G PCI Adapter User Manual

LINKSYS LLC Wireless-G PCI Adapter

Contents

users manual 3

Wireless-G Notebook Adapter33Instant Wireless®Series32Hop - The link between two network nodes.IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) - The IEEEdescribes itself as "the world's largest technical professional society, promotingthe development and application of electrotechnology and allied sciences forthe benefit of humanity, the advancement of the profession, and the well-beingof our members." The IEEE fosters the development of standards that often become national andinternational standards. The organization publishes a number of journals, hasmany local chapters, and several large societies in special areas, such as theIEEE Computer Society.Infrastructure Network - An infrastructure network is a group of computersor other devices, each with a wireless adapter, connected as an 802.11 wirelessLAN. In infrastructure mode, the wireless devices communicate with eachother and to a wired network by first going through an access point. An infra-structure wireless network connected to a wired network is referred to as aBasic Service Set (BSS). A set of two or more BSS in a single network isreferred to as an Extended Service Set (ESS). Infrastructure mode is useful ata corporation scale, or when it is necessary to connect the wired and wirelessnetworks.IP (Internet Protocol) - The method or protocol by which data is sent from onecomputer to another on the Internet. It is a standard set of rules, procedures, orconventions relating to the format and timing of data transmission between twocomputers that they must accept and use to be able to understand each other.IP Address - In the most widely installed level of the Internet Protocol (IP)today, an IP address is a 32-binary digit number that identifies each sender orreceiver of information that is sent in packet across the Internet. When yourequest an HTML page or send e-mail, the Internet Protocol part of TCP/IPincludes your IP address in the message (actually, in each of the packets if morethan one is required) and sends it to the IP address that is obtained by lookingup the domain name in the Uniform Resource Locator you requested or in thee-mail address you're sending a note to. At the other end, the recipient can seethe IP address of the Web page requestor or the e-mail sender and can respondby sending another message using the IP address it received. IRQ (Interrupt ReQuest) - A hardware interrupt on a PC. There are 16 IRQlines used to signal the CPU that a peripheral event has started or terminated.Except for PCI devices, two devices cannot use the same line. Driver - A workstation or server software module that provides an interfacebetween a network interface card and the upper-layer protocol software runningin the computer; it is designed for a specific card, and is installed during theinitial installation of a network-compatible client or server operating system.DSSS (Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum) - DSSS generates a redundant bitpattern for all data transmitted. This bit pattern is called a chip (or chippingcode). Even if one or more bits in the chip are damaged during transmission,statistical techniques embedded in the receiver can recover the original datawithout the need for retransmission. To an unintended receiver, DSSS appearsas low power wideband noise and is rejected (ignored) by most narrowbandreceivers. However, to an intended receiver (i.e. another wireless LAN end-point), the DSSS signal is recognized as the only valid signal, and interferenceis inherently rejected (ignored).Encryption - A security method that applies a specific algorithm to data inorder to alter the data's appearance and prevent other devices from reading theinformation. Ethernet - IEEE standard network protocol that specifies how data is placedon and retrieved from a common transmission medium. Has a transfer rate of10 Mbps. Forms the underlying transport vehicle used by several upper-levelprotocols, including TCP/IP and XNS.FHSS (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) - FHSS continuously changes(hops) the carrier frequency of a conventional carrier several times per secondaccording to a pseudo-random set of channels. Because a fixed frequency is notused, and only the transmitter and receiver know the hop patterns, interceptionof FHSS is extremely difficult.Fragmentation - Breaking a packet into smaller units when transmitting overa network medium that cannot support the original size of the packet. Gateway - A device that interconnects networks with different, incompatiblecommunications protocols. Hardware - Hardware is the physical aspect of computers, telecommunica-tions, and other information technology devices. The term arose as a way to dis-tinguish the "box" and the electronic circuitry and components of a computerfrom the program you put in it to make it do things. The program came to beknown as the software.Wireless-G Notebook AdapterPassphrase - Used much like a password, a passphrase simplifies the WEPencryption process by automatically generating the WEP encryption keys forLinksys products.PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) - A peripheral bus commonly usedin PCs, Macintoshes and workstations. It was designed primarily by Intel andfirst appeared on PCs in late 1993. PCI provides a high-speed data pathbetween the CPU and peripheral devices (video, disk, network, etc.). There aretypically three or four PCI slots on the motherboard. In a Pentium PC, there isgenerally a mix of PCI and ISA slots or PCI and EISA slots. Early on, the PCIbus was known as a "local bus."PCI provides "plug and play" capability, automatically configuring the PCIcards at startup. When PCI is used with the ISA bus, the only thing that is gen-erally required is to indicate in the CMOS memory which IRQs are already inuse by ISA cards. PCI takes care of the rest.PCI allows IRQs to be shared, which helps to solve the problem of limited IRQsavailable on a PC. For example, if there were only one IRQ left over after ISAdevices were given their required IRQs, all PCI devices could share it. In a PCI-only machine, there cannot be insufficient IRQs, as all can be shared.Plug-and-Play - The ability of a computer system to configure expansionboards and other devices automatically without requiring the user to turn offthe system during installation.Port - A pathway into and out of the computer or a network device such as aswitch or router. For example, the serial and parallel ports on a personal com-puter are external sockets for plugging in communications lines, modems andprinters.Roaming - In an infrastructure mode wireless network, this refers to the abili-ty to move out of one access point's range and into another and transparentlyreassociate and reauthenticate to the new access point. This reassociation andreauthentication should occur without user intervention and ideally withoutinterruption to network connectivity. A typical scenario would be a locationwith multiple access points, where users can physically relocate from one areato another and easily maintain connectivity.RTS (Request ToSend) - An RS-232 signal sent from the transmitting stationto the receiving station requesting permission to transmit. 35Instant Wireless®Series34ISM band - The FCC and their counterparts outside of the U.S. have set asidebandwidth for unlicensed use in the ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical)band. Spectrum in the vicinity of 2.4 GHz, in particular, is being made avail-able worldwide. This presents a truly revolutionary opportunity to place con-venient high-speed wireless capabilities in the hands of users around the globe.LAN (Local Area Network) - A group of computers and associated devices thatshare a common communications line and typically share the resources of asingle processor or server within a small geographic area (for example, withinan office building). MAC (Media Access Control) Address - A unique number assigned by themanufacturer to any Ethernet networking device, such as a network adapter,that allows the network to identify it at the hardware level.Mbps (Megabits per second) - One million bits per second; unit of measure-ment for data transmission.Motherboard - A motherboard is the physical arrangement in a computer thatcontains the computer's basic circuitry and components. Network - A system that transmits any combination of voice, video and/or databetween users. Node - A network junction or connection point, typically a computer or workstation.OFDM - Developed for wireless applications, Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiplexing (OFDM) technology offers superior performance-increased datarates and more reliable transmissions-than previous technologies, such asDSSS. OFDM is a scheme in which numerous signals of different frequenciesare combined to form a single signal for transmission on the medium. OFDM works by breaking one high-speed data stream into a number of lower-speed data streams, which are then transmitted in parallel. Each lower speedstream is used to modulate a subcarrier. Essentially, this creates a multi-carriertransmission by dividing a wide frequency band or channel into a number ofnarrower frequency bands or sub-channels. OFDM is also used for other appli-cations, including powerline networking.Packet - A unit of data routed between an origin and a destination in a network.
Wireless-G Notebook AdapterTCP (Transmission Control Protocol) - A method (protocol) used along withthe IP (Internet Protocol) to send data in the form of message units (datagram)between network devices over a LAN or WAN. While IP takes care of handlingthe actual delivery of the data (routing), TCP takes care of keeping track of theindividual units of data (called packets) that a message is divided into for effi-cient delivery over the network. TCP is known as a "connection oriented" pro-tocol due to requiring the receiver of a packet to return an acknowledgment ofreceipt to the sender of the packet resulting in transmission control.TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) - The basic com-munication language or set of protocols for communications over a network(developed specifically for the Internet). TCP/IP defines a suite or group ofprotocols and not only TCP and IP.Throughput - The amount of data moved successfully from one place toanother in a given time period.Topology - A network's topology is a logical characterization of how thedevices on the network are connected and the distances between them. Themost common network devices include hubs, switches, routers, and gateways.Most large networks contain several levels of interconnection, the most impor-tant of which include edge connections, backbone connections, and wide-areaconnections.WA N (Wide Area Network)- A communications network that covers a rela-tively large geographic area, consisting of two or more LANs. Broadband com-munication over the WAN is often through public networks such as the tele-phone (DSL) or cable systems, or through leased lines or satellites. In its mostbasic definition, the Internet could be considered a WAN.WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) - A data privacy mechanism based on a 64-bit or 128-bit shared key algorithm, as described in the IEEE 802.11 standard. WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) - A group of computers and associat-ed devices that communicate with each other wirelessly.37Instant Wireless®SeriesServer - Any computer whose function in a network is to provide user accessto files, printing, communications, and other services. Software - Instructions for the computer. A series of instructions that performsa particular task is called a "program." The two major categories of software are"system software" and "application software." System software is made up ofcontrol programs such as the operating system and database management sys-tem (DBMS). Application software is any program that processes data for theuser.A common misconception is that software is data. It is not. Software tells thehardware how to process the data.SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) - Market segment of professionals whowork at home or in small offices.Spread Spectrum - Spread Spectrum technology is a wideband radio frequen-cy technique developed by the military for use in reliable, secure, mission-crit-ical communications systems. It is designed to trade off bandwidth efficiencyfor reliability, integrity, and security. In other words, more bandwidth is con-sumed than in the case of narrowband transmission, but the trade off producesa signal that is, in effect, louder and thus easier to detect, provided that thereceiver knows the parameters of the spread-spectrum signal being broadcast.If a receiver is not tuned to the right frequency, a spread-spectrum signal lookslike background noise. There are two main alternatives, Direct SequenceSpread Spectrum (DSSS) and Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS).SSID (Service Set IDentifier) - A unique name shared among all points in awireless network. The SSID must be identical for each point in the wireless net-work and is case-sensitive. Storage - The semi-permanent or permanent holding place for digital data. Subnet Mask - The method used for splitting IP networks into a series of sub-groups, or subnets. The mask is a binary pattern that is matched up with the IPaddress to turn part of the host ID address field into a field for subnets. Switch - 1. A data switch connects computing devices to host computers,allowing a large number of devices to share a limited number of ports. 2. Adevice for making, breaking, or changing the connections in an electrical cir-cuit.36Wireless-G Notebook AdapterDimensions: 4.8" x 8.66" x 0.91" (122 mm x 220 mm x 23 mm)Unit Weight: 4.5 oz. (0.13 kg)Power: 3.3VCertifications: FCCOperating Temp.: 32ºF to 150ºF (0ºC to 65ºC) Storage Temp.: -40ºF to 185ºF (-40ºC to 85ºC) Operating Humidity: 0% to 95%, Non-CondensingStorage Humidity: 0% to 95%, Non-Condensing 39Instant Wireless®Series38EnvironmentalAppendix C: SpecificationsStandards: Draft 802.11g, 802.11bModulation: 802.11b: CCK (11 Mbps), DQPSK (2 Mbps),DBPSK (1 Mbps); 802.11g: OFDMChannels:802.11b, 11 Channels (USA)draft 802.11g 13 Channels (Europe)14 Channels (Japan) Network Protocol: TCP/IP, IPX, NDIS 4, NDIS 5, NDIS 5.1, NetBEUIInterface: PCITransmit Power: 15 dBmSensitivity: -80 dBmLED: ACTWEP Key Bits: 64-Bit and 128-Bit
Wireless-G Notebook Adapter41Instant Wireless®Series40Appendix E: Contact InformationFor help with the installation or operation of the Wireless-G PCI Adapter, con-tact Linksys Technical Support at one of the phone numbers or Internetaddresses below.Sales Information 800-546-5797 (LINKSYS)Technical Support 800-326-7114RMA (Return MerchandiseAuthorization) Issues www.linksys.com (or call 949-271-5461)Fax 949-265-6655E-mail support@linksys.comWeb http://www.linksys.comFTP Site ftp.linksys.comAppendix D: Warranty InformationBE SURE TO HAVE YOUR PROOF OF PURCHASE AND A BARCODEFROM THE PRODUCT’S PACKAGING ON HAND WHEN CALLING.RETURN REQUESTS CANNOT BE PROCESSED WITHOUT PROOF OFPURCHASE.IN NO EVENT SHALL LINKSYS’ LIABILITY EXCEED THE PRICE PAIDFOR THE PRODUCT FROM DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDEN-TAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES RESULTING FROM THE USEOF THE PRODUCT, ITS ACCOMPANYING SOFTWARE, OR ITS DOCU-MENTATION. LINKSYS DOES NOT OFFER REFUNDS FOR ANY PROD-UCT. LINKSYS OFFERS CROSS SHIPMENTS, A FASTER PROCESS FOR PRO-CESSING AND RECEIVING YOUR REPLACEMENT. LINKSYS PAYSFOR UPS GROUND ONLY. ALL CUSTOMERS LOCATED OUTSIDE OFTHE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND CANADA SHALL BE HELDRESPONSIBLE FOR SHIPPING AND HANDLING CHARGES. PLEASECALL LINKSYS FOR MORE DETAILS.© Copyright 2003 Linksys, All Rights Reserved.http://www.linksys.com

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