3e Technologies International 3e-522AW User manual

3e-522AW
Wireless Access Point
for use with the AirWave Management Platform
3e Technologies International
700 King Farm Blvd., Suite 600
Rockville MD 20850
[phone] www.3eti.com
29000100.001
User’s Guide

Intentionally left blank

3e-522AW
Wireless Access Point
User’s Guide
for use with the AirWave Management Platform
3e Technologies International, 700 King Farm Blvd
Rockville, MD 20850 [phone]
www.3eti.com

ii
Copyright © 2002 3e Technologies International, Inc. All rights reserved. No
part of this documentation may be reproduced in any form or by any means
or to make any derivative work (such as translation, transformation, or
adaptation) without written permission from 3e Technologies International.
3e Technologies International reserves the right to revise this documentation
and to make changes in content from time to time without obligation on the
part of 3e Technologies International to provide notification of such revision
or change.
3e Technologies International 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. 3e
Technologies International 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 or removable media described in this
documentation, it is furnished under a license agreement included with the
product as a separate document, in the printed documentation, or on the
removable media in a readable file such as license.txt or the like. If you are
unable to locate a copy of the license, contact 3e Technologies International
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 product 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 3e Technologies International’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.
3e Technologies International and the 3e Technologies International logo are
registered trademarks.
Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Macintosh and
Mac OS are registered trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.
Palm and Palm OS are registered trademarks of Palm, Inc.
AirWave and AirWave Management Platform are trademarks of AirWave
Wireless, Inc.
Targus and the Defcon CL notebook cable lock are trademarks and/or
registered trademarks of Targus, Inc.
Any other company and product name mentioned herein are trademarks of
the respective companies with which they are associated.
EXPORT RESTRICTIONS
This 3e Technologies International product contains encryption and may
require U.S. and/or local government authorization prior to export to
another country.

iii
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................. 1
Configuration ............................................................................................................ 1
Security Policy .......................................................................................................... 2
3e-522AW Features that support the AirWave Management Platform ............ 2
Data Encryption and Security ................................................................................ 3
SSID .......................................................................................................................... 3
WEP Encryption ..................................................................................................... 3
Channel Numbers .................................................................................................. 3
MAC Address Filtering ......................................................................................... 3
Management.............................................................................................................. 3
Chapter 2: Set up Procedure for the 3e-522AW Wireless Access Point ................ 5
Preparation for use ................................................................................................... 5
Installation Instructions ........................................................................................... 5
System and component requirements ................................................................... 6
Ensure the cabling is correctly installed................................................................ 6
Wiring for PoE Use ................................................................................................ 6
Alternate Wiring for AC Current Use ................................................................. 7
The Indicator Lights (LEDs) ................................................................................. 8
Chapter 3: 3e-522AW Wireless Access Point Internal Management Functions.. 9
Introduction ............................................................................................................... 9
Information you will need ...................................................................................... 9
Initial setup using the “Local” port ....................................................................... 9
General administration .......................................................................................... 15
Admin .................................................................................................................... 15
Status Monitor ...................................................................................................... 16
MISC ...................................................................................................................... 16
Chapter 4: General Information ................................................................................ 19
Setup of Wireless Devices ..................................................................................... 19
Troubleshooting ...................................................................................................... 19
Technical Support ................................................................................................... 19
Safety Information .................................................................................................. 20
Glossary ......................................................................................................................... g-i
Index ................................................................................................................................ i-i

iv

1
Chapter 1: Introduction
The 3e-522AW Wireless Access Point is a next generation solution
providing high encryption and compatibility with the AirWave™ Man-
agement Platform™ (AMP). The AMP system is a solution enabling
centralized monitoring and control of diverse components of a WLAN.
The AMP platform collects performance and operations data from mul-
tiple network elements, analyzes the data, and stores it in a relational
database. The AMP Server permits the network administration staff to
provide the highest possible level of security with a flexible management
tool.
Effective management requires the ability to monitor the perfor-
mance of the entire network infrastructure. Wireless networks have
many unique technology characteristics that must be monitored closely
for optimal performance, such as radio signal strength, channel interfer-
ence, throughput, etc. The AMP server in conjunction with 3e-522 Wire-
less Access Point provides the following capabilities:
Real-time Polling
AMP polls all network devices at preset intervals, providing the IT
staff a comprehensive, up-to-date view of their entire WLAN on a single
console.
Alerting
AMP’s alerting package notifies the IT staff when network perfor-
mance problems are detected so that help desk personnel can address
issues before users are affected.
Reporting
AMP stores key performance data in an integrated relational data-
base and generates reports so an IT organization can determine what
changes need to be made to optimize the long-term performance of their
WLAN.
Configuration
The AMP server enables efficient, centralized configuration of access
points (APs) using the following capabilities:

3e-522AW Wireless Access Point
2
AP and Radio Control
AMP allows IT personnel to control key AP settings (channel set-
tings, SSID, etc.) from a central location.
Grouping
With AMP, the IT organization can establish “logical groups” of
access points, making global changes to settings instead of configuring
each individual access point.
Scheduling
AMP’s scheduling module enables the IT organization to determine
whether configuration changes should be applied immediately or at a
specified future time, which minimizes the impact on the user experience
and controls the deployment of configuration changes.
Version Control
AMP enables the application of firmware upgrades from a central
location, allowing the IT organization to determine when and how these
upgrades will be applied to network devices.
Security Policy
Different organizations can implement enterprise-specific security
requirements and employ different security policies, using the AMP. The
3e-522AW can accept WEP, and AMP employs RADIUS authentication
and VPN. AMP serves as a data repository and monitoring tool to enable
effective management of the organization’s security.
RADIUS & VPN Integration
AMP integrates with RADIUS and VPN servers to extend authentica-
tion to the access point, enabling the management of security policies
from a central console and incorporating accounting data into the net-
work management console. AirWave also provides access point software
to facilitate the implementation of VPN-based security solution.
Rogue AP Detection
AMP enables the use of an enterprise’s authenticated access point to
detect other, unsecured access points that have been deployed in the
enterprise, alerting the IT department to their presence and location.
3e-522AW Features that support the AirWave Management
Platform
The 3e-522AW Wireless Access Point has incorporated the following
features specifically to support the requirements of the AirWave Manage-
ment Platform:
• SNMP v3
• HTTPS
• TCP Sockets
•VTun
• Manual configuration process (HTTP)
The 3e-522AW is a fully AirWave-enabled Access Point.

Chapter 1: Introduction
3
Data Encryption and Security
The 3e-522AW Wireless Access Point includes standard wireless
security features such as WEP Encryption and MAC Address authentica-
tion. However, the 3e-522AW is intended for (and pre-configured for)
Plug and Play use with the AirWave AMP, so use of management func-
tions resident on the device is unnecessary under usual circumstances.
The AMP will provide management and security functions.
SSID
The Service Set ID (SSID) is a string used to define a common roam-
ing domain among multiple wireless access points. Different SSIDs on
APs can enable overlapping wireless networks. The SSID can act as a
basic password without which the client cannot connect to the network.
The AMP server will assign the SSID.
WEP Encryption
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) may be invoked. The 3e-522AW
provides 64-bit and 128-bit RC-4 algorithm-based WEP encryption.
However, we recommend that it not be invoked when the 3e-522AW is
used as part of the AMP network.
Channel Numbers
Channel numbers should be used when a number of access points are
set up on the same WLAN, to minimize interference. Using channel
number 1, 6, 11 in sequence on subsequent access points in a series
minimizes the wave overlap. The AMP server assigns Channel numbers.
MAC Address Filtering
The MAC address, short for Media Access Control address, is a hard-
ware address that uniquely identifies each node of a network. In IEEE
802 networks, the Data Link Control (DLC) layer of the OSI Reference
Model is divided into two sub-layers: the Logical Link Control (LLC) layer
and the Media Access Control (MAC) layer. The MAC layer interfaces
directly with the network media. Consequently, each type of network
media requires a unique MAC address.
We recommend not using the MAC Address Filtering feature with
the 3e-522AW when used as part of the AirWave AMP network.
Authentication is the process of proving a client identity. The AP
device detects an attempt to connect by a client and compares the client’s
MAC address to those on a predefined MAC-address filter list. Only
client addresses found on the list are allowed to associate. MAC ad-
dresses are assigned and registered to each of the wireless cards used by
the portable computing devices during initial setup and after physical
installation of the AP devices.
Management
Very little management of the 3e-522AW AP is required. The device
should not be powered on until after the AMP server is configured and
the VPN and DHCP server configured. The AMP management tools

3e-522AW Wireless Access Point
4
then take over centralized management of the network as the AP comes
on line.
The next chapter reviews the basic procedure for setting up the
hardware.