Acer 11b User manual

Acer WLAN 11b Broadband
Router
User Manual
Version: 1.1

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Terminology
ANSI American National Standards Institute
AP Access Point
CCK Complementary Code Keying
CSMA/CA Carrier Sense Multiple Access/ Collision Avoidance
CSMA/CD Carrier Sense Multiple Access/ Collision Detection
DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
DSSS Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum
FCC Federal Communications Commission
FTP File Transfer Protocol
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers
IP Internet Protocol
ISM Industrial, Scientific and Medical
LAN Local Area Network
MAC Media Access Control
NAT Network Address Translation
NT Network Termination
PSD Power Spectral Density
RF Radio Frequency
SNR Signal to Noise Ratio
SSID Service Set Identification
TCP Transmission Control Protocol
TFTP Trivial File Transfer Protocol
WEP Wired Equivalent Privacy
WLAN Wireless Local Area Network

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Table of Contents
TERMINOLOGY .............................................................................................................................I
1INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................................1
1.1 PACKAGE CONTENTS ........................................................................................................... 1
1.2 PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS .................................................................................................. 1
1.3 PRODUCT FEATURES ........................................................................................................... 2
1.4 FRONT PANEL DESCRIPTION................................................................................................ 2
1.5 REAR PANEL DESCRIPTION.................................................................................................. 3
2INSTALLATION ..................................................................................................................... 5
2.1 HARDWARE INSTALLATION ................................................................................................. 5
2.2 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION................................................................................................... 5
3SOFTWARE CONFIGURATION ......................................................................................... 6
3.1 PREPARE YOUR PC TO CONFIGURE ACER WLAN 11B BROADBAND ROUTER ..................... 6
3.2 CONNECT TO ACER WLAN 11B BROADBAND ROUTER ...................................................... 8
3.3 MANAGEMENT AND CONFIGURATION ON ACER WLAN 11B BROADBAND ROUTER ............ 8
3.3.1 STATUS ............................................................................................................................ 8
3.3.2 WIRELESS BASIC SETTINGS .......................................................................................... 10
3.3.3 WIRELESS ADVANCED SETTINGS .................................................................................. 11
3.3.4 WIRELESS SECURITY SETUP.......................................................................................... 13
3.3.5 WIRELESS ACCESS CONTROL........................................................................................ 14
3.3.6 LAN INTERFACE SETUP ................................................................................................ 16
3.3.7 WAN INTERFACE SETUP ............................................................................................... 17
3.3.8 FIREWALL - PORT FILTERING......................................................................................... 20
3.3.9 FIREWALL - IP FILTERING ............................................................................................. 21
3.3.10 FIREWALL - MAC FILTERING........................................................................................ 22
3.3.11 FIREWALL - PORT FORWARDING .................................................................................... 23
3.3.12 FIREWALL - DMZ.......................................................................................................... 25
3.3.13 STATISTICS .................................................................................................................... 26
3.3.14 UPGRADE FIRMWARE .................................................................................................... 27
3.3.15 SAV E / RELOAD SETTINGS ............................................................................................. 27
3.3.16 PASSWORD SETUP ......................................................................................................... 28

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4FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQ).................................................................... 30
4.1 WHAT AND HOW TO FIND MY PC’S IP AND MAC ADDRESS? ............................................. 30
4.2 WHAT IS WIRELESS LAN? ................................................................................................ 30
4.3 WHAT ARE ISM BANDS? ................................................................................................... 30
4.4 HOW DOES WIRELESS NETWORKING WORK?...................................................................... 30
4.5 WHAT IS BSSID? .............................................................................................................. 31
4.6 WHAT IS ESSID? .............................................................................................................. 31
4.7 WHAT ARE POTENTIAL FACTORS THAT MAY CAUSES INTERFERENCE? ................................ 32
4.8 WHAT ARE THE OPEN SYSTEM AND SHARED KEY AUTHENTICATIONS? ............................. 32
4.9 WHAT IS WEP? ................................................................................................................. 32
4.10 WHAT IS FRAGMENT THRESHOLD?.................................................................................... 32
4.11 WHAT IS RTS (R EQUEST TO SEND) THRESHOLD?............................................................. 33
4.12 WHAT IS BEACON INTERVAL?............................................................................................ 33
4.13 WHAT IS PREAMBLE TYPE? ............................................................................................... 34
4.14 WHAT IS SSID BROADCAST? ............................................................................................ 34

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1 Introduction
Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router is an affordable IEEE 802.11b wireless LAN broadband
router solution, setting SOHO and enterprise standard for high performance, secure,
manageable and reliable WLAN.
This document describes the steps required for the initial IP address assign and other WLAN
router configuration. The description includes the implementation of the above steps.
Notice: It will take about 25 seconds to complete the boot up sequence after powered on
the Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router; all LEDs are blank while booting
except the Power LED, and after that the WLAN Activity LED will be flashing
to show the WLAN interface is enabled and working now.
1.1 Package contents
The package of Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router includes the following items,
 Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router
 The AC to DC power adapter
 User’s Manual
1.2 Product Specifications
Product Name Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router
Standard 801.11b(Wireless), 802.3(10BaseT), 802.3u(100BaseT)
Data Transfer Rate 11Mbps(Wireless), 100Mbps(Ethernet)
Modulation Method DBPSK/ DQPSK/ CCK
Frequency Band 2.4GHz – 2.497GJz ISM Band, DSSS
RF Output Power < 17 dBm
Receiver Sensitivity 11Mbps better than 8% PER @ -88 dBm
Operation Range 30 to 300 meters (depend on surrounding)
Antenna External Antenna
LED Power, Active (WLAN), Act/Link (Ethernet)
Security 64 bit/ 128 bit WEP, port filtering, IP filtering, MAC
filtering, port forwarding and DMZ hosting
LAN interface One 10/100BaseT with RJ45 connector (WAN)
Four 10/100BaseT with RJ45 connectors (LAN)
Power Consumption 9V DC Power Adapter

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Dimension 160 x 110 x 35 mm
Operating Temperature 0 – 50oC ambient temperature
Storage Temperature -20 - 70oC ambient temperature
Humidity 5 to 90 % maximum (non-condensing)
1.3 Product Features
 Complies with IEEE 802.11b standard for 2.4GHz Wireless LAN.
 Supports 11Mbps data transfer rate with automatic fallback to 5.5M, 2M and
1Mbps.
 Supports bridging, routing functions between wireless and wired Ethernet
interfaces.
 Supports 64-bit and 128-bit WEP encryption/decryption function to protect the
wireless data transmission.
 Supports IEEE 802.3x full duplex flow control on 10/100M Ethernet interface.
 Supports DHCP server to provide clients auto IP addresses assignment.
 Supports DHCP client for Ethernet WAN interface auto IP address assignment.
 Supports static and dynamic IP routing.
 Supports PPPoE on Ethernet WAN interface.
 Supports clone MAC address function.
 Supports firewall security with port filtering, IP filtering, MAC filtering, port
forwarding, trigger port and DMZ hosting functions.
 Supports WEB based management and configuration.
1.4 Front Panel Description
Figure 1 – Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router Front Panel
LED Indicator State Description
1. Power LED On Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router is powered on.
Off Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router is powered off.

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2. WLAN Activity LED Flashing Data is transmitting or receiving on the antenna.
Off No data is transmitting or receiving on the antenna.
3. WAN ACT LED Flashing Data is transmitting or receiving on the WAN interface.
Off No data is transmitting or receiving on the WAN
interface.
4. WAN 10/100M LED On Connection speed is 100Mbps on WAN interface.
Off Connection speed is 10Mbps on WAN interface.
5. LAN ACT LED Flashing Data is transmitting or receiving on the LAN interface.
Off No data is transmitting or receiving on the LAN
interface.
6. LAN 10/100M LED On Connection speed is 100Mbps on LAN interface.
Off Connection speed is 10Mbps on LAN interface.
1.5 Rear Panel Description
Figure 2 Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router Rear Panel
Interfaces Description
1. WAN The RJ-45 socket allows WAN connection through a Category 5 cable.
Support auto-sensing on 10/100M speed and half/ full duplex; comply with
IEEE 802.3/ 802.3u respectively.
2. LAN The RJ-45 sockets allow LAN connection through Category 5 cables.
Support auto-sensing on 10/100M speed and half/ full duplex; comply with
IEEE 802.3/ 802.3u respectively.
WAN LAN Powe
r
Antenna

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3. Power The power jack allows an external DC +9 V power supply connection.
The external AC to DC adaptor provide adaptive power requirement to the
WLAN Broadband Router.
4. Antenna The Wireless LAN Antenna.

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2 Installation
2.1 Hardware Installation
Step One: Place Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router to the best optimum transmission
location.
The best transmission location for Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router is usually at
the geographic center of your wireless network, with line of sign to all of your
mobile stations.
Step Two: Connect Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router to your wired network.
Connect the Ethernet WAN interface of Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router by
category 5 Ethernet cable to your switch/ hub/ xDSL modem or cable modem. A
straight-through Ethernet cable with appropriate cable length is needed.
Step Three: Supply DC power to Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router.
Use only the AC/DC power adapter supplied with Acer WLAN 11b Broadband
Router; it may occur damage by using a different type of power adapter.
The hardware installation finished.
2.2 Software Installation
 There are no software drivers, patches or utilities installation needed, but only the
configuration setting. Please refer to chapter 3 for software configuration.

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3 Software configuration
There are web based management and configuration functions allowing you to have the jobs
done easily.
Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router is delivered with the following factory default parameters
on the Ethernet LAN interfaces.
Default IP Address: 192.168.1.254
Default IP subnet mask: 255.255.255.0
WEB login User Name: <empty>
WEB login Password: <empty>
3.1 Prepare your PC to configure Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router
For OS of Microsoft Windows 95/ 98/ Me:
1. Click the Start button and select Settings, then click Control Panel. The Control
Panel window will appear.
Note: Windows Me users may not see the Network control panel. If so, select View
all Control Panel options on the left side of the window
2. Move mouse and double-click the right button on Network icon. The Network
window will appear.
3. Check the installed list of Network Components. If TCP/IP is not installed, click the
Add button to install it; otherwise go to step 6.
4. Select Protocol in the Network Component Type dialog box and click Add button.
5. Select TCP/IP in Microsoft of Select Network Protocol dialog box then click OK
button to install the TCP/IP protocol, it may need the Microsoft Windows CD to
complete the installation. Close and go back to Network dialog box after the TCP/IP
installation.
6. Select TCP/IP and click the properties button on the Network dialog box.
7. Select Specify an IP address and type in values as following example.
 IP Address: 192.168.1.1, any IP address within 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.253 is
good to connect the Wireless LAN Access Point.
 IP Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
8. Click OK and reboot your PC after completes the IP parameters setting.
For OS of Microsoft Windows 2000, XP:
1. Click the Start button and select Settings, then click Control Panel. The Control
Panel window will appear.

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2. Move mouse and double-click the right button on Network and Dial-up Connections
icon. Move mouse and double-click the Local Area Connection icon. The Local Area
Connection window will appear. Click Properties button in the Local Area
Connection window.
3. Check the installed list of Network Components. If TCP/IP is not installed, click the
Add button to install it; otherwise go to step 6.
4. Select Protocol in the Network Component Type dialog box and click Add button.
5. Select TCP/IP in Microsoft of Select Network Protocol dialog box then click OK
button to install the TCP/IP protocol, it may need the Microsoft Windows CD to
complete the installation. Close and go back to Network dialog box after the TCP/IP
installation.
6. Select TCP/IP and click the properties button on the Network dialog box.
7. Select Specify an IP address and type in values as following example.
 IP Address: 192.168.1.1, any IP address within 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.253 is
good to connect the Wireless LAN Access Point.
 IP Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
8. Click OK to completes the IP parameters setting.
For OS of Microsoft Windows NT:
1. Click the Start button and select Settings, then click Control Panel. The Control
Panel window will appear.
2. Move mouse and double-click the right button on Network icon. The Network
window will appear. Click Protocol tab from the Network window.
3. Check the installed list of Network Protocol window. If TCP/IP is not installed, click
the Add button to install it; otherwise go to step 6.
4. Select Protocol in the Network Component Type dialog box and click Add button.
5. Select TCP/IP in Microsoft of Select Network Protocol dialog box then click OK
button to install the TCP/IP protocol, it may need the Microsoft Windows CD to
complete the installation. Close and go back to Network dialog box after the TCP/IP
installation.
6. Select TCP/IP and click the properties button on the Network dialog box.
7. Select Specify an IP address and type in values as following example.
 IP Address: 192.168.1.1, any IP address within 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.253 is
good to connect the Wireless LAN Access Point.
 IP Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0
8. Click OK to completes the IP parameters setting.

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3.2 Connect to Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router
Open a WEB browser, i.e. Microsoft Internet Explore, then enter 192.168.1.254 on the
URL to connect Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router.
3.3 Management and configuration on Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router
3.3.1 Status
This page shows the current status and some basic settings of the device, includes
system, wireless, Ethernet LAN and WAN configuration information.
Screenshot – Status-1

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Screenshot – Status-2
Item Description
System
Alias Name It shows the alias name of Acer WLAN 11b Broadband
Router.
Uptime It shows the duration since Acer WLAN 11b Broadband
Router is powered on.
Firmware version It shows the firmware version of Acer WLAN 11b
Broadband Router.
Wireless configuration
SSID It shows the SSID of Acer WLAN 11b Broadband
Router.
The SSID is the unique name of Acer WLAN 11b
Broadband Router and shared among its service area, so
all devices attempts to join the same wireless network
can identify it.
Channel Number It shows the wireless channel connected currently.
WEP It shows the status of WEP encryption function.
Associated Clients It shows the number of connected clients (or stations,
PCs).

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BSSID It shows the BSSID address of Acer WLAN 11b
Broadband Router. BSSID is a six-byte address.
LAN configuration
IP Address It shows the IP address of LAN interfaces of Acer
WLAN 11b Broadband Router.
Subnet Mask It shows the IP subnet mask of LAN interfaces of Acer
WLAN 11b Broadband Router.
Default Gateway It shows the default gateway setting for LAN interfaces
outgoing data packets.
DHCP Server It shows the DHCP server is enabled or not.
MAC Address It shows the MAC address of LAN interfaces of Acer
WLAN 11b Broadband Router.
WAN configuration
Attain IP Protocol It shows how Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router gets
the IP address. The IP address can be set manually to a
fixed one or set dynamically by DHCP server or attain IP
by PPPoE connection.
IP Address It shows the IP address of WAN interface of Acer WLAN
11b Broadband Router.
Subnet Mask It shows the IP subnet mask of WAN interface of Acer
WLAN 11b Broadband Router.
Default Gateway It shows the default gateway setting for WAN interface
outgoing data packets.
MAC Address It shows the MAC address of WAN interface of Acer
WLAN 11b Broadband Router.
3.3.2 Wireless Basic Settings
This page is used to configure the parameters for wireless LAN clients that may
connect to your Broadband Router. Here you may change wireless encryption
settings as well as wireless network parameters.

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Screenshot – Wireless Basic Settings
Item Description
Alias Name It is the alias name of Acer WLAN 11b Broadband
Router. The alias name can be 32 characters long.
Disable Wireless LAN
Interface
Tick on to disable the wireless LAN data transmission.
SSID It is the wireless network name. The SSID can be 32
bytes long.
Channel Number Select the wireless communication channel from
pull-down menu.
Associated Clients Click the Show Active Clients button to open Active
Wireless Client Table that shows the MAC address,
transmit-packet, receive-packet and transmission-rate for
each associated wireless client.
Apply Changes Click the Apply Changes button to complete the new
configuration setting.
Reset Click the Reset button to abort change and recover the
previous configuration setting.
3.3.3 Wireless Advanced Settings
These settings are only for more technically advanced users who have a sufficient

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knowledge about wireless LAN. These settings should not be changed unless you
know what effect the changes will have on Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router.
Screenshot – Wireless Advanced Settings
Item Description
Authentication Type Click to select the authentication type in Open System,
Shared Key or Auto selection.
Fragment Threshold Set the data packet fragmentation threshold, value can be
written between 256 and 2346 bytes. Refer to 4.10 What
is Fragment Threshold?
RTS Threshold Set the RTS Threshold, value can be written between 0
and 2347 bytes. Refer to 4.11 What is RTS (Request To
Send) Threshold?
Beacon Interval Set the Beacon Interval, value can be written between 20
and 1024 ms.
Refer to 4.12 What is Beacon Interval?
Data Rate Select the transmission data rate from pull-down menu.
Data rate can be auto-select, 11M, 5.5M, 2M or 1Mbps.
Preamble Type Click to select the Long Preamble or Short Preamble
support on the wireless data packet transmission. Refer to

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4.13 What is Preamble Type?
Broadcast SSID Click to enable or disable the SSID broadcast function.
Refer to 4.14 What is SSID Broadcast?
Apply Changes Click the Apply Changes button to complete the new
configuration setting.
Reset Click the Reset button to abort change and recover the
previous configuration setting.
3.3.4 Wireless Security Setup
This page allows you setup the WEP security. Turn on WEP by using encryption
keys could prevent any unauthorized access to your wireless network.
Screenshot – Wireless Security Setup
Item Description
Enable WEP Security Click the check box to enable WEP security function.
Refer to 4.9 What is WEP?
Key Length Select the WEP shared secret key length from pull-down
menu. The length can be chose between 64-bit and
128-bit (known as “WEP2”) keys.
The WEP key is composed of initialization vector (24

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bits) and secret key (40-bit or 104-bit).
Key Format Select the WEP shared secret key format from pull-down
menu. The format can be chose between plant text
(ASCII) and hexadecimal (HEX) code.
Default Tx Key Set the default secret key for WEP security function.
Value can be chose between 1 and 4.
Encryption Key 1 Secret key 1 of WEP security encryption function.
Encryption Key 2 Secret key 2 of WEP security encryption function.
Encryption Key 3 Secret key 3 of WEP security encryption function.
Encryption Key 4 Secret key 4 of WEP security encryption function.
Apply Changes Click the Apply Changes button to complete the new
configuration setting.
Reset Click the Reset button to abort change and recover the
previous configuration setting.
WEP encryption key (secret key) length:
Length
Format 64-bit 128-bit
ASCII 5 characters 13 characters
HEX 10 hexadecimal codes 26 hexadecimal codes
3.3.5 Wireless Access Control
If you enable wireless access control, only those clients whose wireless MAC
addresses are in the access control list will be able to connect to your Access Point.
When this option is enabled, no wireless clients will be able to connect if the list
contains no entries.

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Screenshot – Wireless Access Control
Item Description
Enable WEP Security Click the check box to enable wireless access control.
This is a security control function; only those clients
registered in the access control list can link to Acer
WLAN 11b Broadband Router.
MAC Address Fill in the MAC address of client to register Acer WLAN
11b Broadband Router access capability.
Comment Fill in the comments for the registered client.
Apply Changes Click the Apply Changes button to register the client to
new configuration setting.
Reset Click the Reset button to abort change and recover the
previous configuration setting.
Current Access
Control List
It shows the registered clients that are allowed to link to
Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router.
Delete Selected Click to delete the selected clients that will be access
right removed from Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router.
Delete All Click to delete all the registered clients from the access
allowed list.
Reset Click the Reset button to abort change and recover the

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previous configuration setting.
3.3.6 LAN Interface Setup
This page is used to configure the parameters for local area network that connects
to the LAN ports of Acer WLAN 11b Broadband Router. Here you may change
the setting for IP address, subnet mask, DHCP, etc.
Screenshot – LAN Interface Setup
Item Description
IP Address Fill in the IP address of LAN interfaces of Acer WLAN
11b Broadband Router.
Subnet Mask Fill in the subnet mask of LAN interfaces of Acer WLAN
11b Broadband Router.
Default Gateway Fill in the default gateway for LAN interfaces out going
data packets.
DHCP Server Select to enable or disable the DHCP server function on
LAN interfaces from pull-down menu.
DHCP Client Range Fill in the start IP address and end IP address to allocate a
range of IP addresses; client with DHCP function set will
be assign a IP address from the range.