Asus WL-169GE User manual

User Manual
Wireless Local Area Network Card
WL-169gE
(For 802.11g & 802.11b Wireless Networks)
®
E 2358/ Dec 2005
802.11g Broad Range

2 ASUS WLAN Card
No part of this manual, including the products and software described in it,
may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system,
or translated into any language in any form or by any means, except
documentation kept by the purchaser for backup purposes, without the
express written permission of ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. (“ASUS”).
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Product warranty or service will not be extended if: (1) the product is repaired,
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Products and corporate names appearing in this manual may or may not be
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intent to infringe.
SPECIFICATIONS AND INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS MANUAL
ARE FURNISHED FOR INFORMATIONAL USE ONLY, AND ARE SUBJECT
TO CHANGE AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE, AND SHOULD NOT
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RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR ANY ERRORS OR INACCURACIES
THAT MAY APPEAR IN THIS MANUAL, INCLUDING THE PRODUCTS AND
SOFTWARE DESCRIBED IN IT.
Copyright © 2005 ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright Information

ASUS WLAN Card 3
ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC.
Company address: 15 Li-Te Road, Beitou, Taipei 11259
General (tel): [phone]
Web site address: www.asus.com.tw
General (fax): [phone]
General email: [email protected]
Technical support
General support (tel): [phone]
Online support: http://support.asus.com
ASUS COMPUTER INTERNATIONAL (America)
Company address: 44370 Nobel Drive, Fremont, CA 94538, USA
General (fax): [phone]
Web site address: usa.asus.com
Technical support
General support (tel): [phone]
Online support: http://support.asus.com
Notebook (tel): [phone] x5110
Support (fax): [phone]
ASUS COMPUTER GmbH (Germany & Austria)
Company address: Harkort Str. 25, D-40880 Ratingen, Germany
General (tel): [phone]
Web site address: www.asuscom.de
General (fax): [phone]
Online contact: www.asuscom.de/sales
Technical support
Component support: [phone]
Online support: http://support.asus.com
Notebook support: [phone]
Support (fax): [phone]
Contact Information

4 ASUS WLAN Card
1. Introduction ..............................................................................5
Overview ................................................................................................5
Package contents ..................................................................................6
Features .................................................................................................6
2. Installation ................................................................................7
System Requirements ...........................................................................7
Installation Procedures ..........................................................................7
Installing the WLAN utilities and driver .............................................7
Reading the WLAN Status Indicators ...............................................8
One Touch Wizard ............................................................................9
Configuring with the WLAN utility (Infrastructure) ..........................10
Configuring with the WLAN utility (Ad Hoc) ....................................11
3. Software Reference ................................................................12
ASUS WLAN Control Center ...............................................................12
Wireless Settings Utility .......................................................................14
Status - Status ................................................................................14
Status - Connection ........................................................................16
Status - IP Config ...........................................................................17
Status - Ping ...................................................................................17
Config - Basic .................................................................................18
Config - Advanced ..........................................................................19
Config - Encryption .........................................................................21
Config - Authentication ...................................................................24
Survey - Site Survey ......................................................................24
About - Version Info ........................................................................25
Link State .......................................................................................26
Exit Wireless Settings ....................................................................26
Windows® XP Wireless Options ...........................................................27
4. Troubleshooting .....................................................................29
5. Glossary ..................................................................................31
6. Appendix .................................................................................39
Table of Contents

ASUS WLAN Card 5
Chapter 1
Introduction
Chapter 1 - Introduction
1. Introduction
Overview
Thank you for purchasing the ASUS WLAN Card!
The ASUS WLAN Card is an easy-to-install and use wireless LAN adapter and
is designed to be fully compliant with both the IEEE 802.11g and IEE802.11b
wireless local area network (Wireless LAN) standards. As a result of the
completion of the standard, the interoperability of Wireless LAN products
among multiple manufacturers will be guaranteed. The ASUS WLAN Card
product provides high-speed, standards-based Wireless LAN solutions.
The ASUS WLAN Card is designed to be fully compliant with IEEE 802.11g
wireless local area networks (WLAN). 802.11g is an extension to 802.11b, used
in majority of wireless LANs today. 802.11g will broaden 802.11b's data rates to
54 Mbps within the 2.4 GHz band using OFDM (orthogonal frequency division
multiplexing) technology. 802.11g allows backward compatibility with 802.11b
devices but only at 11 Mbps or lower depending on the range and presence of
obstructions.
The ASUS WLAN Card supports data rates up to 11 Mbps, with automatic
fallback to 5.5, 2, and 1 Mbps in 802.11b networks. It operates in the unlicensed
2.4 GHz frequencies called the Instrumentation, Science, and Medical (ISM)
band. Unlicensed means free of charge to users.
The ASUS WLAN Card configuration utility is a user-friendly application that
helps you quickly setup multiple roaming nodes using the ASUS WLAN Card.
You can even export the configuration settings to a file and import them to other
computers for fast multiple installations using ASUS Mobile Manager. Wireless
LANs are complementary extensions to existing wired LANs, offering complete
mobility while maintaining continuous network connectivity to both corporate
and home Intranets. They add a new level of convenience for LAN users. PC
users stay connected to the network anywhere throughout a building without
being bound by a LAN wires. This is accomplished through the use of ASUS
WLAN Access Points or ASUS WLAN Home Gateways. ASUS WLAN Home
Gateways with built-in Internet gateway capability, allows your family to share a
broadband Modem and one ISP account simultaneously from different rooms
without wires! ASUS WLAN products can keep you connected anywhere, any
time.

6 ASUS WLAN Card
Chapter 1
Introduction
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Package contents
Check the following items in your ASUS USB Wireless LAN Adapter
package. Contact your retailer if any item is damaged or missing.
ASUS USB Wireless LAN Adapter (WL-169gE)
USB 2.0 extension cable (type A to type A)
Neck lace
Support CD
Quick Start Guide
USB 2.0 Extension cable Neck lace
Neck strap quick release USB Wireless LAN adapter
(with USB cap)
Features
USB 2.0, USB bus-powered, OFDM, DSSS
Supports Infrastructure and Ad-hoc networks
Compatible with IEEE 802.11b and 802.11g devices

ASUS WLAN Card 7
Chapter 2 - Installation
Chapter 2
Installation
2. Installation
System Requirements
To begin using the WLAN Card, you must have the following minimum
requirements:
• Windows XP/2000/ME/98SE
• USB 1.1 or 2.0 port
• 32MB system memory or larger
• 300MHz processor or higher
Important: Install the WLAN card utilities before inserting the WLAN Card into
your computer.
Installing the WLAN utilities and driver
Follow these instructions to install the WLAN card utilities and driver. Insert the
support CD into your optical drive. If autorun is enabled in your computer, the
CD automatically displays the utility menu. Click Install ASUS WLAN Card
Utilities/Driver. If autorun is disabled, double-click SETUP.EXE in the root
directory of the CD.
2. Click Next on the Welcome screen.1. Select your language and click Install
WLAN Card Utilities/Driver.
3. Click Next to use the default Destination
Folder or click Browse to select another folder.
4. Click Next to creat short cut.

Chapter 2
8 ASUS WLAN Card
Chapter 2 - Installation
Installation
7. Carefully insert the WLAN card into your
computerʼs USB2.0 port. Windows will
automatically detect and configure the
WLAN card using the utilities and drivers
installed in the previous steps.
8. Windows XP users: When the program
is launched for the first time (during
Windows restart), you are asked to
choose one utility to configure the WLAN
Card. Select "Only use our WLAN utilities
and disable Windows wireless function".
Reading the WLAN status indicators
The device comes with a LED that inidicates the status of the WLAN Card.
Blinking: Searching for or connected to an AP.
OFF: No wireless connection.
LED
5. The installation process takes several
seconds.
6. When Setup is complete, click Finish to
exit the installation wizard and restart the
computer.

ASUS WLAN Card 9
Chapter 2 - Installation
Chapter 2
Installation
One Touch Wizard
Use the One Touch Wizard to setup your wireless connection with an existing
wireless LAN.
1. Launch One Touch Wizard from Start
menu and click Next to set up your
wireless network.
2. Select an AP from the Available Networks
field, then click Next.
3. Connection is complete. Click Next to
setup the IP address for the WLAN card.
4. Choose to obtain an IP address or to
assign static address manually for your
WLAN card. When IP setting is complete,
click Finish to exit the One Touch Wizard.
Note: If the access point you want to connect has set up encryption policies,
you must configure the same encryption on your WLAN Card. Select
"Configure your wireless LAN settings" radio button in step 2 and make the
settings accordingly. When the encryption settings are complete, you can
launch the One Touch Wizard once again from the Start menu to set up the
connection with your AP.

Chapter 2
10 ASUS WLAN Card
Chapter 2 - Installation
Installation
Configuring with the WLAN utility (Infrastructure)
Use ASUS WLAN utlity to get connected with an existing wireless network.
6. Check the Connection tab to see the
signal strength. Click OK to exit the utility.
5. Che ck th e Status pag e to se e t he
association state. If connection is
established, the box shows “Connected -
xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx”.
3. Use Site Survey if you donʼt know the
SSID of your access point(s).
4. Encryption settings must match those
at the access point. Ask your network
administrator about settings if necessary.
Click Apply to activate your settings.
1. Right-click the wireless connection icon
and select Wireless Settings.
2. Chcek the Config page to set the SSID
(network name) to that of your wireless AP.

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Chapter 2 - Installation
Chapter 2
Installation
Configuring with the WLAN utility (Ad Hoc)
The WLAN card supports Ad Hoc mode which allows communication between
wireless stations without an AP.
2. Click the Config button to set the WLAN
Card to Ad Hoc connection mode, Set the
SSID to that of the target Ad Hoc node,
then select a Channel on which the Ad Hoc
nodes are to communicate.
3. Click the Survey button to scan for the Ad
Hoc nodes. Select the node you want to
communicate with and press Connect.
4. If the encryption settings of your WLAN
Card are different from those of the other
Ad Hoc nodes, you are prompted to make
the encryption of the two nodes identical.
Click Apply to activate the settings.
1. Right-click the wireless connection icon
and select Wireless Settings.
5. Check the Status page to see the association
state. If connection is established, the box
shows “Connected - xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx”.
6. Check the Connection tab to see the
signal strength. Click OK to exit the utility.

12 ASUS WLAN Card
Chapter 3 - Software Reference
Chapter 3
Software Reference
3. Software Reference
Using the Control Center
The Control Center taskbar icon displays the following information:
• Link quality of the WLAN Card (Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor, Not Linked)
• Whether the WLAN Card is connected to a network (Blue: Connected, Gray:
Not Connected)
Taskbar Icon and Status
Wireless Status Icons (on the taskbar)
Excellent link quality and connected to Internet (Infrastructure)
Good link quality and connected to Internet (Infrastructure)
Fair link quality and connected to Internet (Infrastructure)
Poor link quality and connected to Internet (Infrastructure)
Not linked but connected to Internet (Infrastructure)
Excellent link quality but not connected to Internet (Infrastructure)
Good link quality but not connected to Internet (Infrastructure)
Fair link quality but not connected to Internet (Infrastructure)
Poor link quality but not connected to Internet (Infrastructure)
Not linked and not connected to Internet (Infrastructure)
ASUS WLAN Control Center
ASUS WLAN Control Center is an application which makes it easier to launch
WLAN applications and activate network location settings. The WLAN Control
Center starts automatically when system boots. When WLAN Control Center is
running, you can see a Control Center icon on the Windows taskbar.
Starting the Control Center
• Select ASUS WLAN Control Center in Windows Start
menu, or
• Double-click the ASUS WLAN Control Center icon on the desktop.

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Chapter 3 - Software Reference
Chapter 3
Software Reference
Taskbar Icon - Left-click Menu
Left-clicking the taskbar icon shows the
following menu:
• Wireless Radio On – Turns the
wireless radio ON.
• Wireless Radio Off – Turns the
wireless radio OFF.
• Search & Connect – View the
properties of available access points.
• Wireless Option (Windows® XP only) – Choose Windows® Wireless
Zero Configuration (WZC) service or ASUS utilities to configure your
WLAN card.
Taskbar Icon - Launch Wireless Settings
Double-click the taskbar icon to launch the Wireless Settings utility.
Taskbar Icon - Right-click Menu
Right-click the taskbar icon to show the following menu items:
• Wireless Settings – Launches Wireless Settings application.
• Activate Configuration – Allows you to choose a preset profile.
• Mobile Manager – Launches Mobile Manager application.
• Site Monitor – Launches the Site Monitor application.
• Preferences – Customizes the Control Center program. You can create a
Control Center shortcut on the desktop and decide whether to start Control
Center when system boots.
• About Control Center-Shows the version of Control Center.
• Exit – Closes the Control Center program.
Taskbar Left-Click Menu

14 ASUS WLAN Card
Chapter 3 - Software Reference
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Software Reference
Status - Status
You can view the information about
the WLAN Card from the Status menu.
The status fields are blank if the WLAN
Card is not installed. You can turn
off the WLAN Card by clicking the
“Disable Radio” button.
Association State
Displays the connection status as
follows:
Connected - The card is now associated with one wireless LAN device. When
operating in Infrastructure mode, this field shows the MAC address of the
Access Point with which the WLAN Card is communicating. When operating
in Ad Hoc mode, this field shows the virtual MAC address used by computers
participating in the Ad Hoc network.
ASUS Wireless Settings Utility
Wireless Settings is an application for controling the WLAN Card. Use Wireless
Settings to view or modify the configuration settings and monitor the operational
status of your WLAN Card. When Wireless Settings is launched, you can see the
tabbed property sheets which categorize the configuration options into groups.
Starting Wireless Settings
• Open the Windows Control Panel, then double-click the ASUS WLAN
Card Settings icon.
or
• Click the Windows Start button, select Programs | ASUS Utility | WLAN
Card | Wireless Settings.
or
• Right-click the Control Center icon on the Windows taskbar, select
Wireless Settings.
NOTE: If you have more than one ASUS WLAN device installed on your
computer, you may see a device selection window when you launch the
“Wireless Settings” utility. Select the device you want when such situation
occurs.

ASUS WLAN Card 15
Chapter 3 - Software Reference
Chapter 3
Software Reference
Scanning... - The station is trying to authenticate and associate with an access
point or Ad Hoc node.
Disconnected - The WLAN Card is installed to the system, but not yet
connected to a wireless device.
SSID
Displays the Service Set Identifier (SSID) of the device that the card is either
associated or intending to join.
MAC address
Shows the hardware address of the WLAN Card. MAC address is a unique
identifier for networking devices (typically written as twelve hexadecimal digits
from 0 through 9 and A through F separated by colons, i.e. 00:E0:18:F0:05:C0).
Current Channel
Displays the radio channel to which the card is currently tuned. This number
changes as the radio scans the available channels.
Current Data Rate
Displays the current data rate in megabits per second (Mbps).
Radio State
Shows the wireless radio status: ON or OFF.
Radio On - When the wireless radio is turned ON, the icon on the right
appears in the upper left of the Status page.
Radio Off- When the wireless radio is turned OFF, the icon on the right
appears in the upper left of the Status page.
Buttons
Rescan – Make the WLAN Card rescan all available devices. If the current link
quality or signal strength is poor, rescanning can be used to push the radio off
a weak access point and search for a better link with another access point. This
function usually takes several seconds.
Change SSID – Click this button to set the SSID to that of the AP you want to
connect.
Search & Connect – Click this button to connect to an available wireless AP.

16 ASUS WLAN Card
Chapter 3 - Software Reference
Chapter 3
Software Reference
Save Configuration
When you make settings for a
certain working environment, you
may need to save your settings to a
profile so that you can easily switch
to the settings without repeating the
configurations. For example, you
can set profiles for work, home and
other situations. When you travel form home to work, choose the "office" profile
that contains all your settings for office use. When you travel back home,
choose the “home” profile.
Activate Configuration
Auto roaming is enabled by default and
makes the Card automatically switch to APs
of better siganal. You can uncheck it if you
want to connect to a specified AP using a
particular profile.
Status - Connection
You can view the current link statistics
about the WLAN Card. These statistics are
updated once per second and are valid if the
WLAN Card is correctly installed.
Frame Sent/Received
Transmitted - The number of frames that
were transmitted.
Received - The number of frames that were received.
Frame Error
Transmitted - The number of frames that were not successfully transmitted.
Received - The number of frames that were not successfully received.
Connection Quality
Signal Strength - Shows the link qualilty of the Access Point or Ad Hoc node
the WLAN Card is currently connected to. Ratings are: Excellent, Good, Fair,
and Poor.
Overall Connection Quality
The overall connection quality is derived from the current signal strength. A
graphic chart uses percentage to show signal quality.

ASUS WLAN Card 17
Chapter 3 - Software Reference
Chapter 3
Software Reference
Status - IP Config
IP Config tab shows all the current host
and WLAN Card information including
host name, DNS servers, IP address,
subnet mask and default gateway.
Button
IP Release - If you want to remove the
current IP address, click this button
to release the IP address from DHCP
server.
IP Renew - If you want to obtain a new IP address from DHCP server, click this
button to renew the IP address.
Ping - Click this button to open “Ping” tab which is used to ping the devices in
your network.
NOTE: The IP Release and IP Renew buttons can only be used on the WLAN
Card which gets IP address from DHCP server.
Status - Ping
Click the "Ping" button in Status-IP
Config tab to open this page. The Ping
tab allows you to verify the accessibility
of other computers or network devices.
To ping a connection:
1. Type the IP address of the device you
want to verify in the IP Address field.
2. Configure the ping session by
assigning the ping packet size and
number of packet to send, and the timeout value (in milliseconds).
3. Click the “Ping” button.
During the ping session, the Ping button toggles into a Stop button. To cancel
the ping session, click the “Stop” button.
The session field displays information on the verified connection including the
roundtrip time (minimum, maximum, and average) and packets sent, received,
and lost after a ping session.
Click the “Clear” button to clear the session field.

18 ASUS WLAN Card
Chapter 3 - Software Reference
Chapter 3
Software Reference
Config - Basic
This page enables you to change the
WLAN Card configurations.
Network Type
Infrastructure – Infrastructure means
to establish a connection with an access
point. Once connected, the access
point allows you to access wireless
LAN and wired LAN (Ethernet). The
Channel field turns to Auto if the
connection is based on Infrastructure.
Ad Hoc – Ad Hoc means to communicate directly with other wireless clients
without using an Access Point. An “Ad Hoc” network is typically formed quickly
and easily without pre-planning. For example, share meeting notes between
attendants in a meeting room.
Network Name (SSID)
SSID stands for “Service Set Identifier”, which is a string used to identify a
wireless LAN. Use the SSID to connect with a known access point. You can
enter a new SSID or select one from the drop-down list box. If you get connected
by designating the SSID, you are only to connect the AP with the SSID you
assigned. If the AP is removed from the network, your WLAN Card does not
roam automatically to other APs. SSIDs must all be printable characters and
having a maximum of 32 case sensitive characters, such as “ Wireless”.
NOTE: Set the SSID to a null string, if you wish to allow your station to
connect to any Access Point it can find. But you cannot use null string in Ad
Hoc mode.
Channel
Use the Channel field to select the radio channel for WLAN Card. In an
"infrastructure" network, your WLAN Card will automatically select the correct
channel to communicate with an Access Point, this parameter will be fixed in
"Auto" and cannot be changed. In an "Ad Hoc" network, you can decide which
channel to use for the WLAN Card. With the same channel setting, all WLAN
Cards can communicate with each other in the Ad-Hoc network.
The radio channels you can use depend on the regulations in your country.
For United States (FCC) and Canada (IC), channels 1 to 11 are supported. For
Europe (ETSI), channels 1 to 13 are supported. For operation in Japan (MKK),
channels 1 to 14 are supported.

ASUS WLAN Card 19
Chapter 3 - Software Reference
Chapter 3
Software Reference
Data Rate
Select the transmit data rate (fix or auto). The data rates supported for the
WLAN Cards are:
Fully Auto – The adapter will adjust to the most suitable transmission rate.
Fixed – Fix data rate to 1, 2, 5.5, 6, 9, 11, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, or 54 Mbps.
Click Apply to save and activate the new configurations.
Others
Encryption – Click on this to show the "Encryption" tab.
Advanced – Click on this to show the "Advanced" tab. In most cases, the
default values do not have to be changed.
Troubleshooting – Click on this to show the Troubleshooting utility.
Config - Advanced
Click Advanced link on Config-Basic
page to show this tab. This tab allows
you to set up additional parameters
for the wireless card. We recommend
using the default values for all items in
this window.
RTS Threshold (0-2347)
The RTS/CTS (Request to Send/Clear
to Send) function is used to minimize
collisions among wireless stations. When RTS/CTS is enabled, the router
refrains from sending a data frame until another RTS/CTS handshake is
completed. Enable RTS/CTS by setting a specific packet size threshold. The
default value (2347) is recommended.
Fragmentation Threshold (256-2346)
Fragmentation is used to divide 802.11 frames into smaller pieces (fragments)
that are sent separately to the destination. Enable fragmentation by setting
a specific packet size threshold. If there is an excessive number of collisions
on the WLAN, experiment with different fragmentation values to increase the
reliability of frame transmissions. The default value (2346) is recommended for
normal use.

20 ASUS WLAN Card
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Software Reference
Preamble Mode
This parameter is used to control whether frames will transmit with the Long or Short
Preamble. The default value is Long Preamble.
Frame Bursting
Frame Bursting technology is a standard-based Wi-Fi performance
enhancement technology which improves wireless network efficiency and
boosts throughput.
54g Mode
802.11b only - support both 802.11b adapters.
All of these modes only pertain to when the STA is creating their own IBSS
network. The default ad-hoc mode is 802.11b only.
54g LRS (Limited Rate Support) - is used to communicate with older 11b
clients that only support 4 rates. But 54g cards can still use all 12 rates.
54g Auto - support both 802.11b and 802.11g adapters.
54g Only - will support ONLY high-performance 54g adapters.
All of these modes only pertain to when the STA is creating their own IBSS
network.
54g Protection
Extended Rate PHY (ERP) protection mechanism of 802.11g definition.
Auto – Automatically change as AP announcement.
Disabled - Always send frame without protection.
Power Output
Defines transmit power level. Configuration options: 100%, 75%, 50%, 25%.
Click Apply to save and activate the new configurations.