Edimax EW-7117U User manual

W
Wi ir re el le es ss s L LA AN N M Mi in ni i U US SB B A Ad da ap pt te er r
User Manual
Version: 1.0
(Apr., 2003)

COPYRIGHT
Copyright 2002/2003 by this company. All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval
system, or translated into any language or computer language, in any form or
by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual or
otherwise, without the prior written permission of this company
This company makes no representations or warranties, either expressed or
implied, with respect to the contents hereof and specifically disclaims any
warranties, merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose. Any software
described in this manual is sold or licensed "as is". Should the programs
prove defective following their purchase, the buyer (and not this company, its
distributor, or its dealer) assumes the entire cost of all necessary servicing,
repair, and any incidental or consequential damages resulting from any defect
in the software. Further, this company reserves the right to revise this
publication and to make changes from time to time in the contents hereof
without obligation to notify any person of such revision or changes.
All brand and product names mentioned in this manual are trademarks and/or registered
trademarks of their respective holders.

Federal Communication Commission
Interference Statement
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a
Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of FCC Rules. These limits are
designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a
residential installation. This equipment generates, uses, and can radiate radio
frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the
instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular
installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or
television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off
and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or
more of the following measures:
1. Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
2. Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
3. Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the
receiver is connected.
4. Consult the dealer or an experienced radio technician for help.
FCC Caution
This equipment must be installed and operated in accordance with provided
instructions and a minimum 5cm spacing must be provided between
computer mounted antenna and person’s body (excluding extremities of
hands, wrist and feet) during wireless modes of operation.
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to
the following two conditions: (1) this device may not cause harmful
interference, and (2) this device must accept any interference received,
including interference that may cause undesired operation.
Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible
for compliance could void the authority to operate equipment.
Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Radiation Exposure Statement
This equipment complies with FCC radiation exposure set forth for an
uncontrolled environment. In order to avoid the possibility of exceeding the
FCC radio frequency exposure limits, human proximity to the antenna shall
not be less than 20cm (8 inches) during normal operation.

R&TTE Compliance Statement
This equipment complies with all the requirements of DIRECTIVE 1999/5/CE
OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL of March 9, 1999 on
radio equipment and telecommunication terminal Equipment and the mutual
recognition of their conformity (R&TTE)
The R&TTE Directive repeals and replaces in the directive 98/13/EEC
(Telecommunications Terminal Equipment and Satellite Earth Station
Equipment) As of April 8, 2000.
Safety
This equipment is designed with the utmost care for the safety of those who
install and use it. However, special attention must be paid to the dangers of
electric shock and static electricity when working with electrical equipment. All
guidelines of this and of the computer manufacture must therefore be allowed
at all times to ensure the safe use of the equipment.
EU Countries Intended for Use
The ETSI version of this device is intended for home and office use in Austria,
Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France,Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden,and the United
Kingdom.
The ETSI version of this device is also authorized for use in EFTA member
states:Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway,and Switzerland.
EU Countries Not intended for use
None.

CONTENTS
1INTRODUCTION................................................................................1
1.1 FEATURES ........................................................................................................ 1
1.2 SPECIFICATIONS............................................................................................... 1
1.3 PACKAGE CONTENTS........................................................................................ 2
2INSTALLATION PROCEDURE........................................................3
2.1 WINDOWS 98SE/ME/2000................................................................................3
2.1.1 Install the Driver ...........................................................................................................3
2.1.2 Install the Utility...........................................................................................................3
2.2 WINDOWS XP..................................................................................................4
3CONFIGURATION UTILITY............................................................6
3.1 WIRELESS CONNECTION................................................................................... 6
3.2 GENERAL CONNECTION SETTING...................................................................... 7
3.3 WEP ENCRYPTION........................................................................................... 9
3.4 ADVANCED SETTING .......................................................................................11
4TROUBLESHOOTING.....................................................................12

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1Introduction
Thank you for purchasing the Wireless LAN Mini USB Adapter. This USB Adapter is
designed to comply with IEEE 802.11b Wireless LAN standard and easy to carry with the
Mini size. It is suitable for any Laptop or Desktop computers. It also supportsWindows OS
Plug & Play installation and USB Hot Swap, allowing you plug in or remove it without reboot
your computer.
1.1 Features
•Complies with the IEEE 802.11b 2.4GHz (DSSS) standard.
•High data transfer rate -up to 11Mbps.
•Supports 64/128-bit WEP Data Encryption function for high level of security.
•Supports peer-to-peer communication among any wireless users, no Access Point required.
•Automatic fallback increases data security and reliability.
•Supports the most popular operating system: Windows 98SE/Me/2000/XP.
•Portable and mini-size design.
•Suitable for Any Notebook or Desktop PC.
1.2 Specifications
•Standard: IEEE 802.11b
•Bus Type: USB Type A
•Frequency Band: 2.4000~2.4835GHz (Industrial Scientific Medical Band)
•Modulation: CCK@11/5.5Mbps, QPSK@2Mbps, BPSK@1Mbps
•Radio Technology: Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)
•Data Rate: 11/5.5/2/1Mbps auto fallback
•Security: 64/128-bit WEP Encryption
•Antenna: Internal Antenna
•Drivers: Windows 98SE/Me/2000/XP
•LEDs: Link, Activity
•Transmit Power: 16dBm
•Dimension: 9(H) x 27(W) x 84(D)
•Temperature: 32~131°F (0 ~55°C)
•Humidity: 0-95% (NonCondensing)
•Certification: FCC, CE

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1.3 Package Contents
Before you begin the installation, please check the items of your package. The package
should include the following items:
•One USB Adapter
•One USB Extension Cable (100Cm)
•One Quick Guide
•One CD (Driver/Utility/Manual)
If any of the above items ismissing, contact your supplier as soon as possible.

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2Installation Procedure
2.1 Windows 98SE/Me/2000
Before you proceed with the installation, please notice following descriptions.
Note1: The following installation was operatedunder Windows2000.(Procedures will be the
same for Windows98SE/Me.)
Note2: If you have installed the Wireless USB Adapter driver & utility before, please uninstall
the old version first.
2.1.1 Install the Driver
1. Insert the USB Adapter into the USB port of your computer, the system will automatically
find the device and search for its driver.
2. Please select the “Driver\Win2000”folder (select the folder based on your computer’s
OS system) and the system will complete the driver installation.
2.1.2 Install the Utility
1. Insert the CD into the CD-ROM device and execute the "Utility\setup.exe" program. The
InstallShield Wizard box will appear,click "Next" to continue.
2. The “Choose Destination Location”screen will show you the default destination chosen
by the program. If you want to install the utility in another location, click the “Browser”
button and select an alternate destination. When you are ready to continue, click the
“Next”button.
3. The program will finish the installation automatically.

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4. After completing the Utility installation, please execute “ZDConfig”program (click “Start”
button and select “ZyDAS Wireless LAN –USB”) to start using the WLAN USB Adapter.
2.2 Windows XP
The installation process in Windows XP is similar with the process in windows
98SE/Me/2000. Please refer to the instructions described in section 2.1.
Due to the Windows XP has built-in wireless network utility you may decide to use the
system’s utility or the one provided by this USB adapter. It is strongly recommended to
using the utility of this adapter.
A. Using the Windows XP’s Utility
Click the icon marked in red in the taskbar and you may start using the Windows XP’s
wireless utility
B. Using the Utility of this adapter
1. Get into Windows XP’s Utility, click “Advanced“button.
2. In “Wireless Network Connection Properties“screen, uncheck the setting “Use Windows
to configure my wireless network settings“. Note that if you want to change back to the
Windows XP built-in utility, check the item again.

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3. Execute “ZDConfig”program (click “Start”button and select “ZyDAS Wireless LAN –
USB”).
Note: If you don’t disable the XP’s Utility, you canonly see the link status during
communication process from the USB Adapter’s utility.

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3Configuration Utility
The Configuration Utility is a powerful application that helps you configure the Wireless LAN
Mini USB Adapter and monitor the link status during the communication process.
This utility can be used to change the following configuration parameters when the device is
active.
3.1 Wireless Connection
In the “ZyDAS Wireless LAN Configuration Tool”, you may have all the information of
wireless devices nearby and check the link status while the USB Adapter is linking to one of
the wireless device.
Parameter Description
Network Adapter Display the product information of the USB Adapter.
Available Network Display all the SSID and Signal Strength of wireless devices
nearby. To re-survey the available wireless devices please click
“Refresh”button.
There are two ways to automatically make the connection
between the USB Adapter and the wireless device on the list.
1. Double-click the wireless device on the list to connect the
device directly.
2. Click the device you intend to connect and press “Connect
this site“button.
Current Network Information Display the information about the wireless network this adapter is
connecting to. The information includes Channel, Type, SSID, TX
Rate and WEP settings. Note: Please refer to Section 3.2. for the
description of each item.

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Parameter Description
More Setting button Press this button for more settings including disable/enable WEP
and Power Saving Mode. Please refer to Section 3.2, 3.3 and 3.4.
Link Status Display the status of the wireless connection.
Signal Strength This bar shows the signal strength level. The higher percentage
shown in the bar, the more radio signal been received by the
adapter. This indicator helps to find the proper position of the
wireless device for quality network operation.
Link Quality This bar indicates the quality of the link. The higher the
percentage, the better the quality.
TX Frame It shows the number of data frames which are transmitted by the
adapter successfully.
RX Frame It shows the number of data frames which are received by the
adapter successfully.
3.2 General Connection Setting
In the “More Setting...”screen, users are allowed to designate the wireless network which
the adapter intends to connect to, enable/disable the WEP data encryption, save or load the
setting values into/from a file, etc.

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Parameter Description
General Connection Setting
Channel Select the number of the radio channel used for the networking.
The channel setting of the wireless stations within a network
should be the same.
TxRate Select the basic transmit rate to be used: 11, 5.5, 2 or 1Mbps. If
“Auto“is selected, the adapter will automatically adjust to the
highest possible rate according to the interference or obstacles.
SSID The SSID (up to 32 printable ASCII characters) is the unique
name identified in a WLAN. The ID prevents the unintentional
merging of two co-located WLANs.
You may specify a SSID for the adapter and then only the device
with the same SSID can interconnect to the adapter.
Any If “Any“check box is enabled, the adapter will survey and connect
to one of the available wireless stations without checking the
consistency of channel and SSID with the wireless station.
Network Type •Infrastructure: This mode requires the presence of an AP or
Router to create a wireless network. All the communication is
processed through the AP or Router.
•Ad Hoc: This mode enables wireless network adapters
interconnecting without through AP or Router. Select this
mode if there is no AP or Router in the network.
Change button Press “Change“button will enable you to setup the parameters of
“General Connection Setting“. In the meantime, the button will
change to “Apply“button for you to confirm your settings.
Encryption Setting In the block, users may setup the WEP key for the data encryption
within the network. Please refer to Section 3.3 for more
description.
Profile
Profile Name Input the profile name to write the setting values of the adapter to
the file or load the setting values from the file you designate.
Load profile setting Load the setting values from the file entered in the “Profile
Name“. The new settings will be activated immediately.
Write current setting to
Profile Write the current setting values to the file entered in the “Profile Name“. Please record the file name the data are saved.

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Parameter Description
Load factory default
setting To restore to factory default, please press this button. The default values are as follows.
Channel: 6
TxRate: Auto
SSID: Any
Network Type: Infrastructure
Other
Advanced Setting...
button For more advanced setting, please press this button. To know more of the setting, please refer to Section 3.4.
Information button To view the version of the driver, firmware and the MAC Address
of the adapter, press the button.
3.3 WEP Encryption
WEP is an authentication algorithm,which protects authorized Wireless LAN users against
eavesdropping. The Authentication type and WEP key must be the same on the wireless
stations within the network.This adapter supports 64/128-bit WEP Encryption function. With
this function, your data will be transmitted over the Wireless network securely.

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Parameter Description
Authentication Mode This setting has to be consistent with the wireless stations which
the adapter intends to connect.
•Open System –No authentication is needed among the
wireless stations.
•Shared Key –Only wirelss stations using a shared key (WEP
Key identified) are allowed to connecting each other. Setup
the same key as the wireless stations which the adapter
intends to connect.
•Auto –Auto switch the authentication algorithm depending on
the wireless stations which the adapter is connecting to.
Key Length You may select the 64-bit or 128-bit to encrypt transmitted data.
Larger key length will provide higher level of security, but the
throughput will be lower.
Default Key ID Select one of the keys (1~4) as the encryption key.
Key1 ~ Key4 The keys are used to encrypt data transmitted in the wireless
network. Fill the text box by following the rules below.
•64-bit –Input 10 digit Hex values (in the “A-F”,“a-f”and “0-9”
range) as the encryption keys. For example: “0123456aef“.
•128-bit –Input 26 digit Hex values (in the “A-F”,“a-f”and “0-
9”range) as the encryption keys. For example:
“01234567890123456789abcdef“.

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3.4 Advanced Setting
The “Advanced Setting”allows user to enable/disable power saving mode, setup the
fragmentation threshold and RTS/CTS threshold of the adapter.
Parameter Description
Power Saving Mode
Enable auto power
saving Check the check box to enable power saving mode. You may control the power consumption of the adapter by adjusting the
save power level from 1 to 4. The higher power save level
selected, the lower power used. Note that lower power is supplied
may slow down the transmission rate of the adapter.
Fragementation Threshold The value defines the maximum size of packets, any packet size
larger than the value will be fragmented. If you have decreased
this value and experience high packet error rates, you can
increase it again, but it will likely decrease overall network
performance. Select asetting within a range of 256 to 2305 bytes
.
Minor change is recommended.
RTS / CTS Threshold Minimum packet size required for an RTS/CTS (Request To
Send/Clear to Send). For packets smaller than this threshold, an
RTS/CTS is not sent and the packet is transmitted directly to the
WLAN. Select a setting within a range of 0 to 2305 bytes. Minor
change is recommended

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4Troubleshooting
This chapter provides solutions to problems usually encountered during the installation and
operation of the adapter.
1. What is the IEEE 802.11b standard ？
The IEEE 802.11b Wireless LAN standard subcommittee which formulates the
standard for the industry. The objective is to enable wireless LAN hardware from
different manufactures to communicate.
2. What does IEEE 802.11 feature support ？
The product supports the following IEEE 802.11 functions:
lCSMA/CA plus Acknowledge Protocol
lMulti-Channel Roaming
lAutomatic Rate Selection
lRTS/CTS Feature
lFragmentation
lPower Management
3. What is Ad-hoc ？
An Ad-hoc integrated wireless LAN is a group of computers, each has a Wireless LAN
adapter, Connected as an independent wireless LAN. Ad hoc wireless LAN is
applicable at a departmental scale for a branch or SOHO operation.
4. What is Infrastructure ？
An integrated wireless and wireless and wired LAN is called an Infrastructure
configuration. Infrastructure is applicable to enterprise scale for wireless access to
central database, or wireless application for mobile workers.
5. What is BSS ID
？
A specific Ad hoc LAN is called a Basic Service Set (BSS). Computers in a BSS must
be configured with the same BSS ID.
6. What is WEP
？
WEP is Wired Equivalent Privacy, a data privacy mechanism based on a 40 bit shared
key algorithm, as described in the IEEE 802 .11 standard.
7. Can Wireless products support printer sharing
？
Wireless products perform the same function as LAN products. Therefore, Wireless
products can work with Netware, Windows 2000, or other LAN operating systems to
support printer or file sharing.
8. Would the information be intercepted while transmitting on air ？
WLAN features two-fold protection in security. On the hardware side, as with Direct
Sequence Spread Spectrum technology, it has the inherent security feature of
scrambling. On the software side, WLAN series offer the encryption function (WEP) to
enhance security and Access Control. Users can set it up depending upon their needs.

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9. What is DSSS ？ What is FHSS ？ And what are their differences ？
Frequency-hopping spread-spectrum (FHSS) uses a narrowband carrier that changes
frequency in a pattern that is known to both transmitter and receiver. Properly
synchronized, the net effect is to maintain a single logical channel. To an unintended
receiver, FHSS appears to be short-duration impulse noise. Direct-sequence spread-
spectrum (DSSS) generates a redundant bit pattern for each bit to be transmitted. This
bit pattern is called a chip (or chipping code). The longer the chip is, the greater the
probability that the original data can be recovered. Even if one or more bits in the chip
are damaged during transmission, statistical techniques embedded in the radio can
recover the original data without-the need for retransmission. To an unintended
receiver, DSSS appears as low power wideband noise and is rejected (ignored) by
most narrowband receivers.
10. What is Spread Spectrum
？
Spread Spectrum technology is a wideband radio frequency technique developed by
the military for use in reliable, secure, mission-critical communication systems. It is
designed to trade off bandwidth efficiency for reliability, integrity, and security. In other
words, more bandwidth is consumed than in the case of narrowband transmission,but
the trade off produces a signal that is, in effect, louder and thus easier to detect,
provided that the receiver knows the parameters of the spread-spectrum signal being
broadcast. If a receiver is not tuned to the right frequency, a spread –spectrum signal
looks like background noise. There are two main alternatives, Direct Sequence Spread
Spectrum (DSSS) and Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS).