ELSA LANCOM Wireless L-II User manual

ELSA LANCOMTM Wireless L-II
100235 Wireless L-11.book Seite 1 Montag, 30. Oktober 2000 5:43 17

© 2000 ELSA AG, Aachen (Germany)
While the information in this manual has been compiled with great care, it may not be deemed an assurance of product
characteristics. ELSA shall be liable only to the degree specified in the terms of sale and delivery.
The reproduction and distribution of the documentation and software supplied with this product and the use of its contents
is subject to written authorization from ELSA. We reserve the right to make any alterations that arise as the result of
technical development.
ELSA is DIN EN ISO 9001 certified. The accredited TÜV CERT certification authority has confirmed ELSA conformity to the
worldwide ISO 9001 standard in certificate number 09 100 5069, issued on June 15, 1998.
You can find all declarations and approvals for the products, as long as they were available at the time of publication, in
the appendix of this documentation.
Trademarks
Windows®, Windows NT®and Microsoft®are registered trademarks of Microsoft, Corp.
The ELSA logo is a registered trademark of ELSA AG. All other names mentioned may be trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective owners
ELSA Subject to change without notice. No liability for technical errors or omissions.
ELSA AG
Sonnenweg 11
52070 Aachen
Germany
www.elsa.com
Aachen, October 2000
100325/1000
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Preface
Thank you for placing your trust in this ELSA product.
Wireless networks from ELSA are economical alternatives or additions to
local wired networks (LANs). Notebooks and PCs can use mobile network
cards to communicate with one another or access wired networks via access
points and can even be integrated into the high-speed Internet via the DSL
firmware option.
Documentation
The accompanying documentation comprises:
Manual
Hardware installation, description of the functions, operating modes and
sample configurations
CD containing electronic documentation
All product manuals, basic technical information (e.g. wireless networks,
general networking technology, TCP/IP etc.), workshop with detailed
examples of applications, reference section for general information
including a complete description of the menus.
Our online services (www.elsa.com) are available to you around the clock
should you have any queries regarding the topics discussed in this manual or
require any further support. In the Support file section under 'Know-how', you
can find answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs). The KnowledgeBase
also contains a large pool of information. Current drivers, firmware, tools and
manuals can be downloaded at any time.
The KnowledgeBase can also be found on the CD. Just open the file
\Misc\Support\MISC\ELSASIDE\index.htm.
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Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.1 The basic functions of a wireless network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
1.2 Operating modes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
1.3 What does the ELSA LANCOM Wireless L-11 offer? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
2 Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.1 Package contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.2 System requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2.3 Install TCP/IP on your workstation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3.1 Windows 95 and Windows 98 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
2.3.2 Windows NT 4.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
2.3.3 Windows 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
2.4 Introducing the ELSA LANCOM Wireless L-11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.4.1 The front of the unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2.4.2 The bottom of the unit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
2.5 How to connect the device. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.6 Software installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.7 Quickstart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
2.7.1 The Wizards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.7.2 Basic settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
3 Configuration and management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.1 Radio or wired: Configuration approaches. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.2 Configuration using ELSA LANconfig. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
3.3 Configuration with ELSA WEBconfig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
3.4 Configuration using Telnet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
3.5 Configuration using SNMP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3.6 New firmware with FirmSafe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3.6.1 This is how FirmSafe works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
3.6.2 How to load new software . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
3.7 What's happening on the line? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.8 ELSA LANmonitor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
3.9 DSL firmware for ELSA LANCOM Wireless. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
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4 Operating modes and functions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4.1 Establishing wireless connections. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
4.1.1 Considerations for setting up a wireless network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
4.1.2 Ad hoc network (peer-to-peer) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
4.1.3 Infrastructure network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
4.1.4 Point-to-point network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4.1.5 Wireless Internet gateway via DSL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
4.2 Security for your configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4.2.1 Security for the device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
4.2.2 Security for your WLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
4.2.3 Security for your LAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
4.3 Call charge management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
4.4 Automatic address administration with DHCP. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
4.4.1 The DHCP server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
4.4.2 DHCP –'on', 'off' or 'auto'? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.4.3 How are the addresses assigned? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
4.4.4 Configuring the DHCP server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
4.5 Accounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
4.5.1 Configuring accounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
4.5.2 Reading the accounting data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
5 Technical data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
5.1 Power and ratings data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
5.2 Radio frequency channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
6 Appendix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
6.1 Declaration of conformity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
6.2 General warranty conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
7 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
LANCOM Wireless reference manual on CD
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1 Introduction
The advantages of wireless LANs are obvious: Notebooks and PCs can be set
up where they are wanted—problems with missing ports or construction al-
terations are a thing of the past with wireless networking.
Network links in conferences or presentations, access to resources in adja-
cent buildings and exchanging data with mobile units are only a few of the
options available with a wireless LAN.
The access point plays the central role in enabling these options in an exist-
ing wired network. All stations in the wireless network access the LAN via
the access point.
The WAN functions mentioned and described in this manual are only avail-
able after a firmware upgrade to the DSL version.
Notes on using wireless LAN devices
ELSA Wireless LAN products can use up to 13 radio frequency channels in a
frequency band between 2400 MHz and 2483 MHz. The devices are approved
for operation in all EU countries and Switzerland. Use of the devices is reg-
ulated throughout Europe by the 1999/5/EG guideline of the European Parlia-
ment and Council Directive of 9 March 1999 regarding Radio and
Telecommunication Terminal Equipment (R&TTE) and the mutual approval of
their conformity. Please observe the approved frequencies for individual
countries as listed in the appendix.
ELSA is not responsible for disturbances or interference caused by unautho-
rized modifications made to the devices. ELSA will not be held liable espe-
cially for the consequences of connecting external antennas or cables that
are not explicitly designed for use with ELSA LANCOM Wireless and Air-
Lancer devices.
See the appendix for more information on CE conformity.
1.1 The basic functions of a wireless network
This chapter introduces the basic functional principles of a wireless network.
The terms used will be explained and the structure and possible applications
of wireless networks introduced. Detailed information on this and other top-
ics can be found in the electronic documentation on the CD.
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Wireless network
adapters WLAN Wireless network adapters connect individual notebooks and PCs to a Local
Area Network (LAN). As the usual network cables have been replaced by a
radio link in this case, we also refer to this as a Wireless Local Area Network
(WLAN).
Access point Furthermore, the access point forms the bridge between LAN and WLAN.
The ELSA access point also can function as an Internet router or a wireless
bridge between two ethernet LANs. It has a slot for a wireless network
adapter (ELSA AirLancer MC-11) as well as a normal Ethernet connection on
the other side to exchange data between the two networks.
Radio cell The maximum area in which wireless network adapters in mobile stations
and the access point can reach each other and exchange data is known as a
radio cell.
All of the standard functions of a wired network are also available in a wire-
less network: Access to files, servers, printers etc. is possible as is the inte-
gration of the mobile stations into an internal company e-mail system.
1.2 Operating modes
The following operating modes are available using ELSA wireless network
adapters and access points:
Ad hoc network (peer-to-peer)
Infrastructure network
Wireless bridge
Wireless LAN + DSL gateway
Direct PC
connection Use the wireless network cards to link two or more computers directly. All
computers in a WLAN can then communicate with one another with no addi-
tional hardware.
Ad hoc network This application is generally called a peer-to-peer network. In the language
of wireless networking, it is known as an ad hoc network.
Ad hoc network
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Infrastructure
network All computers with wireless network cards are able to access a wired net-
work via an access point. The access point acts as the connection between
the LAN and the WLAN and it also forms the switching center for data traffic
within the WLANs.
A wireless network with a access point is also referred toas an infrastructure
network.
This network type is ideally suited as an addition to existing LANs. The infra-
structure network is the ideal solution for expansion of a LAN in areas where
wiring is not possible or not economical.
Roaming Multiple access points can be used if the range of a cell is not sufficient to
link all mobile stations. This makes it possible to switch from one wireless
cell to another without interrupting the connection to the network.
Infrastructure network
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Radio cells can also overlap to ensure good coverage. Different channels (up
to 13 channels are available) can be selected to prevent interference
between the cells.
1.3 What does the ELSA LANCOM Wireless L-11
offer?
The following is an outline of the principal features of the device giving you
a quick overview of its capabilities.
Easy installation
Connect the LANCOM Wireless to the power supply.
Establish a link to the LAN.
Connect to a DSL port.
Switch it on.
Go!
LAN connection
Access points for wireless networks by function in ELSA Ethernet environ-
ments. Use the 10Base-T connection and a hub or switch to connect the ELSA
LANCOM Wireless L-11 to a 10 Mbit LAN or to a DSL modem.
DSL connection
With special DSL firmware (on CD-ROM), you can connect your LANCOM to
a DSL modem (such as the T-DSL network offered by Deutsche Telekom).
Instead of connecting to the Ethernet, you can have quick access to the Inter-
net. This procedure can be switched in both directions by using the corre-
sponding firmware.
Configuration
Setting up and configuring the devices to your specific needs is made quick
and easy in Windows operating systems by the configuration tool supplied,
ELSA LANconfig.
The management tool WEBconfig is just as easy to use. It allows you to
access the configuration of the ELSA LANCOM access point or even load new
firmware using any HTML browser. Furthermore it is possible to access
device configuration via SNMP and TFTP.
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