Funkwerk W-Client User manual

Copyright © 03/04/2007 Funkwerk Enterprise Communications GmbH
User Manual
funkwerk W-Client USB .11abg
Table of Contents
ii
CHAPTER 1 PRODUCT OVERVIEW ........................................................................1
1.1 Introduction...................................................................................................1
1.2 Features and Benefits ..................................................................................2
CHAPTER 2 GETTING STARTED.............................................................................3
2.1 Overall Setup Procedures.............................................................................3
CHAPTER 3 WIRELESS ADAPTER INSTALLATION..............................................4
3.1 Hardware Installation....................................................................................4
3.2 Drivers & Utility Installation...........................................................................4
CHAPTER 4 USING THE SYSTEM TRAY UTILITY................................................11
CHAPTER 5 WIRELESS ADAPTER UTILITY FEATURES.....................................15
5.1 Current Status Tab.....................................................................................15
5.2 Profile Management Tab ............................................................................16
5.2.1 Security Tab................................................................................................26
5.3 Diagnostics Tab..........................................................................................29
CHAPTER 6 WIRELESS ADAPTER UTILITY CONFIGURATION..........................32
6.1 Ad-hoc Mode..............................................................................................32
6.1.1 When to set up Ad-hoc Mode.....................................................................32
6.2 Infrastructure Mode ....................................................................................42
6.2.1 Configuration on Infrastructure Mode.........................................................43
CHAPTER 7 TYPES OF AUTHENTICATION AND ENCRYPTION MODE.............48
7.1 Ad-hoc Network Security............................................................................48
7.2 Infrastructure Network Security ..................................................................49
7.2.1 EAP-TLS.....................................................................................................50
7.2.2 EAP-TTLS ..................................................................................................51
7.2.3 PEAP (EAP-GTC).......................................................................................54
7.2.4 PEAP (EAP-MSCHAP V2)..........................................................................56
7.2.5 LEAP ..........................................................................................................58
7.2.6 WPA Passphrase .......................................................................................61
7.2.7 Pre-shared Key (Static WEP).....................................................................62
APPENDIX I REMOVE USB ADAPTER FROM THE SYSTEM...........................64
APPENDIX II UN-INSTALL WIRELESS ADAPTER ............................................66
APPENDIX III CERTIFICATE APPLICATION FOR WPA MODE ..........................68
AIII.I Installing Window XP Service Pack Patch File (For Windows XP users) ...69
AIII.2 Installing certificate on your server ...........................................................69
AIII.3 Applying for Client Certifications................................................................71

Table of Contents
iii
AIII.4 Becoming a domain member.....................................................................73
APPENDIX IV WIRELESS ZERO CONFIGURATION UTILITY .............................76
AIV.1 Enable Wireless Zero Configuration Utility ...............................................76
AIV.2 Disable Wireless Zero Configuration Utility..............................................78
APPENDIX V PANEL VIEWS AND DESCRIPTIONS............................................79
APPENDIX VI TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS.....................................................80
Chapter 1 Product Overview
1
Chapter 1 Product Overview
1.1 Introduction
The W-Client delivers the performance and capabilities that every mobile user is
looking for. Embedded with Atheros chipset, it boasts network robustness, stability and
wider coverage for long-range connectivity. Despite its small size, the USB adapter is
big on features; compatibility with wireless 802.11 networks ensures that you can be
connected easily.
Bandwidth needs in the home are increasing rapidly with the introduction of new
devices and services. As broadband infrastructure becomes common in homes, the
demand for multimedia services such as video streaming or VoIP also increases.
Connecting to a wireless LAN without adequate security measures generally opens up
your shared folders to any casual snoopers. To protect your privacy, the USB adapter
is armed with many enhanced wireless security features such as Wi-Fi Protected
Access (WPA), IEEE 802.1x Authentication and 64/128/152-bit WEP (Wired Equivalent
Privacy) to ensure privacy for the heterogeneous mix of users within the same wireless
LAN while maintaining full access to the establishment’s resources.

Chapter 1 Product Overview
2
1.2 Features and Benefits
•Compact and Mobile
The USB adapter is designed especially for the mobile generation. The
casing is compact and sleek, and the antenna is built-in to further preserve
the miniature footprint. Weighing just 20 grams, the device is light enough
to be carried around!
•Fast and Reliable Transmission
The USB adapter can deliver up to 108Mbps wireless throughput. At the
same time, the USB adapter provides reliable wireless transmission to all
wireless users with its auto rate fallback capability.
•USB powered and USB 2.0 fast transfer rate
Leveraging on the USB standard, the USB adapter is powered through its
USB connection and requires no additional power adapter. USB 2.0
standard allows a significant improvement in transfer rate, of up to 40
times that of USB 1.1. You have access to the full 108Mbps transfer rate
of Super-AG on USB 2.0. The small form factor of the USB adapter is
conveniently designed to fit exactly into a USB port without blocking up
neighboring USB ports.
Designed with a USB2.0 interface, the USB adapter can provide 40 times
higher throughput when connected to the USB2.0 slot of your
PC/notebook. It is also backwards compatible with USB1.1 though the
throughput will then be limited to the 12Mbps of the USB1.1 standard.
•Easy Set up
Using your wireless USB adapter is quick and convenient with USB plug-
and –play. The USB adapter is installed externally so you do not have to
open up your PC.
•Highly Secured Traffic
The USB adapter supports wireless security features such as 64/128/152-
bit WEP and the stronger industry standard WPA and 802.1x
authentication to ensure that your data remains secure while in transit.
Chapter 2 Getting Started
3
Chapter 2 Getting Started
This chapter outlines the basic requirement for any installation and configuration on the
USB adapter.
2.1 Overall Setup Procedures
Here are some of the basic steps to guide you along:
1. Hardware Installation
Please refer to Section 3.1 “Hardware Installation”.
2. Drivers and Utility Installation
Please refer to Section 3.2 “Drivers and Utility Installation”.
3. Configure your USB adapter
Please refer to Chapter 5 “The Atheros Utility Configuration”.
For Windows XP user, you can use the built-in utility – Wireless Zero
Configuration to configure your USB adapter. Please refer to Appendix III
“Windows XP Wireless Zero Configuration Utility”.
NOTE
It is advisable to activate EITHER one of the utilities: the Wireless Zero
Configuration Utility OR the Atheros Utility.

Chapter 3 Wireless Adapter Installation
4
Chapter 3 Wireless Adapter Installation
The USB adapter is a plug-and-play device. You can plug it into the USB slot of your
PC/notebook for auto-detection.
3.1 Hardware Installation
1. Insert the USB adapter directly into the USB slot of your PC/notebook.
3.2 Drivers & Utility Installation
1. Insert the Product CD into your computer CD-ROM drive. Click on
Installation -W-Clients .11abg – Client Manager and the system will run
the setup.exe.
2. Soon the Atheros Client Installation Program screen appears.
3. Next, the Atheros Client Installation Program screen appears. Click on
the Next> button to proceed.
Chapter 3 Wireless Adapter Installation
5
4. When the License Agreement screen appears, you are required to read
and accept the agreement to continue. Click on the Next> button to
proceed.
5. Select your preferred setup:
Install Client Utilities and Driver (Recommended) option
You are recommended to select this setup type. This option will install both
the drivers and utility that support your USB adapter.
Install Driver Only option (For Windows XP user only)
Select this option if you are going to use the Wireless Zero Configuration
Utility to configure your USB adapter. Note that only Windows XP comes
with the Wireless Zero Configuration Utility.
Make Driver Installation Diskette(s)
Select this option if you wish to make a duplicate copy of the drivers and
store in the diskette/s.
6. Click on the Next> button and follow the instructions stated on the screen.

Chapter 3 Wireless Adapter Installation
6
For Windows XP users
7. If you are using Windows XP as operating system, the following screen will
appear. Read the notice carefully and click on the Next> button to
proceed.
8. Select your choice of tool to assist you in configuring your USB adapter.
Click on the Next> button to proceed.
Chapter 3 Wireless Adapter Installation
7
Atheros Client Utility (ACU) and Supplicant option
Select this option to install your USB adapter’s utility. (Recommended)
Third Party Supplicant option
Select this option if you decide to use Wireless Zero Configuration Utility to
configure your wireless device. Installing this tool will only allow you to
view the status of the connected wireless device/s through the USB
adapter’s utility; configuration using the USB adapter’s utility will not be
allowed.
Third Party Supplicant option (continued..)
If you have selected Third Party Supplicant configuration tool, a screen
similar to that on the right will appear, prompting you to enable/disable the
system tray icon.
9. Click on the checkbox besides Enable
Atheros System Tray Utility and click
on the Next> button to proceed.
10. The screen below appears to inform you that the driver will be
automatically installed if you have already inserted your client adapter into
the USB slot of your computer.

Chapter 3 Wireless Adapter Installation
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Cancel the Found New Hardware Wizard if it appears and click on the
OK button to begin the installation.
11. Click on the OK button to reboot your system and this will complete the
installation.
To confirm if the driver has been successfully installed on your system,
1. Proceed to your desktop, right click on My
Computer and select Properties.
2. Select the Hardware tab and click on Device
Manager.
Chapter 3 Wireless Adapter Installation
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The folder name, Atheros USB 2.0 Wireless Network Adapter will appear in the
Network Adapters section. This indicates that the driver for the USB adapter has been
successfully installed on your system!
To activate the utility program, double click on the icon shown in the system tray.
If you have double-click on the utility option, the following screen will appear to
give you a glimpse of your connection status. To exit it, click on the OK button.

Chapter 3 Wireless Adapter Installation
10
To use the Atheros Client Utility, go to the Start Menu followed by Programs.
Then select Atheros. From Atheros, select Atheros Client Utility. You may
now start to configure your USB adapter.
Chapter 4 Using the System Tray Utility
11
Chapter 4 Using the System Tray Utility
This chapter will elaborate on the Atheros system tray
utility found at the right bottom corner of your screen.
Right click on the utility icon and the menu will appear.
The following explains the different options available on
the menu:
Help
Open the online help.
Exit
Exit the Atheros Client Utility application. Once you exit, the icon will disappear from
the system tray.
Open Atheros Client Utility…
Launch the Client Utility.
Different signal strength indications

Chapter 4 Using the System Tray Utility
12
Preferences
This option allows you to set the startup and
menu options for the utility. You can decide
whether the program should start
automatically when Windows starts, and which
menu items should appear on the pop up
menu.
Disable/Enable Radio
If you are unable to detect the RF signal, disable and enable the radio again. Once the
radio is enabled, the system will prompt you that the RF signals have been successfully
enabled.
Click on the OK button to proceed.
Chapter 4 Using the System Tray Utility
13
Manual LEAP Login
If you select this option, you will have to manually start the LEAP authentication
process to login to the network instead of being prompted for your LEAP username and
password during your windows logon.
Reauthenticate
Reauthenticate to a LEAP-configured access point each time you login to a LEAP
network.
Select Profile
Click on a configuration profile name to switch to a particular wireless network. If no
configuration profile exists, you will need to add a profile first.
(Optional) Enter the
domain name that you
wish to logon to.

Chapter 4 Using the System Tray Utility
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Connection Status
To view the connection status of your wireless USB adapter.
Alternatively, you may also double click on the utility icon in the system tray.
Active Profile Displays the name of the active configuration profile.
Auto Profile Selection Shows whether auto profile selection is enabled.
Connection Status Displays whether the adapter is connected to a wireless
network.
Link Quality States the quality of the link connection.
SSID Displays the SSID of the network to which the wireless
adapter is associated.
Access Point Name Shows the name of the access point the wireless adapter
is connected to (if any).
Access Point IP Address Shows the IP address of the access point the wireless
adapter is connected to (if any).
Link Speed States the speed of the link connection.
Client Adapter IP Address Displays the IP address of the wireless adapter.
Chapter 5 Wireless Adapter Utility Features
15
Chapter 5 Wireless Adapter Utility Features
This chapter shows you how to make use of the utility to view the status of your
wireless connection; to change your settings and also to monitor your wireless
performance via the statistics.
NOTE
It is advisable to activate only one of the utilities: Either the Wireless
Zero Configuration Utility OR the Atheros Utility.
5.1 Current Status Tab
Displays the performance of the USB adapter in the wireless network.
Upon clicking on the Advanced button, you will be able to view all information
on the respective profile, e.g. the types of encryption and authentication, the
signal strength, the MAC address of the connected AP (if you are in
Infrastructure mode), etc.

Chapter 5 Wireless Adapter Utility Features
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5.2 Profile Management Tab
This option allows you to manage your profile, set your security options, and
scan for other wireless networks.
Chapter 5 Wireless Adapter Utility Features
17
Click on New button to create a new profile. Enter the profile name (a unique
name to identify this profile), a client name and the SSID of the wireless network
to connect to. Note that the Client name refers to the name that is registered to
your PC/notebook. You can enter up to 3 different SSIDs in order of preference,
per profile. We are using ABC as the profile name and APP as the SSID1.
Click on the OK button to update the changes.
Notice that ABC has been added to the
profile list.
For details on how
to set the different
authentication and
encryption types
available under
the Security Tab,
kindly refer to
Chapter 7 “Types
of Authentication
and Encryption
mode”

Chapter 5 Wireless Adapter Utility Features
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To modify an existing profile, select the profile that you wish to modify and click
on this button. We are using profile: Any as an example.
To delete an existing profile, select the particular profile that you wish to delete
and click on this button. We are using profile: default as an example.
Note that the active profile (the profile that you are currently using) cannot be
deleted!
Active profile
indicated by this
icon cannot be
deleted!
Chapter 5 Wireless Adapter Utility Features
19
To activate a profile, select the profile and click on this button. We are using
profile: wireless-AP as an example.
Once a profile is activated, this icon will appear next to the profile name:
wireless-AP.

Chapter 5 Wireless Adapter Utility Features
20
This function allows you to save the settings of your profile onto disk. Select the
profile that you wish to save and click on this button. We are using profile:
ESSID as an example.
Choose the folder to save to, enter the name under which to save the profile and
click on the Save button.
Now, your profile is saved to your selected folder.
Chapter 5 Wireless Adapter Utility Features
21
This function allows you to retrieve a saved profile from disk. We are using
profile: ESSID as an example.
Go to the folder where you have saved your profile, select ESSID.prf and click
on the Open button.
Notice that the profile: ESSID has been imported to the list of profiles.

Chapter 5 Wireless Adapter Utility Features
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This function allows you to scan for wireless networks detected by the adapter.
Chapter 5 Wireless Adapter Utility Features
23
The icons shown beside the Network Name (SSID) indicate the type of WLAN
detected.
Infrastructure (AP) Network Connected to Infrastructure (AP)
Network
Ad-hoc Network Connected to Ad-hoc Network
Encryption Active
Notice that if there is a icon appearing in the Super column, this shows
that the wireless network supports Super-AG technology (108Mbps).
Click on the Refresh button to renew the list of wireless networks detected.
Click on the OK button to exit the window.

Chapter 5 Wireless Adapter Utility Features
24
If you have created several profiles, this function allows you to establish the
priority order in which the USB adapter should try to connect to a WLAN. If the
USB adapter is unable to connect to the 1st profile, it will then try to connect to
the 2nd profile and so on.
When auto profile selection is enabled, the
USB adapter scans for available wireless
networks and will connect to the highest
priority profile that matches the networks
detected.
To do so, simply click on the Add button
from the Available Profiles list. Refer to the
screen shown below.
Please note that you need AT LEAST TWO profiles to activate the Auto Select
Profiles function; and that each of your profile must connect to at least one
Network Name (SSID).
Notice that if this function is
disabled, this means that
you have not added any
profile in the Auto Selected
Profiles list.
Chapter 5 Wireless Adapter Utility Features
25
Notice that when a selected profile has been added, it will be transferred to the
Auto Selected Profiles list.
Select and click on the Add button to transfer another profile.
You need to transfer at least two profiles to the Auto Selected Profiles list to
activate the Auto Select Profile function.

Chapter 5 Wireless Adapter Utility Features
26
5.2.1 Security Tab
Please refer to Chapter 7 “Types of Authentication and Encryption
mode”
5.2.2 Advanced Tab
This option allows you to configure the more advanced connection
settings of your wireless client.
Only applicable to
Infrastructure mode.
You may key in the MAC
address of at most four
access points to which you
would prefer to connect.
Chapter 5 Wireless Adapter Utility Features
27
Transmit Power Level
Specifies the wireless transmit power to be used. Reducing the power level
lowers the risk of interference with other nearby wireless devices and conserves
battery power but decreases radio range.
Power Save Mode (Only applicable to Infrastructure mode)
This feature reduces power consumption by the USB adapter to extend the
battery life of your notebook. There are 3 options for this mode:
•Off
The power management is disabled and the card consumes full power
from the computer.
•Normal
The driver turns off the power to the adapter for brief periods over briefly
spaced time intervals.
•Maximum
The driver turns off power to the adapter for longer periods over
more widely spaced time intervals.
The guideline for choosing between the Normal and Maximum options:
The USB adapter wakes up more often and responds sooner to network
requests in Normal mode than in Maximum mode; and the Maximum
mode consumes less power than Normal mode.
Network Type
Select either Infrastructure if you are connecting to the WLAN using an access
point or Ad-hoc if you are connecting directly to another computer equipped with
a wireless adapter.
802.11b Preamble
The preamble is part of the IEEE 802.11b physical layer specification. It is
mandatory for all 802.11b devices to support the long preamble format, but they
may optionally support the short preamble. This USB adapter supports both the
short and long preambles.
•Short & Long

Chapter 5 Wireless Adapter Utility Features
28
This option allows communication with other 802.11b devices that support
short preamble to boost the throughput.
•Long
If your device is having trouble to communicate with other 802.11b devices,
you may try to select the Long Only option.
Wireless Mode
Specifies 5GHz 54 Mbps, 2.4 GHz 54 Mbps, 2.4 GHz 11 Mbps, or Super A/G
operation in a wireless network where there is an access point.
The wireless adapter must match the wireless mode of the access point it
associates to.
Wireless Mode when starting Ad-hoc Network (Only applicable to Ad-hoc
mode)
Specifies the mode: 5GHz 54 Mbps, 5GHz 108 Mbps, or 2.4 GHz 54/11 Mbps to
start an ad hoc network if no network name is found after scanning for all
available networks.
This mode also allows selection of the channel used by the wireless adapters in
the Ad-hoc network. The channels available depend on the regulatory domain. If
no other wireless adapters are found matching the ad hoc mode, this selection
specifies the channel with which the adapter starts a new ad hoc network.
The wireless adapter must match the wireless mode and channel of the other
wireless clients it associates to.
802.11 Authentication Mode (Only applicable to Infrastructure mode, after
you have enabled the encryption mode)
Select which mode the wireless adapter uses to authenticate to an access point:
•Auto
Causes the adapter to attempt authentication using shared authentication.
It then switches to open authentication if shared authentication fails.
•Open
Chapter 5 Wireless Adapter Utility Features
29
Enables an adapter to attempt authentication regardless of its WEP
settings. It will only associate with the access point if the WEP key of the
adapter matches that of the access point.
•Shared only
Allows the adapter to authenticate and associate only with access points
that have the same WEP key.
NOTE
The USB adapter’s authentication mode settings must match those of
the AP it is trying to connect to for successful communication.
5.3 Diagnostics Tab
The Diagnostics tab lists the following receive and transmit diagnostics for
packets received by or transmitted to the USB adapter.
•Multicast packets transmitted and received
•Broadcast packets transmitted and received
•Unicast packets transmitted and received
•Total bytes transmitted and received

Chapter 5 Wireless Adapter Utility Features
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This button contains general information about the network interface card (the
wireless USB adapter) and the network driver interface specification (NDIS).
Card Name The name of the USB adapter
MAC Address The MAC address of the USB adapter
Driver The driver name and path of the USB adapter’s driver
Driver version The version of the USB adapter’s driver
Driver date The creation date of the USB adapter’s driver
Client Name The name of the client computer
Chapter 5 Wireless Adapter Utility Features
31
This button shows more detailed statistical information on frames that are either
received by or transmitted to the USB adapter.

Chapter 6 Wireless Adapter Utility Configuration
32
Chapter 6 Wireless Adapter Utility Configuration
This chapter will elaborate on the Client Manager configuration of the USB adapter
using some simple examples.
The USB adapter can be configured for 2 types of wireless architectures – Ad-hoc and
Infrastructure. The different operational modes are shown in the following diagrams to
allow you to easily understand how to configure your USB adapter.
6.1 Ad-hoc Mode
In an Ad-hoc architecture, the wireless clients communicate directly with one
another. No access point exists in such a wireless LAN configuration. Each
wireless client can directly transfer data packets with each other.
Usually, the operation would be automatically detected and configured between
the peers. However, if you wish to, you can also set a common channel for all
Ad-hoc clients to use. This will be illustrated in the following section.
6.1.1 When to set up Ad-hoc Mode
Wireless client
Wireless client
Wireless client
Chapter 6 Wireless Adapter Utility Configuration
33
Ad-hoc mode is also referred to as peer-to-peer mode or as Independent Basic
Service Set (IBSS). Ad-hoc mode is useful when wireless devices are within
range of each other and can discover and communicate among themselves
without an AP. The figure below illustrates a family using Ad-hoc mode to share
files and devices directly with one another.
For PC1
1. Set your PC1’s IP address to 192.168.168.11; subnet mask to
255.255.255.0 and activate your USB adapter’s Utility.
NOTE
Ad-hoc mode works best when the network uses static IP addressing.
The IP addresses of all the computers in the Ad-hoc network must be in
the same subnet (e.g. 192.168.168.xxx); and the subnet mask must also
be the same.
2. Proceed to the Profile Management tab.

Chapter 6 Wireless Adapter Utility Configuration
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Once you have installed the utility, the system will automatically create a
default profile.
If you wish to create a new profile, click on New button. If not, simply click
on Modify button to change the default settings.
3. Enter your own profile name, e.g. son. The Client name refers to the
name that is registered to your PC/notebook.
4. Set the SSID to USB-CLIENT and click on the OK button to update the
changes.
Please ensure that all the clients in your Ad-hoc network use the same
SSID, which in our example is set to USB-CLIENT.
Chapter 6 Wireless Adapter Utility Configuration
35
5. Next, proceed to Advanced tab. Set your Network Type to AdHoc and
802.11b Preamble to Short &Long.
6. You may leave the Transmit Power Level at their default values.
7. In the Wireless Mode section, check and confirm whether all options are
ticked.
8. Next, proceed to Wireless Mode when starting Ad-hoc Network section.
The channels available depend on the regulatory domain. If no other
wireless adapters are found matching the ad hoc mode, this selection
specifies the channel with which the adapter starts a new ad hoc network.
Please note that the wireless adapter must match the wireless mode and
channel of the other wireless clients it associates to.
9. Set the Channel to Auto to let the USB adapter automatically detect the
channel to use.
However, if you wish to set a specific channel, you must ensure all clients
are in the same channel in order to communicate to one another.

Chapter 6 Wireless Adapter Utility Configuration
36
10. Proceed to the Security tab. Select Pre-Shared Key (Static WEP) option
and click on the Configure… button.
11. Click on the radio button for WEP Key Size: 128, type in, e.g.
1234567890abcdef1234567890 and click on the OK button to update the
changes.
Note that the length of the WEP key depends on the type of encryption key
that you have selected:
For 64- bit WEP: 10 hexadecimal or 5 ASCII Text
Chapter 6 Wireless Adapter Utility Configuration
37
For 128-bit WEP: 26 hexadecimal or 13 ASCII Text
For 152-bit WEP: 13 hexadecimal or 16 ASCII Text
You may now go to the Current Status tab to check the status of the
connection. Notice that if there is no connection established (Refer to Link
Status), this indicates that your USB adapter has not yet detected any other
wireless client with SSID set to USB-CLIENT.
Now, we proceed to configure PC2.