Gigabyte GN-A15AG User manual

GN-A15AG
WirelessAccess Point
UserGuide
Rev.1.0FirstEdition

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GN-A15AGWireless Access PointUserGuide
FederalCommunication Commission Interference Statement
Thisequipmenthasbeen tested and found tocomplywiththe limitsforaClass Bdigital
device,pursuanttoPart15 ofthe FCC Rules.Theselimitsaredesigned toprovide rea-
sonableprotection againstharmfulinterferenceinaresidentialinstallation.Thisequip-
mentgenerates,usesand can radiateradiofrequency energyand,ifnotinstalled and
used inaccordancewiththe instructions,maycauseharmfulinterferencetoradio
communications.However,thereisno guarantee thatinterferencewill notoccurinapar-
ticularinstallation.If thisequipmentdoescauseharmfulinterferencetoradioortelevision
reception,whichcan be determined byturning the equipmentoff and on,the userisen-
couraged totrytocorrectthe interferencebyone ofthe following measures:
-Reorientorrelocatethe receiving antenna.
-Increasethe separation betweenthe equipmentand receiver.
-Connectthe equipmentintoan outleton acircuitdifferentfromthattowhichthe
receiverisconnected.
-Consultthe dealeroranexperienced radio/TVtechnician forhelp.
FCC Caution:Toassurecontinued compliance,anychangesormodificationsnotexpressly
approved bythe partyresponsibleforcompliancecouldvoidthe user’s authoritytooper-
atethisequipment.
ThisdevicecomplieswithPart15 ofthe FCC Rules.Operationissubjecttothe following
twoconditions:(1)Thisdevicemaynotcauseharmfulinterference,and (2)thisdevice
mustacceptanyinterferencereceived,including interferencethatmaycauseundesired
operation.
IMPORTANTNOTE:
FCC RadiationExposureStatement:
ThisequipmentcomplieswithFCC radiationexposurelimitssetforthforan uncontrolled
environment. Thisequipmentshouldbe installed and operated withminimumdistance
20cmbetween the radiator&yourbody.
Thistransmittermustnotbe co-located oroperating inconjunction withanyotherantenna
ortransmitter.
The antenna(s)used forthistransmittermustnotbe co-located oroperating inconjunction
withanyotherantenna ortransmitter
"GIGABYTE declare that GN-A15AG (IEEE 802.11a+g Wireless Access Point) is limited in CH1~CH11 
by specified firmware controlled in USA."

GN-A15AGWireless Access PointUserGuide
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Contents
Chapter1Introduction.................................................................4
Overview.........................................................................................................................4
Features............................................................................................................................4
PackageContents...........................................................................................................5
TheRearPanel.................................................................................................................5
TheFrontPanelLEDs..................................................................................................... 6
Chapter2Installation...................................................................7
HarewareRequirements................................................................................................. 7
SystemRequirements..................................................................................................... 7
InternetConfiguration Requirements............................................................................7
HarewareInstallation..................................................................................................... 8
ConnecttoAccess Point.................................................................................................8
Illustration.........................................................................................................................9
Chapter3.Access PointManager..............................................11
Installing theAccess PointManager.............................................................................. 11
Using theAccess PointManager................................................................................. 15
UpgradeFirmware......................................................................................................... 36
UninstallAPUtility...........................................................................................................37
Chapter4Web-BasedConfiguration Utility..............................39
Chapter5Troubleshooting........................................................54
AppendixA:Glossary.................................................................56
AppendixB:Specification..........................................................59
PhysicalInterface.......................................................................................................... 59
SystemSpecification....................................................................................................... 59
AppendixC:Configuration ofthePCs.....................................60
TheSetting underWindows2000..................................................................................60
TheSettingsunderWindows95/98/Me......................................................................... 63
TheSettingsunderWindowsXP................................................................................... 66

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GN-A15AGWireless Access PointUserGuide Chapter1Introduction
Overview
Features
nIEEE 802.11a &802.11b/gcompliant
nSupportTurbo A/Gand SuperA/G
nDatarateup to108Mbps
nDynamicallyscalesthe datarates
nAutomaticchannelselection
nStrong securitysupport--
64/128/152-bitWEP encryption
Wi-FiProtectAccess (WPA)withTKIPand AES encryption
802.1xRADIUSclient
nDHCPclient/serversupport
nTransparentBridge between WLAN/LAN
nEasyconfiguration throughWeb orAP manager
nFriendlySNMPmanagementsupport
nRoaming support
nWirelessDistribution Services(WDS)support
nFirmwareupgradeable
GN-A15AGisadual-band wirelessAccess Point(AP)complianttoStandardsIEEE 802.
11a and IEEE 802.11g withone external10/100 Ethernetport. Thisproductadoptsthe
directsequencespread spectrum(DSSS)and OrthogonalFrequencyDivisionMultiplex-
ing (OFDM) technologiestoprovide averystablewireless communication qualityand an
excellentsignalreceivercapability.
The GN-A15AGWireless A+GAccess Pointcontainstwoseparatewireless connectivity
radiotransceivers,whichsupportallthree popularwireless networking specifications.The
firsttransceiverusesthe 2.4GHzradioband,supporting boththe widely-used and inex-
pensiveIEEE802.11b standardat11Mbps,and the new,almostfivetimesfaster,IEEE802.
11g at54Mbps.The second radiooperatesinthe 5GHzband,and supportsIEEE802.11a
networking,alsoat54Mbps.Besides,theGN-A15AGcansupportIEEE802.11g turbo and
IEEE802.11a turbo,the dataratescan up to108Mbps.Sincethe tworadiosoperatein
differentbands,theycan worksimultaneously,blanketing yourwireless zone withhigh-
speed bandwidth.
And withup to152-bitWEP encryption,youcan feelrelieved thatyourwireless network
communicationsareprivate.Easy tosetup and use,theGN-A15AGprovide you the AP
Managerand Web-based Configuration utility.

GN-A15AGWireless Access PointUserGuide
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TheRearPanel
The Access Point’s portsarelocated onthe Access Point’s rearpanel.
RJ-45,Auto-sensing for10/100MEthernetWANconnection
Initialreset(Inittofactorydefault)and Hardwarereset.
The powerportiswhereyou connectthe poweradapter.
nOneEthernetWAN Port
nInitBottom
nWireless antenna
One 2.4GHz/5GHzDualBand antenna
nPower
Package Contents
Beforethe installation procedures,pleaseensurethe componentsarenotdamaged dur-
ing the shipping.The shipmentofthe GN-A15AGincludes:
-OneGN-A15AGWireless Access Point
-OneACPowerAdapter
-One Installation CDwiththe AP Managerand UserGuide Soft Copy
-One UserGuide
-Twoembedded 802.11a and 802.11g Wireless LANCard
Pleasecontactyourlocaldistributororauthorized resellerimmediatelyforanymissing or
damaged components.If you requirereturning the damaged product, you mustpack itin
the originalpacking materialorthe warrantywill be voided.

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GN-A15AGWireless Access PointUserGuide
TheFrontPanelLEDs
The Access Point’s LEDsdisplayinformationaboutthe Access Point’s status.
nPower
nWLAN1
(Green Light)
(Green Light)
nWLAN2
nLAN
OnThe 11a MiniPCICardisplugged in.
Blinking Package transmit
(Green Light)
On 10/100 MbpsNetworkConnection
Blinking 10/100 MbpsDataTransmission Rate
(Green Light)
Blinking (Red light)The deviceisdamaged orBooting.
Green LightBooton.
OnThe 11g MiniPCICardisplugged in.
Blinking Package transmit

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Chapter2Installation
SystemRequirements
nAComputerwithWindows,Macintosh,orLinux-based operating system.
nAJavascript-enabled web browserprogramwhichsupportsHTTPupIoadssuchas
Microsoft InternetExplorerorNetscape Navigatorversion 4.0orabove.
InternetConfiguration Requirements
In order to connect your Access Point to the AP Manager, you will need the following
configuration parameters to configure the TCP/IP setting of your computer:
vStatic IP Address: 192.168.1. x (e.g, 2 ~ 253)
vSubnet mask: 255.255.255.0
vDefault Gateway: 192.168.1.254
Hareware Requirements
To use the Wireless Access Point on your network, each computer may need the
following requirements:
nAn installed 802.11a or 802.11b or 802.11g wireless adapter.
nAnEthernetLANswitchorhub.
na wired RJ-45 Ethernet cable

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GN-A15AGWireless Access PointUserGuide
Followthesestepstoinstallthe Wireless Access Point.
HarewareInstallation
1.ChooseaproperplaceforAccess Point. Ingeneral,the bestlocation isatthe center
ofyourwireless coverage area,withinline ofsighttoall wireless devices.Keeping
clearofmetalobstructionsand awayfromdirectsunlight.
2.Placethe Access Pointinthe desired location.Normally,the higheryou placethe
antenna,the betterthe performancewill be.The antenna’s position enhancesthe
receiving sensitivity.
3.Attachone end ofan RJ-45 Ethernetcabletothe Access Pointand attachthe other
end toanetworkhub,switch,router,orpatchpanel(possiblyon awall).
4.Attachone end oftheACpoweradaptertothe Access Pointand the otherend toa
poweroutlet. (Note:Onlyusethe poweradaptersupplied byGigabyteinthe product
package.Using adifferentadaptermayresultinproductdamage.)
Forthe average home,signalrange shouldnotbe an issue.If you experienceloworno
signalstrengthinareasofyourhomethatyou wishtoaccess,considerpositioning the
Access Pointinalocationdirectlybetween the computerswithwireless adapters.Addi-
tionalAccess Pointscan be connected toprovide bettercoverage inroomswherethe
signaldoesnotappearasstrong asdesired.
WiredEthernetCable
ConnecttoAccess Point
You can connectaCrossovercablefromyourcomputer’s Networkcardtothe Access
Pointwithoutusing aNetworkswitchorhub.
WirelessConnection
If youareusing the wireless connection,youcan connecttotheAccess Pointusing the
GigabyteAccess PointManagerwithoutawired Ethernetcable.

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Illustration
Therearetwoinstallation mode foryourreferenceasfollow:
Method 1:StaticIPaddress
If you areNotusing aDHCPserverinyournetwork,youcan configurethe AP byconnect-
ing tothe computerdirectly.
PC(AP Manager) 192.168.1.x
DHCP(Disable)
192.168.1.1(default)
AP
1.Youwillneed toassignaStaticIPAddress tothe computerthatyou areusing to
configuretheAccess Pointonthe samesubnet.
Forinstance,the defaultIPaddress oftheAccess Pointis192.168.1.1and the subnet
mask 255.255.255.0.Youcan enterIPaddress 192.168.1.20 (assuming thatitisnot
alreadyassigned toanothernetworkdevice),subnetmask 255.255.255.0toyour
computer.
Note:If you need the instructionson howtodo this,pleaserefertoAppendixC,
“Configuration ofthePCs”
2.ConnecttotheAccess Pointone byone and assignastaticIPtoeachAccess Point.
Forexample,192.168.1.2or192.168.1.y,etc.(If the IPaddress ofyournetworkis
10.1.5.xthen yourAccess Pointcan be assigned to10.1.5.y.)
3.MakesurethateveryAccess Pointhasaunique IP.
4.AfterallAccess Pointshavebeen configured successfully,then you can useAP
Managertocontrol/monitorallAccess Pointsnetwork.
PC(AP Manager) 192.168.1.x
DHCP(Disable)
192.168.1.1 192.168.1.2192.168.1.y

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GN-A15AGWireless Access PointUserGuide
Method 2:NumerousAccess Pointssetting
If requiretosetup asmanyAccess Pointsatthe sametime.Youcansetup aDHCPServer
and letitassign IPtoallthe Access Pointssoithasitsownunique IPaddress.Afterthe
setup isfinished,and then removeordisabledDHCPServeratlast. Now,you canusethe
AP Managertofind allAccess Pointsinyournetwork,and then setup theN-Access Points
asstaticIPaddress one byone.Notice:AfterassignstaticIPaddress toeveryAccess
Points,be suretosetthe PC(AP Manager) tothe samesubnet.
UsingDHCPservertosetup theIPAddress thenremoveDHCPserver
PC(AP Manager)
DHCPServer
Switch/Hub
PC(AP Manager)
Switch/Hub
e
ObtainIPAddress Automatically-DHCPServerEnabled
If you areusing aDHCPserverinyournetwork,youcan connectaDHCPserverwiththe
Access Pointand anAP Managerthrough aswitch/hub.The IPaddress ofthe Access
Pointshouldbe configuredto“ObtainanIPaddress automatically”(whichisdefaultsetting).
The DHCPserverwill assignthe IPaddress tothe Access Point. The PC(AP Manager)
shouldusethe IPonthe samesubnetasthe Access Point. Or,you can configurethe PC
(AP Manager) to“ObtainanIPaddress automatically”and assign IPbythe sameDHCP
server.
PC(AP Manager) DHCPServer
Switch/Hub
AP

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Chapter3.Access PointManager
The Wireless Access Pointcan be configured one oftwoways,throughthe AP Manager
Utilityorthe Web-based configurationUtility.The GigabyteAccess PointManagerisused
toconfigureGigabyteAccess Points.
Note:The performanceofwireline linkisbetterthan wireless linkbetween theAP
Managerand eachAccess Point. Tousethe wireline linktomanage the
Access Pointisrecommended.
Installing theAccess PointManager
Pleasefollowthesestepstoinstallthe GigabyteAP Managerinthe Windows.
Step1. Insertthe installationCD and click InstallGigabyteAPManageron the CD
autorun screen.
Step2.Pleasewaitawhile!
Step3.Click “Next”.

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GN-A15AGWireless Access PointUserGuide
Step4.Type the UserInformation thenclick “Next”.
Step5.Click “Next”toacceptthe defaultdirectoryor“Browse”toanotherlocation.

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Step6.Click “Next”.
Step7.Click “Next”.

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GN-A15AGWireless Access PointUserGuide
Step8.Pleasewaitawhile.
Step9.Click “Finish”tocompletesetup.

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Using theAccess PointManager
YoucanlaunchGigabyteAP ManagerthroughStart\Programs\GigabyteAPManager
Utility\GigabyteAPManager.
Enterthe defaultpassword“admin”and click “OK”button.
It will automaticallysearchforAccess Pointsonthe samesubnetwhenyou open the
GigabyteAP Manager.You mayclick the icon tosearching forAccess Points
manually.
Menu bar
Toolbar
Tree view
Statusbar
Page Control
Progress bar

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GN-A15AGWireless Access PointUserGuide
nTree structure
ESSID(ap15ag_0)
APName(AP15AG)
MACAddress (0020ED001700)
nMenu bar
ToolsAllowyouto“Search”forAP byESSID,APName,MACAddress,
and IPAddress and “ConnecttoAPbyIP”.And allowyouto“Save”,
“Load”the AP configuration and “Copy”,“Paste”the configuration
atthe currentpage.Besides,itincludesboth“SystemReboot”and
“LoadDefault”.
PasswordAllowyou tochange the AP Managerpasswordand setthe SNMP
communitystring.
AboutAnonline helpand theAP Managerversion.
ExitExitthe AP Manager.
Note:Whenyou searchforAPbyAPName(Tools->Search->ByAPName).You can
press the “searchnext”tocontinue tosearchthe samenameofAP.

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nToorbar
FindAccess Point
SaveAPConfiguration
PageCopy
SystemReboot
ConnecttoAPbyIP
LoadAPConfiguration
PagePaste
LoadDefault
Find all AP inthe samesubnet.
Saveall setting ofthe AP toatempfile.
Load the setting ofthe tempfilethatyousaved beforetothe currentAP.
Copythe setting ofthe currentpage.
Pastethe setting youhascopied tothe currentpage.(Youcan pastethe setting
ofAP1toAP2atthe sametab page.)
Rebootthe Access Point.
Setthe Access Pointtothe manufacturedefault.
If you wanttomanage theAP inthe differentsubnet, usethisfunction and key
inthe IP.

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GN-A15AGWireless Access PointUserGuide
SystemPage
The SystemPage displays the DeviceInformation and the Change CommunityString
function.
1Device Information
The DeviceInformationinclude theAP name,MACaddress,devicedescription,the
version information and the devicetype.
2.Based on the “CardConfigType”,you canchoosewhichwireless type youwant
touse.
Note:
1)Pleaseexpand the Wireless Lan cardwhen poweroff.
2)The embedded ”card1”supportthe IEEE802.11b/802.11g/802.11g turbo
standardsand the “card2”cansupportIEEE802.11a/802.11a turbo
standards.
Recommending nottochoosethe Wireless-Gtype atthe sametime,
oritwillbe affectthe performanceofthe Access Point.
1.Youcan change the AP Nametowhateverunique name,whichcan represent
thisAP.
3.The “CardConfigType”allowsyou toselectwhichwireless cardyou wantto
configure.

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2.Pleasememorizethe communitystring orwriteitdownatsomewhere.
Incaseyouforgetthe communitystring,you havetopress the AP initbuttonand
thenthe AP setting (include communitystring)will be restoretodefaultvalue.
Initbottom
Note:The SNMPcommunitystring definesthe relationshipbetween an SNMPmanager
system(APManager) and the agentsystems(allAPs).Thisstring actslikeapass
wordtocontrolthe APManagertoaccess the AP.The defaultvalue ofthe
communitystring is“public”.Youcan change the communitystring ofAPManager
byusing Password->SetCommunityString on the Menu Bar.
1ChangeCommunityString
Thisfunctioncan letyou change the communitystring tothe AP.You can change a
newcommunitystring onpurposetoprohibitotherAP Manageraccess and manage
yourAP.Afteryou change the communitystring toAP,you need todo twofollowing
actions.
1.UsePassword->SetCommunityString on the MenuBartosetthe community
string totheAP manager.The AP Managerand the AP shouldhavethe same
communitystring.OtherwisetheAP Managerwillnotbe abletofind the AP with
differentcommunitystring

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GN-A15AGWireless Access PointUserGuide
IPConfigPage
The IPConfiguretab allowsyou toconfigurethe IPparametersofthe access point.
1IPAddress
1SubnetMask
1Gateway
Afteryou change the IPaddress ofthe AP,pleasealsochange the PC’s (AP Manager)
IPaddress tothe samesubnet.And then click the “Find Access Point”icon;AP
managerwill searchthe AP on the network.
Enterthe IPaddress ofthe defaultroute.The defaultgatewayis192.168.1.254.
Specifythe subnetmask ofthe access point. The defaultsubnetmask is
255.255.255.0.
Usethisoption toassign anIPaddress tothe access point. The defaultIPaddress
is192.168.1.1.Pleasemakesurethe assigned IPaddress isunique onyour
network.