NDC Instant Wave High Speed User manual

High Speed
11Mbps Wireless LAN
User’s Guide
P/N: 85-506300-00
Rev. X1
August 2001
National Datacomm Corporation
4F, No. 24-2, Industry East 4th road
Science Park, Hsin-Chu
Taiwan, R.O.C.
Technical Support
E-mail: techsup[email protected]
NDC World Wide Web
www.ndc.com.tw
USB Adapter

ii InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter
TRADEMARKS
NDC and InstantWave are trademarks of NDC Communications, Inc. All other
names mentioned in this document are trademarks/registered trademarks of their
respective owners.
NDC provides this document “as is,” without warranty of any kind, neither
expressed nor implied, including, but not limited to, the particular purpose. NDC
may make improvements and/or changes in this manual or in the product(s) and/or
the program(s) described in this manual at any time. This document could include
technical inaccuracies or typographical errors.
FCC WARNING
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B
Digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the 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:
 Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna
 Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver
 Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which
the receiver is connected
 Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help
You are cautioned that changes or modifications not expressly approved by the
party responsible for compliance could void your authority to operate the
equipment.
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

InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter iii
FCC RF Radiation Exposure Statement:
This equipment complies with FCC RF radiation exposure limits set forth
for an uncontrolled environment. This equipment should be installed and
operated with a minimum distance of 20 centimeters between the radiator
and your body.

iv InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter
Packing List
The package contents vary depending on whether you have purchased the PnP
USB Adapter:
The USB Adapter package should contain the following items:
•One USB Adapter
•One Diskette for Windows driver
•Two Diskettes for Windows Utility Program
•This User’s Guide

InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter v
Table Of Contents
Introduction
Congratulations on choosing an InstantWave High Speed wireless networking
family product. InstantWave High Speed was designed with a “Maximizing the
convenience of networking” philosophy in mind. You will find InstantWave High
Speed very easy to configure and use.
This User’s Guide gives comprehensive instructions on installing and using the
InstantWave High Speed USB Adapters, and also explains how to install and use
the InstantWave High Speed Utility Program.
InstantWave High Speed Family
The InstantWave High Speed USB Adapters are part of the InstantWave High
Speed family of easy to use high performance wireless communication products.
The family products include:
•InstantWave High Speed PC Card (NWH610)
•InstantWave High Speed PCI Card (NWH630)
•InstantWave High Speed Access Point (NWH660, NWH650)
•InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter (NWH640)
System Requirements
Hardware Platform
A station must be an x86 compatible PC with a USB interface. The minimum
system configuration is the same as that required to run MS Windows (Windows
95OSR2, 98, NT 4.0, 2000).
Software Environment
The stations operate in conjunction with most of the MS Windows (Windows
95OSR2, 98, NT 4.0, 2000).

2InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter
Glossary
Wireless Network
In the IEEE 802.11 definition, a wireless network is classified as an Ad-Hoc
network or an Infrastructure network.
Ad-Hoc Network
An Ad-Hoc network is formed by a number of wireless stations (without an Access
Point) communicating via radio waves. For the users, the shared resources on the
wireless network appear exactly as they would on a regular wired network. The
wireless operation of the network is totally transparent. Figure 1 depicts a typical
Ad-Hoc network scenario.
Figure 1. An Ad-Hoc Network
Infrastructure Network
An Infrastructure network is formed by several stations and one Access Point (AP),
with the stations within range of the AP. Figure 2 depicts a typical Infrastructure
network topology.
Figure 2. An Infrastructure Network
Server
Wired Computers
Access Point
Wireless Computers (USB Adapter)
Wireless Stations

InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter 3
Group ID/BSSID
A Group ID (the 802.11 standard uses the term BSSID) is the ID of a wireless cell.
A wireless cell is usually made up of stations in an area that the radio signal can
comfortably cover. In other words, any wireless station in the cell can
communicate with any other within reach of the radio signal (Figure 3).
Figure 3. A Wireless Cell (Group)
Domain Name/ESSID
A domain is usually defined by the network administrator as a segment/subnet of a
large network and may be made up of overlapping wireless cells. Wireless nodes
can roam freely within the same domain without disconnecting from the network.
Figure 4 depicts a common wireless network setup.
Figure 4. Roaming in the Same Domain
Roaming
The convenience of a mobile PC is the ability to move freely. The concept is
similar to that of a cellular phone moving from one base station to another.
InstantWave High Speed offers built-in high performance seamless roaming
capabilities.
Carrier Set
InstantWave products use the unlicensed ISM (Industrial, Scientific, Medical) band
to communicate through radio waves. Different countries offer different radio
frequencies to be used as the ISM band. There are four frequency bands defined
by 802.11: Japan (2.471GHz –2.497 GHz), USA, Extended Japan, Canada, and
Europe (2.4 GHz –2.4835 GHz), Spain (2.445 GHz –2.475 GHz), France (2.4465
GHz –2.4835 GHz). If a user wants to use InstantWave High Speed in a country
not listed above, he/she needs to checkwith their government’s regulating body to
Access Point
Server
Access Point
Wireless
Stations

4InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter
find the correct frequency band to use. All InstantWave High Speed products are
supplied preset to the country of sale’s frequency band.
Access Point
An Access Point (AP) provides a transparent bridged connection between a wired
network and a wireless network and allows wireless stations to communicate with
devices attached to a wired network.
It manages the flow of data packets from the wired LAN to the Wireless LAN and
vice versa.

InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter 5
Getting Started
This section explainshow to quickly setup a wireless station.
Hardware Installation
USB Adapter Installation
The USB Adapter fits into a USB slot. The antenna is encased in a
plastic case, in line with the main body of the USB Adapter, such that
it extends outside the USB slot when the card is inserted.
step2. Repeat the above procedure for each of the other computers to be
networked
LEDs
The USB each have two LED. In normal use the orange LED when the adapter is
activity. The green LED is used for DC power.

6InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter
Driver Installation/Uninstallation
For Windows 95 see the following section, for Windows 98 go to page 9, for
Windows NT 4.0 go to page 11.
Installation in Windows 95
You should begin by identifying your version. The original version of Windows 95
(old version) is not supported by the adapter.
Right click My Computer and click Properties. The System Properties screen will
open (Figure 5).
Check the
version number
Figure 5. System Properties
On the General card you will find the Windows 95 version number:
•If the versionnumberis 4.00.950 or 4.00.950a youare running the
original version of Windows 95. (not supported by the adapter)
•For version 4.00.950B or later is Windows 95OSR2, go to procedure A
on page 6
Procedure A (For Windows 95 4.00.950 B and 4.00.950 C)
step1. Turn on the power and start Windows 95
step2. Windows 95 will detect the adapter and the Update Device Driver
Wizard dialog boxwill open (Figure 6)

InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter 7
Figure 6. Update Device Driver Wizard-1
step3. Insert the InstantWave High Speed driver disk and click Next
step4. The Update Device Driver Wizard will indicate that Windows 95 found
the driver in the root directory (Figure 7). Click Finish
.
Figure 7. Update Device Driver Wizard-2
step5. The installer will copy the driver files into the system. There is a
known problem with the Windows 95 OSR2 device installer. The
installer may default to the wrong source location. Typically, the
installer source path defaults to the Windows installation location. The
user should manually redirect the installer to the correct source location.
The following dialog boxes will be displayed
Figure 8. Insert Disk

8InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter
Figure 9. Copying Files
step6. Click OK on each screen. After the driver files have been copied, setup
is complete
step7. Depending on your current installation of Windows 95, the setup
program may ask you to insert the Windows 95 disk
step8. If the TCP/IP protocols are required (necessary for Internet access), add
them by clicking Start/Control Panel/Network/Configuration
That completes the hardware and driver installation.
Uninstalling the Adapter from Windows 95
You may need to uninstall your adapter for the following reasons:
1. The installation fails or is interrupted by unknown factors. If this happens the
InstantWave High Speed Adapter will be marked with an exclamation mark
“!”in Device Manager. Uninstall the adapter using methods described below
and then restart your computer. The Windows 95 plug and play function will
detect the adapter again
2. You want to remove the device
The uninstallation process is as follows:
To completely remove the adapter and driver from your system you will need to
physically remove the adapter (with the system powered off). The removal
procedure is the reverse of the Hardware Installation procedure on page 5. Restart
the computer and then proceed as follows:
step1. In Control Panel click the Network icon
step2. Highlight the InstantWave High Speed adapter driver entry
step3. Click the Remove button to remove the old InstantWave High Speed
adapter driver
step4. Click OK. The system will ask you to restart the PC. ClickYes

InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter 9
Installation in Windows 98
Driver installation and uninstallation in Windows 98 is basically the same as that of
Windows 95 OSR2. Complete the following procedure to install the driver
program for Windows 98.
step1. Turn on the power and start Windows 98
step2. Windows 98 will detect the adapter and the Add New Hardware Wizard
dialog box will open (Figure 10)
Figure 10. Add New Hardware Wizard-1
step3. Click Next
Figure 11. Add New Hardware Wizard-2
step4. Choose Search for the best driver for your device (Figure 11). Click
Next to open the following screen (Figure 12)

10 InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter
Figure 12. Add New Hardware Wizard-3
step5. Insert the InstantWave High Speed disk and click Next
step6. The Add New Hardware Wizard will indicate that Windows 98 found
the driver in the root directory (Figure 13).
Click Next
Figure 13. Add New Hardware Wizard-4
step7. Go to page, and follow steps 7 to 13
The default network protocol for Windows 98 is TCP/IP. If other network
protocols are required they can be added via Control Panel/Network.
Uninstalling the Adapter from Windows 98
step1. Click Start/Settings/Control Panel,and double-click the Network icon,
then highlight the InstantWave High Speed adapter driver entry
step2. Click the Remove button to remove the old InstantWave High Speed
adapter driver
step3. Click OK. The system will ask you to restart the PC. ClickYes

InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter 11
Installation in Windows NT 4.0
Important:Before installing the driver in Windows NT 4.0, check that in the
computer’s BIOS on the PnP and USB Settings page, “PnP OS
Installed”is set to NO.
step1. Double-click My Computer, double-click Control Panel
step2. Double-click the Network icon to open the Network window. Select the
Adapters card
step3. Click Add. The Select Network Adapter dialog box will open
step4. Click Have Disk
step5. Insert the Windows NT driver diskette into drive a (or b) and then type
a:\winnt (or b:\winnt)
step6. Click OK. The Select OEM Option dialog box will open (Figure 14)
Figure 14. Select OEM Option
step7. Select the correct adapter and click OK. If USB Adapter is selected, the
dialog box for setting the Interrupt number and I/O address will be
shown. Users can specify a different Interrupt number and I/O address
for this adapter if there is a conflict with an existing card in the
computer
Figure 15. InstantWave High Speed Adapter Setup

12 InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter
step12.
step13. The InstantWave High Speed Adapter will now be shown on the
Adapters card in the Network configuration box. Click Close
step14. If the user needs to bind the adapter to TCP/IP, then the TCP/IP
protocols must be added
step15. The Network Settings Change dialog boxwill askyou to restart the
computer. Remove the floppy disk from the floppy drive and click Yes
to complete the installation
step16. Owing to Windows NT constraints, the InstantWave High Speed
Windows Utility Program will not be automatically installed. The user
needs to install this program by following the procedure described on
page 14
Uninstalling the Adapter from Windows NT 4.0
step1. Click Start/Settings/Control Panel,and double-click the Network icon.
step2. Highlight the InstantWave High Speed adapter driver entry and click
Remove
step3. Click Close. The system will ask you to restart the PC. Click Yes

InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter 13
Installation in Windows 2000
A final release Windows 2000 may be slightly different. Updated installation procedures
will be found at www.sohoware.com or on a loose sheet inside the package.
step1. Turn on the power to the PC and start the Windows 2000 operating
system
Figure 16. Found New Hardware Wizard-1
step2. The Found New Hardware Wizard dialog boxwill open . Click Next
Figure 17. Found New Hardware Wizard-2
step3. Choose Search for a suitable driver for my device and click Next
step4. Check Specify a location. Click Next
step5. Insert the InstantWave High Speed driver disk. Type A:\Win2K and
click OK

14 InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter
step6. Click Next when Windows finds a driver for this device
step7. Click Yes to begin copying the necessary driver files
step8. On the Completing the Found New Hardware screen, click Finish
step9. Restart the computer
Uninstalling the Adapter from Windows 2000
step4. Click Start/Settings/Control Panel,and double-click the Network icon,
then highlight the InstantWave High Speed adapter driver entry
step5. Click the Remove button to remove the old InstantWave High Speed
adapter driver
step6. Click OK. The system will ask you to restart the PC. ClickYes

InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter 15
The InstantWave High Speed Windo s
Utility Program
The InstantWave High Speed Utility program is a Windows-based application that
allows users to monitor and configure the wireless adapter. The program includes
a Network Watcher tool that allows users to determine the best location to place
the InstantWave High Speed products, or to diagnose the wireless network for
problems.
The utility program allows users to configure the wireless network type (Ad-Hoc
or Infrastructure), Domain name (segmented networks), and set the Roaming
capability (Enable/Disable). The Network Watcher tool allows users to view
existing groups (Group ID/BSSID. See an explanation of this term on page 3) of
wireless cells in a Domain. It provides the option to join a particular group in the
network.
Tools are also provided for viewing the network in terms of radio signal quality,
and for monitoring the station data throughput.
InstantWave High Speed Utility Installation
Insert the InstantWave High Speed Utility program setup disk
step1. From the Start menu, select Run, and type: a:\setup.exe
step2. Click the OK button to start the setup program. The InstantWave High
Speed Welcome screen will appear. After reading the installation
description, click Next to advance to the Choose Destination Location
dialog box (Figure 18)
Figure 18. Choose Destination Location

16 InstantWave High Speed USB Adapter
step3. From the Choose Destination Location dialog box, click Next to copy
the program files tothe default location, C:\Program
Files\InstantWaveHighSpeed, or click Browse to choose another
location
step4. The setup program will copy the necessary files into the specified
directory. File copying progress will be displayed in the InstantWave
High Speed utility setup screen. Check I would like to launch
InstantWave High Speed Utility, and click OK. The InstantWave High
Speed Information dialog box will be displayed
step5. Click OK to complete the installation. The InstantWave High Speed
Utility toolbar will open (Figure 20)
Using the InstantWave High Speed Utility Program
The following section explainshow to use the InstantWave High Speed Utility.
step1. Click the Start button on the taskbar
step2. Go to Programs and InstantWave High Speed Utility. The Station
Utility tools will be shown (Figure 19)
Figure 19. InstantWave High Speed Utility
step3. Click Toolbar and the task icons will appear in the upper right corner of
the screen, offering fast access to the utility functions (Figure 20)
Adapter
Properties
Scanning
Signal Quality
Indicator
Throughput
Monitor