Nokia A040 User manual

Wireless LAN Adapter
Getting Started

2
A040/A041 Getting Started
Copyright notices
Copyright © Nokia Networks 2000, 2001. All rights reserved.
Nokia is a registered trademark of Nokia Corporation,
Finland.
Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000 and Windows NT
are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
MS-DOS is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
Other products may be trademarks or registered trademarks
of their respective manufacturers.
We reserve the right to make changes and improvements to
any of the products described in this guide without prior
notice. Nokia is not responsible for any loss of data, income
or any consequential damage howsoever caused.
ISSUE 2

3
Welcome
This guide tells you how to use a Nokia A040/
A041 wireless LAN adapter to provide wireless
communications between a standalone device
(with no wireless capabilities) and an existing
LAN (managed by a Nokia A032 or equivalent
wireless LAN Access Point).
Please read the Important Safety Information
before using your Wireless LAN Adapter.
Failure to comply with these guidelines may be
dangerous or illegal.
How to use this guide
This guide gets you up and running quickly
with your A040/A041. It contains the following
information:
• How to connect the adapter to a standalone
computer
• How to test that the adapter can
communicate wirelessly with an existing
LAN
• What to do if the simple test fails.

4
A040/A041 Getting Started
Related documentation
If you need to be able to configure the A040/
A041, please see the A040/A041 Advanced
User Guide , supplied in Acrobat PDF format on
the accompanying CD-ROM, which explains:
• How to use a desktop or laptop PC to
perform optional configuration via a direct
Ethernet or USB connection
• How to monitor and make advanced
configuration changes remotely, using a
suitably privileged network station.
Please see the documentation that came with
your Access Point for details on managing a
wireless network.
Important information
This guide contains information and
instructions relating to two separate and
distinct products:
• Nokia A040 – an Ethernet-only device
• Nokia A041 – a USB-only device.
For the most part, this guide applies to both
product variants. Where appropriate,
information that is specific to either USB or
Ethernet will be highlighted as such. You can
only connect a Nokia A040 to an Ethernet
device, and you can only connect a Nokia
A041 to a USB device.

5
Conventions used in this guide
Notes
You’ll find tips or other useful facts in side
notes throughout the manual. Pay particular
attention to notes that start with Note or
WARNING .
Text conventions
We use the following conventions:
•
courier
is used for file names, or to
denote text that appears on your screen
•
courier bold
is used to denote text that
you should type in
• new terms are shown in italic text the first
time they appear
•
bold
text denotes the name of a physical
button or LED on the adapter (e.g. the
alert
LED) or a button on screen that you need to
click (e.g. “click
Restart
”).
Your A040/A041 can
transfer information
between a standalone
computer and an
existing LAN.

6
A040/A041 Getting Started
Features
The A040/A041 has the following features:
• Built-in wireless LAN adapter card to
communicate with an Access Point
• Automatic operation – can work as
delivered, with no reconfiguration
• Custom operation – can be reconfigured to
add security, modify your network setup or
perform upgrades
• IT environment – can be monitored and
controlled remotely in a managed
environment
• Supports IEEE802.11 Infrastructure or Peer-
to-Peer (ad-hoc) modes
• Automatic connection to any Access Point
regardless of network name (optional)
• Can be configured to look for a specific
network name
• Software-configurable sound indicator.

Contents
7
Table of contents
Copyright notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Overview 9
Checklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Reset button . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Getting started 15
Minimum host computer requirements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Installing USB driver software (Nokia A041) . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Connecting and testing the A040/A041 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

8
A040/A041 Getting Started

Overview
9
1. Overview
Nokia A040 and Nokia A041 Wireless Lan
Adapters allow you to connect standalone
computers to an existing wired/wireless LAN
that is managed by an IEEE802.11-compliant
Access Point.
You can also use the adapters to access
Ethernet- or USB-equipped resources such as
printers and scanners:
The Nokia A040 and
Nokia A041 are often
referred to simply as
‘adapters’ throughout
this guide.
hub
1%
5%
10%
50%
80%
100%
busy
airtx
airtx
power
1%
5%
10%
50%
80%
100%
busy
airtx
airtx
lanlink
lanbusy
alert
access
point
wireless PCs
using radio cards
wired Ethernet LAN
standalone
devices using
Nokia A040/A041s

10
A040/A041 Getting Started
Checklist
After unpacking the adapter, check the
contents against the packing list. The
components listed below are included:
• This User Guide
• Nokia A040 Wireless LAN Ethernet Adapter
or
Nokia A041 Wireless LAN USB Adapter
• Ethernet or USB cable, as appropriate
• Power supply
• Nokia A040 or Nokia A041 Utilities CD-
ROM.
Connectors
The adapter has the following connectors:
•
Power connector
– This is where you connect
the power unit. Only use the power unit
supplied with the A040/A041.
•
Host connector
– This is either an RJ45
Ethernet connector (Nokia A040) or a USB
connector (Nokia A041).
WARNING: Use of a
power adapter other
than that supplied
with the unit could be
unsafe. power connector
host connector

Overview
11
LEDs
The adapter has the following LEDs:
•
power
• Normally this shows green
• Solid red indicates a fault
• Flashing red/green – memory update.
•
radio
– This indicates activity on the
wireless LAN connection:
• On – Connected, but no traffic
• Flashing intermittently – Connected, and
there is network traffic.
•
LAN
– Illuminated when there is a good
connection to the host device.
• Off – Not connected
• On – Connected, but no traffic
• Flashing intermittently – Connected, and
there is network traffic.
•
notify
– Used with the
LAN
LED to indicate
connection status to Access Point (see
below).
notify
LAN
power
radio
Note: A solid red
power LED indicates a
fault.

12
A040/A041 Getting Started
Special LED/sound sequences
The A040/A041 also has an internal speaker. It
emits sounds in conjunction with special LED
sequences:
Power-on
At power-on, the following things happen:
1 The A040/A041 emits a three-tone chirp.
2 The LAN LED lights (assuming there is a
LAN connection).
3 The
notify
and
radio
LEDs flash together and
the adapter beeps for up to 10 seconds while
the adapter scans for an Access Point.
4 If a connection is made to an Access Point,
the adapter emits a three-tone chirp, the
notify LED goes out and the radio LED stays
on.
If the adapter fails to connect to an Access
Point, the beeps stop but the
notify
and
radio
LEDs continue to flash together.
Access Point connection lost
If the connection with an Access Point is lost
for any reason:
1The notify and radio LEDs flash together
(they keep flashing until a connection is
regained).
2The adapter emits beeps for five seconds.
Access Point connection regained
If the connection with an Access Point is
regained:
1The notify and radio LEDs stop flashing.
2The adapter emits a three-tone chirp.
3The radio LED stays on solid if there is no
activity, or flashes intermittently if there is.

Overview 13
New configuration applied
If you alter and save any configuration
settings:
1The power LED flashes red and green.
2The adapter emits a three-tone chirp.
Set-up mode entered
If you put the adapter into set-up mode (see the
Advanced User Guide, supplied as an Acrobat
PDF file on the CD-ROM):
1All the LEDs come on, then go out again.
2The unit makes an intermittent beeping
sound.
3Note that the notify and radio LEDs do not
flash (as the adapter is not attempting to
connect to an Access Point).
Reset button
The adapter has a reset button hidden on its
underside:
You use this to put the unit into set-up mode
(see the Advanced User Guide, supplied as an
Acrobat PDF file on the CD-ROM).
reset
button
rubber
feet

14 A040/A041 Getting Started

Getting started 15
2. Getting started
For many applications the A040/A041 will
work straight out of the box with no
configuration changes. This chapter explains
how to:
• Install USB driver software (Nokia A041
only)
• Connect an adapter to a host computer and
check it’s working properly.
If the operational test fails, Troubleshooting on
page 25 explains how to determine whether
you need to reconfigure the adapter from its
factory default state before it will work on your
network.

16 A040/A041 Getting Started
Minimum host computer requirements
In order to work correctly, any computer
connected to the A040/A041 must satisfy the
following minimum requirements:
Nokia A040
• Ethernet network interface card (NIC) with
10BaseT connection
• Associated Ethernet drivers installed, as
specified by the manufacturer of the NIC
• Windows 95, 98, 2000 or NT.
You may also need an RJ45 adapter for use
with a PCMCIA Ethernet card
With the Nokia A040, you can also use non-
Windows devices that support TCP/IP over
Ethernet.
Nokia A041
• A USB connection
• Nokia A041 – Must have the Nokia A041
USB driver software installed (see page 17)
• Windows 98 or 2000.
Note: Windows 95
and Windows NT do
not support USB plug
and play.

Getting started 17
Installing USB driver software (Nokia A041)
You need to install the USB driver software
onto each host computer that will use a Nokia
A041:
1Insert the Nokia A041 Utilities CD-ROM
into the host computer’s CD drive.
The Nokia Utilities application should run
automatically – you’ll see the following
screen after a few seconds:
2Double-click on the copyright text to
display the Nokia License Agreement:

18 A040/A041 Getting Started
3Read the License Agreement and click
>> I agree << at the bottom of the page to
display the CD-ROM home page:
4Click Install Nokia A041.
5You’ll see the installation options at the
bottom of the page:
6Connect the power unit to the Nokia A041’s
power connector and to a wall outlet.
7Connect the USB cable to the adapter’s host
connector.

Getting started 19
8Connect the other end of the USB cable to
the host computer.
9Switch on at the wall outlet.
10 Click Install USB Drivers.
Windows will detect new hardware and
search for the software for it.
11 Allow Windows to search for the best
driver.
12 If you are prompted to supply the driver,
follow the on-screen instructions and direct
the installation to the CD-ROM. The driver
files are then copied.
You should then be notified that the
installation has been successful.
13 Reboot your machine when prompted.
Note: You must install
the USB drivers before
the IT Proxy software
(part of the A041
utilities).

20 A040/A041 Getting Started
Connecting and testing the A040/A041
The simplest method of testing the adapter is to
use the configuration shown here:
Using the adapter in a TCP/IP environment
This section explains how to connect and test
the A040/A041 on a TCP/IP network. If you do
not use TCP/IP, please see Testing on a non-
TCP/IP network on page 24.
Computer A (the host) and computer B should
both be configured to use TCP/IP and have
fixed IP addresses.
We’ll refer to the IP address of computer A (the
host) as IP-A and the IP address of computer B
as IP-B.
1Check and write down IP-A and IP-B.
2Switch off computer A (the host).
1%
5%
10%
50%
80%
100%
busy
airtx
airtx
power
1%
5%
10%
50%
80%
100%
busy
air tx
airtx
lanlink
lanbusy
alert
access point
computer A
(host)
computer B
Nokia
A040/A041
hub