Nortel BayStack 650 Manual

Transitioning a
Netwave AirSurfer
Plus Network
to a BayStack 650
802.11 Network
September 1998
Formerly:
AirSurfer Products

Netwave 802.11 Transition page 2
Nortel Networks September 1998
Transitioning a Netwave AirSurfer Plus Network to
a BayStack 650 802.11 Network
Nortel Networks’ Wireless LAN Division has recently released the 802.11 compliant
firmware for the AirSurfer Plus product line, shipped while still Netwave Technologies. 802.11 is
an industry standard for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) developed by the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). This standard is similar to the 802.3 standard
established for Ethernet wired LANs. NOTE: the BayStack 650 product line (formerly the AirSurfer
Pro product line) is a Direct Sequence (DS) product and is not interoperable with the BayStack
650 products (formerly AirSurfer Plus products), which are based on a modulation technology
called Frequency Hopping (FH). The 802.11 standard establishes both techniques as viable
WLAN technologies. The purpose of this document is to help current users of Netwave’s AirSurfer
Plus products understand the requirements and procedures for upgrading their networks to the
802.11 standard. Please read the complete document before proceeding.
Why 802.11?
Interoperability is the key here. 802.11 defines a standard for WLANs. As a result, all 802.11
compliant FH products, regardless of vendor, will interoperate, just as all 802.11 DS products.
Today, there is no question that if you buy an Ethernet adapter, you can plug it into your PC and
expect it to work with your hubs and network, regardless of make. Ethernet standards are defined
in the 802.3 specification. This is the same principle behind 802.11.
Requirements
Only AirSurfer Plus Access Points have enough memory and power capabilities to support
the 802.11. If you have a Xircom or an original Netwave AirSurfer Access Point, you will need to
physically replace the unit with an AirSurfer Plus Access Point.
How can you determine which Access Point you have? Physical inspection is the most
accurate method. There have been three versions of Access Point hardware that have been
shipped. The first of these shipped under the labels Xircom and Netwave AirSurfer Access Point.
This version has a 10Base2 and a 10BaseT adapter on the back next to the AC power. The
second version was a short production run that was shipped under the label Netwave AirSurfer
(but only in Europe). It only has a 10BaseT adapter. The third version is labeled Netwave
AirSurfer Plus Access Point. It also has both a 10Base2 and a 10BaseT adapter. This is the only
Access Point that can be upgraded to 802.11 firmware. If you need to upgrade to 802.11 and
have Access Points that are not AirSurfer Plus Access Points, please contact us at 1-800-
NETWAVE and ask about our 802.11 upgrade program.
Note: please do not be fooled by the PC Card residing in an Access Point or by the version
of firmware reported by APMGR (the Access Point management utility). All Access Points can
support the firmware for AirSurfer Plus operation in Netwave mode and will take the AirSurfer
Plus cards. This means that an Access Point could be running version 2.60 of firmware and have
an AirSurfer Plus card in it and be a fully operational Access Point supporting an AirSurfer Plus
network. This does not mean, however, that it has the appropriate configuration to support
802.11.
Upgrade Procedure
Upgrading your network requires that you first have the correct files (still available at
http:\\www.netwave-wireless.com\support.) Download the appropriate file and run it (all files are

Netwave 802.11 Transition page 3
Nortel Networks September 1998
self-extracting compressed files.) You can then proceed to follow the instructions below to
upgrade you Access Point firmware and then the firmware in the PC Card that resides in your
Access Point, in that order.
NOTE: You MUST first upgrade the firmware in the Access Point, and then proceed to upgrade
the PC Card. Otherwise you will lose connectivity to the Access Point in APMGR (Netwave’s
Access Point Management Utility) and have to send the unit back to Netwave Technical Support
so that we can reflash your equipment.
Upgrading an Access Point
1. First of all, both the Access Point and the management PC must be attached to a wired
network. Alternatively, you can connect a PC with a 10BaseT Ethernet adapter directly to an
Access Point by using a crossover (rolled) cable. (These cables can be obtained at all normal
cabling supply establishments. ) The configuration of the management PC must include
support for the IPX protocol.
2. Insert the Access Point Firmware Upgrade Disk and type "APMGR" at the a:\ prompt. Use this
software to upgrade all Access Points on your network. Older versions of APMGR.EXE do not
support the latest firmware upgrade. Note: For faster upgrades, all the files on the diskette can
be copied to a directory on your hard disk (e.g. C:\APMGR) and then executed from that
directory.
3. Type "ALT-C", then "L" to list the Access Points. Use the up/down arrows to select the Access
Point to be upgraded.
4. Type "ALT-C" and select "Upgrade Access Point Firmware" to start the firmware upgrade
process.
5. Type the file name of the upgrade in the firmware filename window and press 'Enter'. (For
example, for version 2.60 the file name is APFIRM2.260.)
6. The upgrade process starts and displays a countdown message until finished.
Upgrading the AirSurfer Plus adapters
NOTE: You will be running a program called ASAFLASH.EXE to upgrade the PC cards to the
802.11 firmware. Note: ASAFLASH.EXE is for the AirSurfer Plus card. Do not attempt to use
this utility with the AirSurfer Pro cards. ASAFLASH.EXE can only be run from a clean booted
system. Any memory manager or TSR or AirSurfer driver will produce an Error message and
ASAFLASH will not run.
ASAFLASH will not run if:
a. An ASA driver is detected. Please unload all drivers before running ASAFLASH.
b. A memory manager was detected. Please reboot your computer without using a
memory manager. If you are using DOS 6 or higher, this can be done by holding the
SHIFT key when the message \"Starting MS-DOS...\" is displayed.
c. Card Services or Socket Services was detected. It is recommended that you reboot
without using these services. If power fails or the ASAFLASH program fails then the
card may be left in an indeterminate state and ASAFLASH will not be able to flash
the unit. At this point, the unit must be returned to Netwave Technical Support for a
low level flashing of the code.
To upgrade the AirSurfer PC Card firmware:
1. Start your computer with DOS, without any TSRs. The computer MUST be AC powered.
2. Insert the AirSurfer adapter in the PC Card slot.
3. Insert the AirSurfer Wireless LAN PC Card Firmware Update Disk and type "asaflash" at the
a:\ prompt. The ASAFLASH.EXE program will prompt you to verify the upgrade, and then
proceed to upgrade the firmware in the adapter.
4. Repeat this for all the PC cards for your network.

Netwave 802.11 Transition page 4
Nortel Networks September 1998
AirSurfer Plus Driver Updates
Finally, before you can talk to your newly upgraded Access Points, you must upgrade the drivers
on your laptops. First, download the 802.11 drivers from our web page. Extract the files and copy
them to a freshly formatted 3½” floppy disk. Next, remove the old driver. Please refer to the
Netwave web page Tech Notes page about removing the old drivers.
NOTE: We are currently only supporting Windows 95 and NT Workstation drivers for 802.11
mode.
Installation for Windows 95
1. Boot your PC and wait until Windows 95 is up and running.
2. Insert your flash upgraded AirSurfer Plus Wireless LAN PC Card into your PCMCIA slot.
3. Windows 95 will automatically detect your card and display a “New Hardware Found” dialog
box, identifying the “Netwave AirSurfer Plus Wireless LAN PC Card”.
4. Insert the disk containing the Netwave 802.11 drivers you downloaded into your 3½” floppy
drive (A:).
5. Click “Next”.
6. Select the “Netwave AirSurfer Wireless LAN in 802.11 Mode Adapter” option.
7. If Windows 95 asks for the Windows 95 CD-ROM, enter the path to the Windows 95 setup
files--either “D:” or the directory of your Windows CAB files (these are often in
C:\WINDOWS\OPTIONS\CABS).
8. If Windows 95 asks for the ASANDIS3.SYS file, enter “A:”.
9. If you are running Novell’s IntraNetware Client 32, place the IntraNetware Installation CD in
your CD-ROM drive when prompted.
10. Windows 95 will now ask you to restart. Select “No”.
11. Click the Start button, select Settings, Control Panel.
12. Double click the “Network” icon.
13. Within the Configuration tab, select the “Netwave AirSurfer Wireless LAN in 802.11 Mode
Adapter” item in the network components list and click on Properties.
14. Select the Advanced tab, and select the appropriate values for your SSID (default = “Default
SSID”) and PHY Parameter (default = “1”). If you do not know which values to choose, contact
your network administrator. Improper values will result in a failure to communicate with the
wireless LAN.
15. After changing the “Netwave AirSurfer Wireless LAN in 802.11 Mode Adapter” configuration,
click OK.
16. Go to the Protocol tab. Add the appropriate protocol(s) for your network.. Contact your
network administrator if you have any questions regarding protocols on your network. Follow
the prompts for the Windows 95 setup files to add protocols to your setup. Click “OK”.
17. Click “OK” in the Networks dialog box.
18. Click “Yes” when prompted to restart your computer.
19. When Windows 95 restarts, the AirSurfer Plus Adapter will be operational in 802.11 mode.
Look for the green link integrity LED on the AirSurfer Plus PC Card. This indicates a
connection with your upgraded Access Point.
Installation for Windows NT Workstation 4.0
1. Boot your PC and wait until Windows NT Workstation 4.0 is up and running.
2. Insert your flash upgraded AirSurfer Plus Card into your PC Card slot.
3. Insert the disk containing the Netwave 802.11 drivers you downloaded into your 3½ floppy
drive (A:).
4. Click the Start button, select Settings, Control Panel.
5. Double click the “Network” icon.
6. Click on the Adapters tab.

Netwave 802.11 Transition page 5
Nortel Networks September 1998
7. Click Add.
8. When the Network Adapter Option List has been built, click on “Have Disk”, then type in A:
when prompted.
9. Select the “Netwave AirSurfer Wireless LAN in 802.11 Mode Adapter” option.
10. When the Netwave adapter configuration dialog box appears, select the appropriate values for
your SSID (default = “Default SSID”) and PHY Parameter (default = “1”). If you do not know
which values to choose, contact your network administrator. Improper values will result in a
failure to communicate with the wireless LAN.
11. Click OK. The appropriate files will then be copied to your laptop.
12. Go to the Protocol tab. Add the appropriate protocol(s) for your network.. Contact your
network administrator if you have any questions regarding protocols on your network. (You will
most likely need your NT Workstation Setup CD to add protocols to your setup. Click “OK”.
13. Click “Yes” when prompted to restart your computer.
14.When Windows NT restarts, the AirSurfer Plus Adapter will be operational in 802.11 mode.
Look for the green link integrity LED on the AirSurfer Plus PC Card. This indicates a
connection with your upgraded Access Point.
4401 Great America Parkway 8 Federal Street
Santa Clara, CA 95054 Billerica, MA 01821
Copyright © 1998 by Nortel Networks
All rights reserved.
Trademarks
BayStack, AirSurfer, and Netwave are all registered trademarks and the Nortel Networks logo is a trademark of
Nortel Networks