Symbol sprectum24 LA-4111 User manual

www.symbol.com
Spectrum24
Wireless LAN Adapter
Models LA-4111 PC Card &
LA-4113 PCI Adapter
Product Reference Guide
70-20706-01
Revision A
November 1999

ii Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide
Copyright
Copyright © 1999 by Symbol Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved.
Symbol, the Symbol logo and Spectrum24 are registered trademarks of Symbol Technologies, Inc.
No part of this publication may be modified or adapted in any way, for any purposes without permission in writing from
Symbol. The material in this manual is subject to change without notice.
Symbol reserves the right to make changes to any product to improve reliability, function, or design.
No license is granted, either expressly or by implication, estoppel, or otherwise under any Symbol Technologies, Inc.,
intellectual property rights. An implied license only exists for equipment, circuits, and subsystems contained in
Symbol products.
Other product names mentioned in this manual may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
companies and are hereby acknowledged.
Novell and LAN Workplace are registered trademarks of Novell Inc.
Patents
This product is covered by one or more of the following U.S. and foreign Patents:
U.S. Patent No.
4,360,798; 4,369,361; 4,387,297; 4,460,120; 4,496,831; 4,593,186; 4,603,262; 4,607,156;
4,652,750; 4,673,805; 4,736,095; 4,758,717; 4,816,660; 4,845,350; 4,896,026; 4,897,532;
4,923,281; 4,933,538; 4,992,717; 5,015,833; 5,017,765; 5,021,641; 5,029,183; 5,047,617;
5,103,461; 5,113,445; 5,130,520; 5,140,144; 5,142,550; 5,149,950; 5,157,687; 5,168,148;
5,168,149; 5,180,904; 5,216,232; 5,229,591; 5,230,088; 5,235,167; 5,243,655; 5,247,162;
5,250,791; 5,250,792; 5,260,553; 5,262,627; 5,262,628; 5,266,787; 5,278,398; 5,280,162;
5,280,163; 5,280,164; 5,280,498; 5,304,786; 5,304,788; 5,306,900; 5,321,246; 5,324,924;
5,337,361; 5,367,151; 5,373,148; 5,378,882; 5,396,053; 5,396,055; 5,399,846; 5,408,081;
5,410,139; 5,410,140; 5,412,198; 5,418,812; 5,420,411; 5,436,440; 5,444,231; 5,449,891;
5,449,893; 5,468,949; 5,471,042; 5,478,998; 5,479,000; 5,479,002; 5,479,441; 5,504,322;
5,519,577; 5,528,621; 5,532,469; 5,543,610; 5,545,889; 5,552,592; 5,557,093; 5,578,810;
5,581,070; 5,589,679; 5,589,680; 5,608,202; 5,612,531; 5,619,028; 5,627,359; 5,637,852;
5,664,229; 5,668,803; 5,675,139; 5,693,929; 5,698,835; 5,705,800; 5,714,746; 5,723,851;
5,734,152; 5,734,153; 5,742,043; 5,745,794; 5,754,587; 5,762,516; 5,763,863; 5,767,500;
5,789,728; 5,789,731; 5,808,287; 5,811,785; 5,811,787; 5,815,811; 5,821,519; 5,821,520;
5,823,812; 5,828,050; 5,850,078; 5,861,615; 5,874,720; 5,875,415; 5,900,617; 5,902,989;
5,907,146; 5,912,450; 5,914,478; 5,917,173; 5,920,059; 5,923,025; 5,929,420; 5,945,658;
5,945,659; 5,946,194; 5,959,285; D305,885; D341,584; D344,501; D359,483; D362,453;
D363,700; D363,918; D370,478; D383,124; D391,250; D405,077; D406,581; D414,171;
D414,172
Invention No. 55,358; 62,539; 69,060; 69,187 (Taiwan); No. 1,601,796; 1,907,875; 1,955,269 (Japan);
European Patent 367,299; 414,281; 367,300; 367,298; UK 2,072,832; France 81/03938; Italy 1,138,713
Symbol Technologies, Inc.
One Symbol Plaza
Holtsville, N.Y. 11742-1300
Telephone:(800)SCAN234/[phone]

Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide iii
About This Document
Reference Documents
This Reference Guide refers to the following documents:
Conventions
Keystrokes are indicated as follows:
Typeface conventions used include:
Part Number Document Title
70-20708-01 Spectrum24 Site Survey System Administrators Guide
70-20688-01 Spectrum24 AP-4111 DS Access Point Product
Reference Guide
70-20709-01 Spectrum24 Plus Pack User Guide
70-20136-01 Mountable F-Plane Antenna (ML-2499-DSA1-00)
ENTER identifies a key.
FUNC, CTRL, Cidentifies a key sequence. Press and release each key
in turn.
Press A+Bpress the indicated keys simultaneously.
Hold A+Bpress and hold the indicated keys while performing or
waiting for another function. Used in combination
with another keystroke.
<angles> indicates mandatory parameters in a given syntax.
[brackets] for command line, indicates available parameters;
in configuration files brackets act as separators
for options.
GUI Screen text indicates the control name in a GUI-based application.
Italics indicates the first use of a term, book title, or menu.
‘single quotes’ indicates the exact setting for a parameter.

iv Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide
This document uses the following icons for certain conditions or types
of information:
Indicates tips or special requirements.
Indicates conditions that can cause equipment damage
or data loss.
Indicates a potentially dangerous condition or
procedure that only Symbol-trained personnel should
attempt to correct or perform.
Screen indicates monitor screen dialog. Also indicates user input.
Ascreen is the hardware device on which data appears.
A display is data arranged on a screen.
Terminal indicates text shown on a terminal screen.
URL indicates Uniform Resource Locator. Click the URL to
launch browser.

Contents
Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide v
Chapter 1 Introduction.....................................................1
Chapter 2 About the Spectrum24 Wireless
LAN Adapter ...................................................3
2.1 MU Mode ......................................................4
2.2 11 Mbps Operation ........................................5
2.3 Mobile IP........................................................6
2.4 Power Management ........................................7
2.5 Card and Socket Services ................................8
2.6 Plug and Play .................................................8
2.7 Spectrum24 Adapter LED Descriptions ..............9
Chapter 3 Hardware Installation..................................11
3.1 Preparation ..................................................11
3.2 Installing the PC Card ...................................12
3.3 Installing the PCI Adapter ..............................14
3.3.1 External Antenna Connection...............15
Chapter 4 Installing and Configuring the
Windows 95/98 Driver................................17
4.1 Installing the Spectrum24 Driver in
Windows 95.......................................................17
4.2 Installing the Spectrum24 Driver in
Windows 98.......................................................19
4.3 Spectrum24 Adapter Configuration
for Windows 95/98 ............................................21
Chapter 5 Installing and Configuring the
Windows NT Driver......................................23
5.1 New Spectrum24 Adapter Installation.............24
5.2 Existing Adapter Installation ...........................25

vi Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide
5.3 Spectrum24 Adapter Configuration for
Windows NT ......................................................26
Chapter 6 Installing and Configuring the
Driver in Windows 2000.............................29
6.1 Configuring the Spectrum24 WLAN
Adapter for Windows 2000 .................................32
Chapter 7 Installing and Configuring the
Driver in Windows CE .................................35
7.1 Installing the Spectrum24 Windows
CE Driver ...........................................................35
7.1.1 Installing the Spectrum24 Windows
CE Device Driver from a CDROM .................36
7.1.2 Downloading the Spectrum24
Windows CE Device Driver ...........................38
7.1.3 Uploading the Spectrum24 Driver
to an Handheld Computer Device.................39
Chapter 8 Verifying the Firmware Version.................41
Appendix A Spectrum24 Network Control Panel
Applet (NCPA)............................................. A-1
A.1 Installing NCPA .......................................... A-1
A.2 Using NCPA............................................... A-2
A.2.1 Mobile Unit Property Page .................. A-3
A.2.2 Mobile IP Property Page...................... A-4
A.2.3 Encryption Property Page .................... A-6
A.2.4 WLAN Adapter Property Page ............. A-7
Appendix B WLAN Adapter Specifications.................. B-1
Appendix C Troubleshooting ......................................... C-1
C.1 Windows 95/98 Troubleshooting Tips .......... C-1
C.2 Windows NT 4.0 Troubleshooting ................ C-3

Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide vii
C.2.1 Useful Tool for Windows NT
Troubleshooting ......................................... C-4
C.2.2 Windows NT Errors............................ C-5
C.3 Windows 2000 Troubleshooting Tips............ C-7
C.4 Windows CE Troublshooting........................ C-8
C.4.1 The Handheld Computer Does Not
Recognize the Spectrum24 PC Card ............. C-8
C.4.2 An IP Address is Not Recognized
by the Handheld Computer ......................... C-9
Appendix D Customer Support...................................... D-1
Appendix E Regulatory Compliance..............................E-1
Index............................................................................... Index-1

viii Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide

Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide 1
Chapter 1 Introduction
The LA-4111 PC Card and the LA-4113 PCI adapter
are Spectrum24 direct-sequence (DS) products.
Spectrum24 DS is a spread spectrum network operating
between 2.4 and 2.5 GHz. Spread spectrum
communication provides a high-capacity network within
large or small environments. Spectrum24 DS products
provide a high-capacity network using multiple access
points within large or small environments.
•Spectrum24 bridging architecture allows
communication between wired network devices
and mobile devices.
•Spectrum24 supports the IEEE 802.11 specification.
This open architecture allows Spectrum24 devices
to communicate with wireless devices from
other manufacturers.
•Spectrum24 allows mobile devices to roam
throughout large facilities while remaining
connected to the LAN.
•Spectrum24 allows protocol firmware upgrades
while devices remain operational.
•Spectrum24 antenna diversity feature alternates
between antennas with the best reception,
increasing overall performance.

Introduction
2 Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide

Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide 3
Chapter 2 About the Spectrum24
Wireless LAN Adapter
The Spectrum24 Wireless LAN (WLAN) adapter allows
PC Card or PCI adapter slot-equipped host systems to
configure, connect to and establish a Spectrum24
network. The PCI version of the WLAN adapter
implements the Plug and Play standard.
Features Include:
•Low-power operation for battery-powered devices
with PC Card slots.
•Standard NDIS (Network Driver Interface
Specification).
•Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0, 2000 and
CE driver support.
•Card and Socket Services support.
•Plug and Play support.
•Power management [Continuously Aware Mode
(CAM) and Power Save Polling (PSP)]

About the Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter
4 Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide
2.1 MU Mode
In the Mobile Unit (MU) mode, the WLAN adapter
connects to an access point (AP) or another WLAN
installed system. MU mode allows the device to roam
freely between AP cells in the network. MUs appear as
network nodes to other devices.
WirelessLANAdapter

About the Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter
Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide 5
2.2 11 Mbps Operation
The Spectrum24 Wireless LAN adapter supports an
11 Mbps data rate. The adapter can default to a 5.5,
2 or 1 Mbps data rate when unable to establish an
11 Mbps association.
The following factors can dynamically alter the
data rate:
•signal strength between the AP and the MU
•the ratio of good transmitted packets to attempted
•transmitted packets fall below a threshold
•the MU finds a higher transmit rate with another AP
or it encounters an unspecified data rate.

About the Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter
6 Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide
2.3 Mobile IP
The Spectrum24 Wireless LAN adapter supports
Mobile IP (roaming across routers) when properly
configured to support Mobile IP. The Mobile IP feature
allows Spectrum24 Wireless LAN devices to roam
across routers.
The MU retains its IP address when configured for
Mobile IP and can:
•move from one IP subnet to another
•move from an Ethernet segment to a wireless LAN
•move from one Ethernet segment to another.
Ethernet
AP 2
Mobile Node
AP 1
HostRouter
Internet
Ethernet
AP 3
M o bile N ode
AP 4
Host Router

About the Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter
Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide 7
2.4 Power Management
The WLAN adapter supports the Continuously
Aware (CAM) and Power Save Polling (PSP) power-
management modes. CAM requires the radio to remain
on. Symbol does not recommend CAM for battery
powered devices.
The PCI version of the Spectrum24 WLAN adapter
functions in CAM only.
PSP mode allows the MU to conserve power by
suspending communication while still associated with
an AP. The AP saves data for transmission to the MU
when it wakes at given intervals. When the adapter
wakes to check for data, it switches back into CAM
until it is ready suspend communications again.
The PSP performance index, which varies from 1 to 5,
allows users to specify how often the MU wakes up to
check for data. PSP performance index 1 provides the
quickest response time (shortest sleep interval), while
PSP performance index 5 provides efficient power
consumption (longest sleep interval).
Use the Symbol Network Control Panel Applet (NCPA)
or the Symbol Network Interface Card Task Tray (NICTT)
utility to manually set the PSP performance index.

About the Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter
8 Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide
2.5 Card and Socket Services
The Spectrum24 WLAN adapter supports Card and
Socket services. Card and Socket Service software
packages work with the host computer operating system
enabling the Wireless LAN adapter to interface with
host computer configuration and power management
functions. Card and Socket Service software packages
include SystemSoft and Phoenix.
2.6 Plug and Play
The PCI version of the Spectrum24 WLAN adapter
supports Plug and Play systems. This allows a computer
to recognize the PCI adapter, and configure the
hardware interrupt, memory and device recognition
addresses. This feature requires less user interaction
and minimizes hardware conflicts.

About the Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter
Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide 9
2.7 Spectrum24 Adapter LED Descriptions
The WLAN adapter LED illuminates during connection
or data transfer to indicate the functional status of
the adapter.
Status Function
Off WLAN adapter radio is disabled
or incapable of transmission
Slow Yellow Flash Adapter associated with an
access point
Rapid Yellow Flash Indicates data traffic between
adapter and access point. The
faster the flash, the more data
traffic on the network.

About the Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter
10 Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide

Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide 11
Chapter 3 Hardware Installation
Physical installation for the PC Card and PCI adapter
differ for each system. Refer to the system manufacturer
documentation for specific information.
3.1 Preparation
Before beginning the installation, verify the hardware
package contains:
•Spectrum24 Wireless LAN adapter
•installation CD and utilities.
Verify the model indicated on the card and packaging
before use. Contact the Symbol Support Center if an
item is missing or not functioning.

Hardware Installation
12 Spectrum24 Wireless LAN Adapter Product Reference Guide
3.2 Installing the PC Card
The Spectrum24 WLAN adapter requires:
•a computer with a Type II PC Card slot
•a CDROM drive
•an available interrupt (IRQ)
•an available I/O port address
•Spectrum24 driver installation CDROM
Installation and removal methods vary for different host
devices. Refer to system documentation for information.
Avoid WLAN adapter contact with liquids or
abrasive materials.