Zoom ZoomAir 4000 User manual

ZoomAirZoomAir™
Wireless LANWireless LAN
Owner’sOwner’s
ManualManual
Client installation:
ZoomAir PC Card
ZoomAir ISA Card

NOTICE
This document contains proprietary information protected by copyright, and
this Manual and all the accompanying hardware, software, and documen-
tation are copyrighted. All rights are reserved. No part of this document may
be photocopied or reproduced by mechanical, electronic, or other means in
any form.
The manufacturer does not warrant that the hardware will work properly in
all environments and applications, and makes no warranty or representa-
tion, either expressed or implied, with respect to the quality, performance,
merchantability, or fitness for a particular purpose of the software or docu-
mentation. The manufacturer reserves the right to make changes to the
hardware, software, and documentation without obligation to notify any
person or organization of the revision or change.
All brand and product names are the trademarks of their respective owners.
© Copyright 1999
All rights reserved.

Contents
INTRODUCTION ................................................................................ 5
WHAT IS A LAN?..............................................................................................5
WHY WIRELESS?...............................................................................................6
HOW DOES THE ZOOMAIR WORK?.............................................................7
WHAT ABOUT SECURITY?...............................................................................7
IS INTERFERENCE A PROBLEM?....................................................................8
HOW DO I CONNECT TO MY WIRED LAN? ..............................................8
WHAT DO I NEED TO INSTALL A WIRELESS LAN?..................................9
INSTALLATION PREVIEW..............................................................................11
1 PLANNING YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK.........................................13
SIMPLE AD-HOC NETWORK ........................................................................13
INFRASTRUCTURE ALL-WIRELESS NETWORK ..........................................13
INFRASTRUCTURE NETWORK WITH ACCESS POINT TO A WIRED LAN14
Strategy..........................................................................................................14
All Clients First...................................................................................14
Access Point(s) First ...........................................................................15
SITE SURVEY ...................................................................................................15
2A INSTALLING THE ZOOMAIR PC CARD UNDER WINDOWS 95
AND 98..............................................................................................17
INSERTING THE ZOOMAIR CARD...............................................................17
INSTALLING THE DRIVERS...........................................................................18
RUNNING THE ZOOMAIR SETUP PROGRAM.............................................18
REMOVING THE ZOOMAIR CARD...............................................................20
INTERPRETING THE LEDS...........................................................................20
NEXT STEPS.....................................................................................................21
2B INSTALLING THE ZOOMAIR PC CARD UNDER WINDOWS
NT 4.0..............................................................................................22
INSERTING THE ZOOMAIR CARD...............................................................22
INSTALLING THE DRIVERS...........................................................................23
Installing with No Existing Network............................................................23
Installing the PC Card Drivers............................................................24
Setting Up the Network.......................................................................24
Installing on an Existing Network.................................................................27
RUNNING THE ZOOMAIR SETUP PROGRAM.............................................29
REMOVING THE ZOOMAIR CARD...............................................................31
INTERPRETING THE LEDS...........................................................................31
NEXT STEPS.....................................................................................................32

3 SHARING PRINTERS AND FILES.....................................................33
PRINTER SHARING.........................................................................................33
FILES.................................................................................................................35
FULL-TIME VS. PART-TIME ..........................................................................36
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION .......................................................................37
4 CHANGING SECURITY SETTINGS...................................................38
CHANGING THE SSID...................................................................................38
WIRED EQUIVALENT PRIVACY (WEP)......................................................41
Access Control................................................................................................41
Eavesdropping Prevention...............................................................................41
Implementing WEP.......................................................................................41
5 ADVANCED SETTINGS....................................................................44
RUNNING THE CONFIGURATION UTILITY................................................44
6 SOLVING COMMON PROBLEMS......................................................50
APPENDIX A INSTALLING THE ISA ADAPTER BOARD ON A DESKTOP
COMPUTER.......................................................................................54
HARDWARE INSTALLATION .........................................................................54
SOFTWARE INSTALLATION...........................................................................56
Windows 95 or 98...............................................................................56
Windows NT 4.0.................................................................................57
APPENDIX B UNINSTALLING ZOOMAIR..........................................60
RECORDING CURRENT NETWORK SETTINGS..........................................60
UNINSTALLING ZOOMAIR DRIVERS..........................................................61
REINSTALLING NETWORK SETTINGS ........................................................61
APPENDIX C REGULATORY INFORMATION.....................................62
FCC PART 15 EMISSIONS STATEMENT......................................................62
FCC WARNING...............................................................................................63
FCC PART 15 C STATEMENT.......................................................................63
CANADIAN EMISSIONS STATEMENT...........................................................63
INDUSTRY CANADA STATEMENTS..............................................................63
IMPORTANT INFORMATION .............................................................64

Introduction 5
Introduction
The ZoomAir™ Wireless LAN Cards allow you to connect two or
more Windows® computers without wires! A ZoomAir Card on
each computer is all you need for sharing printers and files.
If you have also purchased the ZoomAir Access Point Software
or the ZoomAir AP128™ hardware access point with your
ZoomAir Wireless LAN Cards, you get greater security and access
control and easy connection to an existing wired LAN. This solu-
tion serves as a bridge between the wired and wireless portions of
the LAN.
This Manual provides a brief overview of wireless LANs and tells
you how to install the ZoomAir Wireless LAN hardware on your
computers.
What Is a LAN?
A LAN is a Local Area Network. It is a network of computers that
are connected with each other. Only the computers connected to
the network can take part in it.
LANs have been around for some time. They are used extensively
in many companies. Each computer requires a Network Interface
Card, or NIC. The connecting cables are usually pulled through the
walls, ceilings, or floors of the building.
Wireless connections between computers have also been around
for some time. Instead of a NIC, each computer is fitted with a
transceiver (combination transmitter and receiver) that sends data
as radio or infrared signals.
Until now, wireless LAN products have often been too expensive
for use in a home or small-to-medium office. Moreover, most
wireless systems were proprietary: You were limited to a single

6ZoomAir Wireless LAN Owner’s Manual
vendor. The ZoomAir Wireless LAN Card adheres to the IEEE
802.11 DSSS specification to ensure interoperability with other
802.11 DSSS wireless LAN systems.
Why Wireless?
With a wireless LAN product like ZoomAir,you no longer have to
choose between the inconvenience and expense of running wires
and the expense of older, nonstandard wireless devices. Also, if
users in your home or office have laptop computers, a wireless
LAN preserves the mobility that laptops are supposed to provide.
Wireless technology offers a level of flexibility unobtainable with
wired LANs. Computers can be added to the system without addi-
tional wiring. Computers can be moved from room to room with-
out changing the wiring. Laptop users can move through an office
and be instantly connected to the company LAN (wired or wire-
less) without looking for a network jack.
A wireless LAN may connect all computers to each other, or it
may be set up to use one of the computers as a “hub” for better
control of the network.
The first arrangement is called an ad-hoc, or peer-to-peer, net-
work. It is ideal for home use and for small offices. In this Manual,
such an arrangement will be called an ad-hoc network.
The second arrangement is called an infrastructure, or access
point, network. All computers on the network communicate
through an Access Point. The ZoomAir Access Point should be
installed on the computer that is connected to the wired LAN.
The ZoomAir Access Point Software is ideal for integrating a
wireless LAN with an existing wired LAN. With one or more Ac-
cess Points on a wired LAN, mobile units (typically laptop com-
puters) can “roam” throughout the LAN and remain connected to
it.
The Access Point Software can also be used to create an infra-
structure wireless-only LAN for better access control and security
and to extend the range of the LAN.

Introduction 7
How Does the ZoomAir Work?
The radio transmitter in the ZoomAir Card sends a radio signal in
the 2.4 GHz (gigahertz, or billion-cycles-per-second) part of the
radio spectrum. This is one of the “ISM” bands that are reserved
for general use and require no license to use. (For instance, most
cordless phones also operate in a different ISM band.) When a
computer adds data to this radio signal, it modifies, or “modulates”
the signal, changing the pattern of its frequencies. The receiver of
the radio signal extracts the data from the signal and sends it to the
receiving computer.
The ZoomAir uses Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)
technology to conserve power, reject interference from other radio
signals, and provide data security. With DSSS, each bit of data is
spread out over a fairly wide frequency band containing a pattern
of frequencies that is detected at the receiving end and converted
back into data. The frequency pattern changes constantly, with the
patterns being coordinated at the sending and receiving ends. To a
receiver that is not 802.11 DSSS capable, the signal looks like low-
level noise.
What About Security?
Because each member of your network must be identified with the
name of your network (called a Service Set Identifier, or SSID),
outsiders cannot access your network without knowing the name.
With WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy, a software utility included
with all ZoomAir products) enabled, your network is even more
secure—as secure as a wired network.Wireless LANs with a soft-
ware or hardware Access Point can actually be more secure than
wired LANs (with additional layers of security, including encryp-
tion, using commercially available software).
Keep in mind also that the ZoomAir products are fairly low-
powered, with a typical range up to 300 feet (about 90 meters).
Under most circumstances, potential eavesdroppers will not even
be aware of your network.

8ZoomAir Wireless LAN Owner’s Manual
Is Interference a Problem?
Interference from neighboring wireless LANs should not be a
problem. Your own network operates on a frequency “channel”
much like a cellular phone. If a close neighbor also has a wireless
LAN, there will be interference only if you operate on the same or
an adjacent channel and the range of the wireless devices overlaps.
(Interference is experienced as a slowing of network response;
neighboring LANs will not have access to each others’ files unless
they share both a channel and an SS ID—an unlikely occurrence.)
You can even establish two independent wireless LANs in the
same office—ad-hoc or infrastructure—with no noticeable degra-
dation of performance.
Microwave ovens operate in the 2.4 GHz range, but most are
sealed fairly well. Any leakage of radio energy in this range falls off
very rapidly as one moves away from the oven. Your ZoomAir
Card is designed to reject microwave interference. In the worst
case, a microwave oven may theoretically slow data transmission; in
actual tests, the effect has been found to be minimal. You would
practically have to put your computer on top of a microwave oven
for you to notice a difference in data rate.
How Do I Connect to My Wired LAN?
Your ZoomAir Wireless network can be easily connected to a
wired LAN using an Access Point. ZoomAir Access Point Soft-
ware, available separately, lets you use one of the PCs already on
your wired LAN as an Access Point. Simply install the ZoomAir
Wireless LAN Card and the Access Point Software, and the wired
and wireless members of your LAN work seamlessly together. Us-
ing a computer as an Access Point should have little, if any, notice-
able effect on the computer’s performance. The ZoomAir Access
Point Software also includes SyGate™, a program that allows one
computer on your network to share Internet access with the rest of
your LAN.
For more demanding installations, Zoom sells a dedicated hard-
ware-based Access Point, the ZoomAir AP128™. The ZoomAir
AP128 is a wireless Access Point that can also be configured as a

Introduction 9
router, ISDN adapter for access to a remote LAN or the Internet,
and/or remote access service.
Your dealer or reseller can guide you in the selection of software
and hardware Access Point solutions for your LAN.
What Do I Need to Install a Wireless LAN?
For any wireless network, you need a ZoomAir Wireless LAN
Card for each computer on the network. You also need to install
the accompanying software for each computer that will not be an
Access Point. For an infrastructure network, you need the
ZoomAir Access Point Software instead of the client software, or
the ZoomAir AP128, for each Access Point.
ZoomAir products come in the following packages and configura-
tions:
The ZoomAir Wireless LAN Card
The ZoomAir Wireless LAN Card includes the following:
• A Type II PCMCIA card containing the radio components and
integrated antenna (inside the small rectangular extension be-
yond the main body of the card).
• Software (on diskettes or CD) containing drivers and other
software for setting up the computer.
• This Manual.
The ZoomAir Wireless LAN Card with ISA
Adapter
The package, consisting of the ZoomAir PC Card and an ISA
adapter, includes the following:
• A circuit board that fits in an ISA or EISA slot inside the
computer and provides a PC Card socket for the Wireless
LAN Card.
• A Type II PCMCIA card containing the radio components and
integrated antenna (inside the small rectangular extension be-
yond the main body of the card).

10 ZoomAir Wireless LAN Owner’s Manual
• Software (on diskettes or CD) containing drivers and other
software for setting up the computer.
• This Manual.
The ZoomAir Access Point Software
The ZoomAir Access Point Software package includes the follow-
ing:
• ZoomAir Wireless LAN Access Point Software, on CD or
diskettes. This product also includes SyGate for shared Inter-
net access.
• Manuals for installing the software.
Note: Each Access Point must be identified uniquely on the
network. This is achieved by a key provided on a ZoomAir
Access Point diskette, which is different for each package.
You will therefore need to purchase one ZoomAir Access
Point software package for each Access Point on your
network.
ZoomAir AP128
See your dealer or retailer for information on what is included with
the ZoomAir AP128.
Computers on Your Network
You also need the following for each computer on your wireless
network:
• A 486 or Pentium® processor or equivalent running Windows
95 or 98, or a Pentium 120 or faster running NT 4.0 Worksta-
tion with Service Pack 3 or above.
• At least 8 MB of memory.
• A hard drive with at least 5 MB free.
• A PCMCIA Type II or Toshiba PC Card slot, either as part of
the computer or as part of the Zoom ISA adapter.