802.11n Wireless USB Adapter
WNL-U552
User’s Manual
Version: 1.00
Date: August 2007
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Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Radiation Exposure Statement
This equipment complies with FCC radiation exposure set forth for an uncontrolled environment. In order to
avoid the possibility of exceeding the FCC radio frequency exposure limits, human proximity to the antenna
shall not be less than 20 cm (8 inches) during normal operation.
R&TTE Compliance Statement
This equipment complies with all the requirements of DIRECTIVE 1999/5/CE OF THE EUROPEAN
PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF 9 March 1999 on radio equipment and telecommunication
terminal Equipment and the mutual recognition of their conformity (R&TTE). The R&TTE Directive
repeals and replaces in the directive 98/13/EEC (Telecommunications Terminal Equipment and
Satellite Earth Station Equipment) As of April 8,2000.
Safety
This equipment is designed with the utmost care for the safety of those who install and use it. However,
special attention must be paid to the dangers of electric shock and static electricity when working with
electrical equipment. All guidelines of this and of the computer manufacture must therefore be allowed
at all times to ensure the safe use of the equipment.
EU Countries Intended for Use
The ETSI version of this device is intended for home and office use in Austria Belgium, Denmark,
Finland, and France (with Frequency channel restrictions). Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy,
Luxembourg .The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom.
The ETSI version of this device is also authorized for use in EFTA member states Iceland,
Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.
WEEE regulation
To avoid the potential effects on the environment and human health as a result of the
presence of hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, end users of
electrical and electronic equipment should understand the meaning of the crossed-out
wheeled bin symbol. Do not dispose of WEEE as unsorted municipal waste and have to
collect such WEEE separately.
Revision
User’s Manual for PLANET 802.11n Wireless USB Adapter
Model: WNL-U552
Rev: 1.0 (August 2007)
Part No. EM-WNLU552
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CONTENTS
Chapter 1 Introduction ........................................................................................1
1.1 Features ...................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Specifications ............................................................................................................. 2
1.3 Package Contents....................................................................................................... 2
Chapter 2 Installation Procedure.........................................................................3
Chapter 3 Configuration Utility..........................................................................8
3.1 Site Survey................................................................................................................. 9
3.2 Profile....................................................................................................................... 10
3.2.1 Add Profile - Configuration.......................................................................... 11
3.2.2 Add Profile - Authentication and Security.................................................... 13
3.2.2.1 802.1x Setting - Certification............................................................. 15
3.2.2.2 802.1x Setting - CA Server ................................................................ 18
3.3 Link Status ............................................................................................................... 19
3.4 Statistics ................................................................................................................... 20
3.5 Advance ................................................................................................................... 21
3.7 WPS Configuration.................................................................................................. 26
3.7.2 WPS Setup - PIN........................................................................................... 29
3.8 About........................................................................................................................ 32
Chapter 4 Appendix ..........................................................................................33
4.1 Troubleshooting ....................................................................................................... 33
4.2 Glossary ................................................................................................................... 35
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Chapter 1 Introduction
For higher wireless transfer performance, we are glad to introduce the PLANET 802.11n wireless USB
adapter – WNL-U552. It is a USB 2.0 wireless adapter that can operate in either Ad-Hoc mode (Point to
Point/Point to Multipoint without an Access Point) or Infrastructure mode (Point to Point / Point to
Multipoint with an Access Point) 2.4GHz frequency band; it’s backward compatible with 802.11b and
802.11g for users to create a new wireless environment based on the existing wireless network. With
integrating the latest innovative 802.11n technology, the maximum data rate of WNL-U552 is up to
300Mbps which is almost six times of standard G.
Featuring smart antenna technology, the 802.11n design helps combat distortion and interference, so
the Network Card can send its data streams with greater distances and be more reliable. The
WNL-U552 supports the most convenient security, ” Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) “which is the way to
build connection between wireless network clients and this wireless router. This WNL-U552 supports
two types of WPS, Push-Button Configuration (PBC) and PIN code (key Wireless adapter card pin
number)
For WLAN security issues, the WNL-U552 supports both 64/128-bit WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)
and WPA/WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access) for securing wireless network connections. The driver and
utility support most popular operating systems, Windows 2000 / XP and Vista. With advanced features
and high performance capability, the WNL-U552 is an excellent choice for constructing a wide range of
wireless solutions.
The power consumption of the card is also very low. This card provides several levels of power saving
modes allowing user customizes the way of saving the power from his/her portable or handheld
devices.
1.1 Features
z
z
z
z
z
z
z
2.4GHz ISM band, unlicensed operation
Supports Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)
Compliant with IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n (draft 2.0)
Compliant with USB 1.1/2.0 standard
Support 64/128-bit WEP and WAP/WAP2 high-level security mechanisms
Support Ad-Hoc / Infrastructure mode
Support WMM (WiFi Multi-Media) function to meet the multi-media data bandwidth requirement.
(the connected AP and the application must support WMM as well)
Support of Power Save mode
z
z
z
z
High-efficiency antenna expands the scope of your wireless network
QoS function: Control the bandwidth required for different applications
Support of most popular operating systems including Windows 2000 / XP and Vista
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1.2 Specifications
USB 1.1 / 2.0, Type-A
Interface
Standards Conformance Compliant with 802.11b / 802.11g / 802.11n (draft 2.0)
IEEE 802.11b: 11/5.5/2/1M
IEEE 802.11g: 54/48/36/24/18/12/9/6
Data Transfer Rate
IEEE 802.11n:
300/270/243/240/216/180/162/120/108Mbps in 40Mhz mode
145/130/117/104/ 78Mbps in 20Mhz mode
Infrastructure Mode, Ad-Hoc Mode
WEP 64/128bit, WPA, WPA2
Operating Mode
Security
802.11b: DSSS, CCK, QPSK, BPSK
802.11g: OFDM
802.11n: 64QAM, 16QAM, QPSK, BPSK
11b mode: 16~18dBm
11g mode: 14~16dBm
RF Modulation
Output Power
Channels
11n mode: 11~13dBm
2.412~2.462GHz(FCC, Canada)/11 Channels
2.412~2.4835GHz(Japan, TELEC)/14 Channels
2.412~2.472GHz(Euro ETSI)/13 Channels
Built-in utility or Windows XP Zero Configuration utility
Windows 2000 / XP / Vista
Management
Operating systems
Environmental & Mechanical Characteristics
Operating: 0 °C ~ 55 °C
Temperature
Storage: -20 °C ~ 70 °C
Operating: 0 ~ 85%
Storage: 0 ~ 95% Non-Condensing
Operating Humidity
Dimensions
83 x 27 x 10 mm (L x W x H)
Weight
14g
Certifications
FCC, CE
1.3 Package Contents
Before you begin the installation, please check the items of your package. The package should include
the following items:
1 x WNL-U552
1 x Driver and User's manual CD
1 x Quick Installation Guide
If any of the above items is missing, contact your supplier as soon as possible.
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Chapter 2 Installation Procedure
Utility Installation
1. Insert the bundled CD into the CD-ROM drive to launch the auto run program. Once completed, a
menu screen will appear.
2. Click the “Configuration Utility” hyperlink in the WNL-U552 field to initiate the installation procedure.
Note: If the menu screen does not appear, click “Start” at the taskbar. Then, select “Run” and type
“E:\Utility\WNL-U552\setup.exe”, where the E is your CD-ROM drive.
3. Read the License Agreement carefully. Click “Yes” to accept it and continue.
4. It is suggested to use “PLANET Configuration Tool” to manage the WNL-U552. Click “Next” to
continue.
5. If “Optimize for performance mode” is selected, the “Tx BURST” option will be enabled to increase
the transfer speed. However, the AP must support this feature as well. If the target AP is complying
with 802.11b/g standard, please select “Optimize for WiFi mode”.
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6. You can see the installation progress in this screen.
7. Please click “Finish” to finish the installation.
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Driver Installation
1. Please insert WNL-U552 into a vacant USB port of your PC.
2. Windows will detect this device automatically. When the “Found New Hardware Wizard” dialog box
appears, please click “Cancel”.
3. Choose the first one “Search for the best driver in these locations” and tick the box of “include this
location in the search:” and then to click “Browse” to direct the hardware driver where is in
“C:\Program Files\PLANET\ PLANET WNL-U552\Driver” Then click “Next” to continue.
4. The screen will appear to inform that you are installing PLANET WNL-U552. Please click “Continue
Anyway” to continue.
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5. The screen will show the rate of progress for the installation of WNL-U552 as below.
6. Please click “Finish” to complete the driver installation
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7. The WNL-U552 utility will appear on the screen. Please select the AP you would like to connect
and press “Connect” button to link it. Please click” OK” to continue.
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Chapter 3 Configuration Utility
The Configuration Utility is a powerful application that helps you configure the WNL-U552 and monitor
the link status and the statistics during the communication process.
When the WNL-U552 is installed, the configuration utility will be displayed automatically. This card will
auto connect to wireless device which has better signal strength and no wireless security setting.
The Configuration Utility appears as an icon on the system tray of Windows while the card is running.
You can open the utility by double-click on the icon.
Right click the icon; there are some items for you to operate the configuration utility.
z
Lauch PLANET WNL-U552 Utilities
Select “Lauch PLANET WNL-U552 Utilities” to open the Configuration Utility tool.
Use Zero Configuration as Configuration Utility
z
Select “Use Zero Configuration as Configuration Utility” to use Windows XP built-in wireless
configuration utility (Windows Zero Configuration) to configure the card.
Exit
z
Select “Exit” to close the Configuration Utility tool.
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3.1 Site Survey
When you open the Configuration Utility, the system will scan all the channels to find all the access
points/stations within the accessible range of your card and automatically connect to the wireless
device with the highest signal strength. From the “Site Survey”, all the networks nearby will be listed.
You can change the connection to another network or add one of the networks to your own profile list.
Parameter
Description
Available Networks
This list shows all available wireless networks within range of your
card. It also displays the information of the networks including the
SSID, BSSID, Signal Strength, Channel, Encryption,
Authentication and Network Type. If you want to connect to any
networks on the list, double-click the item on the list, and the card
will automatically connect to the selected network.
Rescan Button
Click “Rescan” button to collect the new information of all the
wireless networks nearby.
Connect Button
Click “Connect” to connect to the selected network.
Add the selected network to Profiles list.
Add to Profile Button
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3.2 Profile
The “Profiles List” is for you to manage the networks you connect to frequently. You are able to
Add/Delete/Edit/Activate a profile.
Parameter
Description
Profiles List
The profiles list display all the profiles and the relative settings of the
profiles including Profile Name, SSID, Channel, etc.
This sign indicates the activated profile is been connecting.
This sign indicates the activated profile is not been connecting.
Add/Delete/Edit Button
Activate Button
Click these buttons to add/delete/edit the selected profiles.
Click “Activate” to connect to the selected profile. When a profile is
activated, the card will be initially connected to the profile.
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3.2.1 Add Profile - Configuration
Parameter
Description
Profile Name
Define a recognizable profile name for you to identify the different
networks.
SSID
The SSID (up to 32 printable ASCII characters) is the unique name
identified in a WLAN. The ID prevents the unintentional merging of two
co-located WLANs.
You may specify a SSID for the card and then only the device with the
same SSID can interconnect to the card. If you want to add the network
nearby to the profile list, pull down the menu, all the networks will be
listed for you to add one of them to the profile list.
PSM (Power Saving Mode)
The power saving function is only available when the network type is in
Infrastructure.
CAM (Constantly Awake Mode) – The card will always set in active
mode.
PSM (Power Saving Mode) – Enable the card in the power saving mode
when it is idle.
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Network Type
Infrastructure – This operation mode requires the presence of an
802.11 Access Point. All communication is done via the Access Point or
Router.
Ad-Hoc – Select this mode if you want to connect to another wireless
station in the Wireless LAN network without through an Access Point or
Router.
TX Power
If you want to lower the transmit power of the card for saving the power of
the system, you can select the lower percentages from the list. The lower
power will cause the lower signal strength and the coverage range.
Ad Hoc Wireless Mode
When the card is set in Ad Hoc (Peer to Peer Mode), you can designate
the wireless connection mode for the Ad Hoc network.
802.11 B only – This card can be compatible with both 802.11g and
802.11b wireless stations. If there are only 802.11b wireless stations in
the network, you can set the card to this mode.
802.11 B/G mix – If you have a mix of 802.11b and 802.11g wireless
stations in your network, it is recommended to setting the card to this
mode. This mode is also the default setting.
802.11 G only – This card can be compatible with both 802.11g and
802.11b wireless stations. If there are only 802.11g wireless stations in
the network, you can set the card to this mode.
Preamble
The preamble defines the length of the CRC block for communication
among wireless devices. This option is only active in the Ad Hoc network.
There are two modes including Auto and Long Preamble. If “Auto“mode
is selected, the card will auto switch the preamble mode depending on
the wireless devices the card is connecting to.
RTS Threshold
Minimum packet size required for an RTS (Request To Send). For
packets smaller than this threshold, an RTS is not sent and the packet is
transmitted directly to the wireless network. Select a setting within a
range of 0 to 2347 bytes. Minor change is recommended.
Fragment Threshold
The value defines the maximum size of packets; any packet size larger
than the value will be fragmented. If you have decreased this value and
experience high packet error rates, you can increase it again, but it will
likely decrease overall network performance. Select a setting within a
range of 256 to 2346 bytes. Minor change is recommended.
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Channel
This setting is only available for Ad Hoc mode. Select the number of the
radio channel used for the networking. The channel setting should be the
same with the network you are connecting to.
3.2.2 Add Profile - Authentication and Security
Parameter
Description
Authentication Type
This setting has to be consistent with the wireless networks that the card
intends to connect.
Open – No authentication is needed among the wireless network.
Shared – Only wireless devices using a shared key (WEP Key identified) are
allowed to connecting each other.
Authentication Type
LEAP – LEAP is a pre-EAP, Cisco-proprietary protocol, with many of the
features of EAP protocols. Cisco controls the ability of other vendors to
implement this protocol, so it should be selected for use only when limited
vendor choice for client, access-point, and server products is not a concern.
When you have set up LEAP authentication, you have to enter the user name
and password of
your computer.
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WPA – WPA provides a scheme of mutual authentication using either IEEE
802.1x/Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) authentication or pre-shared
key (PSK) technology. It provides a high level of assurance to enterprises,
small businesses and home users that data will remain protected and that
only authorized users may access their networks. For enterprises that have
already deployed IEEE 802.1x authentication, WPA offers the advantage of
leveraging existing authentication databases and infrastructure.
WPA-PSK – It is a special mode designed for home and small business users
who do not have access to network authentication servers. In this mode,
known as Pre-Shared Key, the user manually enters the starting password in
their access point or gateway, as well as in each wireless station in the
network. WPA-PSK takes over automatically from that point, keeping
unauthorized users that don't have the matching password from joining the
network, while encrypting the data traveling between authorized devices.
WPA2 – Like WPA, WPA2 supports IEEE 802.1 x/EAP authentications or
PSK technology. It also includes a new advanced encryption mechanism
using the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). AES is required to the
corporate user or government users. The difference between WPA and WPA2
is that WPA2 provides data encryption via the AES. In contrast, WPA uses
Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP).
WPA2-PSK – WPA2-PSK is also for home and small business. The difference
between WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK is that WPA2-PSK provides data
encryption via the AES. In contrast, WPA-PSK uses Temporal Key Integrity
Protocol (TKIP).
802.1x Setting
When you have set the Authentication Type to Open, Shared, WPA or WPA2,
you can also enable IEEE 802.1x setting to use the authentication server or
certification server to authenticate client users.
Encryption Mode
None – Disable the encryption mode.
WEP – Enable the WEP Data Encryption. When the item is selected, you
have to continue setting the WEP Encryption keys.
TKIP – TKIP (Temporal Key Integrity Protocol) changes the temporal key
every 10,000 packets (a packet is a kind of message transmitted over a
network.) This insures much greater security than the standard WEP security.
AES – AES has been developed to ensure the highest degree of security and
authenticity for digital information and it is the most advanced solution defined
by IEEE 802.11i for the security in the wireless network.
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Note: All devices in the network should use the same encryption method to
ensure the communication.
WPA Pre-Shared Key The WPA-PSK key can be from 8 to 64 characters and can be letters or
numbers. This same key must be used on all of the wireless stations in the
network.
WEP Key
The WEP keys are used to encrypt data transmitted in the wireless network.
There are two types of key length: 64-bit and 128-bit. Select the default
encryption key from Key 1 to Key 4 by selected the radio button.
(Key1 ~ Key4)
Fill the text box by following the rules below.
64-bit – Input 10-digit Hex values (in the “A-F”, “a-f” and “0-9” range) or 5-digit
ASCII characters (including “a-z” and “0-9”) as the encryption keys. For
example: “0123456aef“ or “test1”.
128-bit – Input 26-digit Hex values (in the “A-F”, “a-f” and “0-9” range) or
13-digit ASCII characters (including “a-z” and “0-9”) as the encryption keys.
For example: “01234567890123456789abcdef“ or “administrator”.
3.2.2.1 802.1x Setting - Certification
The IEEE 802.1X specification describes a protocol that can be used for authenticating both clients and
servers on a network. The authentication algorithms and methods are those provided by the Extensible
Authentication Protocol (EAP), a method of authentication that has been in use for a number of years
on networks that provide Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) support as many internet service providers and
enterprises do.
When an AP acting as an authenticator detects a wireless station on the LAN, it sends an EAP-Request
for the user's identity to the device. (EAP, or the Extensible Authentication Protocol, is an
authentication protocol that runs before network layer protocols transmit data over the link.) In turn, the
device responds with its identity, and the AP relays this identity to an authentication server, which is
typically an external RADIUS server.
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An example for MD5 Authentication
IEEE 802.1x
Access Client
RADIUS
Client
RADIUS
Server
3
1
Access Point
2
4
Windows 2000 IAS
(Internet Authentication
Service)
(1) Client requests to login the
network.
(3) Send username, password to
RADIUS server.
(4) Approve or deny user
login to the LAN.
(2) Login with username,
password.
Parameter
Description
Authentication Type
The EAP authentication protocols this card has supported are included as
follows. This setting has to be consistent with the wireless APs or Routers
that the card intends to connect.
PEAP &TTLS – PEAP and TTLS are similar and easier than TLS in that
they specify a stand-alone authentication protocol be used within an
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encrypted tunnel. TTLS supports any protocol within its tunnel, including
CHAP, MS-CHAP, MS-CHAPv2, PAP and EAP-MD5. PEAP specifies that
an EAP-compliant authentication protocol must be used; this card
supports EAP-MSCHAP v2, EAP-TLS/Smart card and Generic Token
Card. The client certificate is optional required for the authentication.
TLS/Smart Card –TLS is the most secure of the EAP protocols but not
easy to use. It requires that digital certificates be exchanged in the
authentication phase. The server presents a certificate to the client. After
validating the server’s certificate, the client presents a client certificate to
the server for validation.
MD5-Challenge – MD5-Challenge is the easiest EAP Type. It requires
the wireless station to enter a set of user name and password as the
identity to RADIUS Server.
Session Resumption
There are “Disabled”, “Reauthentication”, “Roaming”, “SameSsid” and
“Always” selections for you to choose whether to recovery the session in
different status.
Identity
Enter the name as the identity for the server.
Enter the password as the identity for the server.
Password
Use Client Certificate
A client certificate is required for TLS, and is optional for TTLS and PEAP.
This forces a client certificate to be selected from the appropriate
Windows Certificate Store and made available to the RADIUS server for
certification.
Tunneled Authentication
Protocol
When the authentication type is PEAP or TTLS, select a protocol to be
used to build the encrypted tunnel.
Identity
This is the protected user EAP Identity used for authentication. The
identity specified may contain up to 63 ASCII characters, is case sensitive
and takes the form of a Network Access Identifier, consisting of <name of
the user>@<user’s home realm>. The user’s home realm is optional and
indicates the routing domain.
Password
The password used for authentication. It may contain up to 63 ASCII
characters and is case sensitive.
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3.2.2.2 802.1x Setting - CA Server
Parameter
Description
Use Certificate Chain
When the EAP authentication type such as TLS, TTLS or PEAP is
selected and required a certification to tell the client what server
credentials to accept from the authentication server in order to
verify the server, you have to enable this function.
Certificate Issuer
Choose the server from the list to issue the certificate. If “Any
Trusted CA” is selected, any CA included in the list (provided by
the Microsoft Certificate Store) is permitted.
Allow Intermediate Certificates
A server designates an issuer as a trusted root authority by
placing the issuer's self-signed certificate, which contains the
issuer's public key, into the trusted root certification authority
certificate store of the host computer. Intermediate or subordinate
certification authorities are trusted only if they have a valid
certification path from a trusted root certification authority.
Server Name
Enter the authentication server name.
Server name must match exactly When selected, the server name must match exactly the server
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name found on the certificate.
Domain name must end in
specified name
When selected, the server name field identifies a domain. The
certificate must use a server name belonging to this domain or to
one of its sub-domains (e.g. zeelans.com, where the server is
blueberry.zeelans.com) but it may be any name used in the
certificate name field.
3.3 Link Status
From the “Link Status” option, you can view all the information of the network you are connecting to.
Parameter
Status
Description
Display the SSID and MAC ID of the network the card is connecting to.
Extra Info
Channel
Display the link status.
Display the number of the radio channel and the frequency used for the
networking.
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Link Speed (Mbps)
Display the transmission and reception rate of the network. The maximum
transmission rate is 54Mbps.
Throughput (Kbits/sec) Display the speed of data transmitted and received.
Link Quality
dBm
This bar indicates the quality of the link. The higher the percentage, the
better the quality.
If you want to know the signal strength in the unit of dBm, select this check
box.
Signal Strength
This bar shows the signal strength level. The higher percentage shown in
the bar, the more radio signal been received by the card. This indicator
helps to find the proper position of the wireless device for quality network
operation.
Noise Level
Display the noise level in the wireless environment.
3.4 Statistics
This option enables you to view the statistic information of the connection including transmit statistics
and receive statistics. You may reset the counters by clicking”Reset Counter”.
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3.5 Advance
This option enables you to configure more advanced settings, for example: wireless mode, protection
mode and etc.
Parameter
Description
Wireless Mode
802.11 B/G/N mix – If you have a mix of 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n
wireless stations in your network, It is to maximize wireless compatibility
with wireless access points and other wireless devices. it is
recommended to setting the card to this mode. This mode is also the
default setting.
802.11 B/G mix – If you have a mix of 802.11b and 802.11g wireless
stations in your network, it is recommended to setting the card to this
mode.
802.11 B only – This card can be compatible with both 802.11g and
802.11b wireless stations. If there are only 802.11b wireless stations in
the network, you can set the card to this mode.
Select Your Country
Region Code
The available channel differs from different countries. For example: USA
(FCC) is channel 1-11, Europe (ETSI) is channel 1-13. The operating
frequency channel will be restricted to the country user located before
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importing. If you are in different country, you have to adjust the channel
setting to comply the regulation of the country.
Wireless Protection
If you have a mix of 802.11b and 802.11g wireless stations in the network,
it is recommended to enable the protection mechanism. This mechanism
can decrease the rate of data collision between 802.11b and 802.11g
wireless stations. When the protection mode is enabled, the throughput of
the card will be a little lower due to many of frame traffic should be
transmitted.
Auto – Based on the status of the network and automatically
disable/enable protection mode.
On – Always enable the protection mode.
Off – Always disable the protection mode.
Tx BURST
Tx Burst enables the card to deliver the better throughput in the same
period and environment. This feature only takes effect when the
connected AP also supports Tx Burst.
Enable TCP Window Size The TCP Window is the amount of data a sender can send on a particular
connection before it gets an acknowledgment back from the receiver that
it has gotten some of it. This feature only takes effect when the connected
AP also supports TCP Window Size. The larger TCP Window the better
performance.
Fast Roaming at -70dBm When you want to fast roaming to the network nearby without intercepting
the wireless connection especially the card is applied to the multimedia
application or a voice call, you can enable the parameter. The card will
fast roaming to the near network when the receive sensitivity (signal
strength) is lower to the value you have set up.
Turn Off RF Button
If you want to turn off the radio of the card temporarily, click this button. To
turn on the radio, click this button again.
Show Authentication
Status Dialog
When your computer is being authenticated by wireless authentication
server, a dialog window with the process of authentication will appear.
This function is helpful to find out the problem when you can not be
authenticated, and you can provide this information to authentication
server’s administrator for debugging purpose.
Enable CCX
Enable Cisco Compatible eXtensions. CCX is a wireless feature
developed by Cisco used to improve the wireless performance with CCX
compatible wireless devices. Check this box if you need to connect to
CCX-compatible wireless devices.
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Turn on CCKM
During normal operation, LEAP-enabled client devices mutually
authenticate with a new access point by performing a complete LEAP
authentication, including communication with the main RADIUS server.
When you configure your wireless LAN for fast re-association, however,
LEAP-enabled client devices roam from one access point to another
without involving the main server. Using Cisco Centralized Key
Management (CCKM), an access point configured to provide Wireless
Domain Services (WDS) takes the place of the RADIUS server and
authenticates the client so quickly that there is no perceptible delay in
voice or other time-sensitive applications.
Enable Radio
Measurement
When this parameter is enabled, the Cisco AP can run the radio
monitoring through the associated CCX-compliant clients to continuously
monitor the WLAN radio environment and discover any new APs that are
transmitting beacons.
Non-Serving Channel
Measurements
The Cisco AP can perform monitoring measurements through the
CCX-compliant clients on the non-serving channels when this parameter
is enabled.
Limit
xxx
milliseconds
It limits the channel measurement time. The default value is 250
milliseconds.
(0-2000)
Note: This function is not support in the OS of Windows VISTA.
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3.6 QoS
This wireless network card provides QoS (Quality of Service) function, which can improve the
performance of certain network applications, like audio / video streaming, network telephony (VoIP),
and others. When you enable WMM (Wi-Fi MultiMedia) function of this network card, you can define
the priority of different kinds of data, to give higher priority to applications which require instant
responding. Therefore you can improve the performance of such network applications.
Parameter
Description
WMM Enable
Check this box to enable WMM function. Please click ‘Apply’
button on the right of this check box after you check or uncheck
this box, so corresponding settings in this window will be activated
or deactivated respectively.
WMM - Power Save Enable
Setting...
Enable WMM power saving mode to save energy and lets your
battery live longer.
Click this button to select the WMM data type which will suppress
the function of power saving. When this kind of data is
transferring, power saving function will be disabled. Available data
types are AC_BK (Background / Low Priority), AC_BE (Best
Effort), AC_VI (Video First), and AC_VO (Voice First).
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Direct Link Setup Enable
Enable or disable direct link setup (DLS) function. This function
will greatly improve the data transfer rate between WMM-enabled
wireless devices. Please click ‘Apply’ button on the right of this
check box after you check or uncheck this box, so corresponding
settings in this window will be activated or deactivated
respectively.
MAC Address
Timeout Value
Tear Down
Input the MAC address of another WMM-enabled wireless device
you wish to establish a direct link here, then click ‘Apply’ to add
this MAC address to DLS address table.
Input the timeout value of this WMM-enabled direct link wireless
device. If the wireless device is not responding after this time, it
will be removed from DLS table.
If you want to remove a specific wireless device from DLS table,
select the device and click this button to remove it.
Note: This function is not support in the OS of Windows VISTA.
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3.7 WPS Configuration
Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) is the latest wireless network technology which makes wireless network
setup become very simple. If you have WPS-enabled wireless access point, and you want to establish
a secure connection to it, you don’t have to configure the wireless access point and setup data
encryption. All you have to do is go to the WPS setup page of this wireless card, click a button, and then
press a specific button on the wireless access point you wish to establish a secure connection - just
three simple steps!
For older wireless access points, it’s possible to perform a firmware upgrade to become a
WPS-enabled access point. Since they may not have a hardware button to press for WPS setup, you
can use an alternative WPS setup method – input the pin code. Every WPS-compatible wireless
network card comes with a unique WPS pin code; you can just input the code to wireless access point,
and the wireless access point and wireless network card will do the rest for you.
This wireless network card is compatible with WPS. To use this function, the wireless access point you
wish to connect to must support WPS function too. Now, please follow the following instructions to
establish secure connection between WPS-enabled wireless access point and your wireless network
card.
Click ‘WPS Configuration’ tab, and the following settings will appear:
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3.7.1 WPS Setup - PBC (Push-Button Configuration)
1. Push the ‘WPS’ button on your wireless access point (the button used to activate WPS standby
mode), or use other way to start WPS standby mode as the instruction given by your wireless access
point’s user manual.
2. Before you start to establish the wireless connection by using WPS, you can click ‘Rescan’ button to
search for WPS-enabled access points near you, to make sure the WPS function of your access
point is activated.
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All access points found will be displayed. Please make sure the access point you wish to connect is
displayed. If not, please click ‘Rescan’ few more times. You can also click ‘Information’ button to see
the detailed information about selected access point.
5. Click ‘PBC’ button now to start to establish wireless connection by WPS, and please be patient (This
may require several seconds to one minute to complete). When you see ‘WPS status is connected
successfully’ message, means the connection between your wireless network card and access point
is successfully connected by WPS, and the information about access point you connected to will be
displayed.
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Sometime WPS may fail, and you can click ‘PBC’ button few more times to try again. When an access
point is connected, you can click ‘Disconnect’ to disconnect your wireless network card from a
connected access point, or select another WPS-enabled wireless access point, then click ‘Connect’ to
establish connection to selected access point, if there are more than one WPS-enabled access point
found. You can also click ‘Rotate’ button, and next access point on the list will be selected to establish
connection.
If you want to delete a found access point from the list, select it and click ‘Delete’ button.
3.7.2 WPS Setup - PIN
The PIN number of your wireless network card is an eight-digit number located at the upper-right
position of configuration utility. Remember it, and input the number to your wireless access point as the
WPS PIN code (Please refer to the user manual of your wireless access point for instructions about
how to do this).
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Click ‘PIN’ button now, and wait for few seconds to one minute. If a wireless access point with correct
PIN code is found, you’ll be connected to that access point:
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You may have to click ‘PIN’ for few more times to try again. If you still can not connect to access point
by this way, please make sure the PIN code you provided to access point is correct.
Note: This function is not support in the OS of Windows VISTA.
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3.8 About
By choosing this option, you can click the hyperlink to connect the PLANET website. You can also
obtain basic information about the WNL-U552 such as the Driver, Utility and EEPROM Version. The
MAC Address of the card is displayed in the screen as well.
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Chapter 4 Appendix
4.1 Troubleshooting
This chapter provides solutions to problems usually encountered during the installation and operation
of the adapter.
Q. The PLANET WNL-U552 does not work properly.
Ans.:
1. Right click on My Computer and select Properties. Select the device manager and click on the
Network Adapter. You will find the Adapter if it is installed successfully. If you see the yellow
exclamation mark, the resources are conflicting. You will see the status of the Adapter. If there is a
yellow question mark, please check the following:
2. Make sure that your PC has a free IRQ (Interrupt Request, a hardware interrupt on a PC.)
3. Make sure that you have inserted the right adapter and installed the proper driver. If the Adapter
does not function after attempting the above steps, remove the adapter and do the following:
4. Uninstall the driver software from your PC.
5. Restart your PC and repeat the hardware and software installation as specified in this User Guide.
Q. I cannot communicate with the other computers linked via Ethernet in the Infrastructure
configuration.
Ans.:
1. Make sure that the PC to which the Adapter is associated is powered on.
2. Make sure that your Adapter is configured on the same channel and with the same security options
as with the other computers in the Infrastructure configuration.
Q.What should I do when the computer with the Adapter installed is unable to connect to the
wireless network and/or the Internet?
Ans.:
1. Check that the LED indicators for the broadband modem are indicating normal activity. If not, there
may be a problem with the broadband connection.
2. Check that the LED indicators on the wireless router are functioning properly. If not, check that the
AC power and Ethernet cables are firmly connected.
3. Check that the IP address, subnet mask, gateway, and DNS settings are correctly entered for the
network.
4. In Infrastructure mode, make sure the same Service Set Identifier (SSID) is specified on the settings
for the wireless clients and access points.
5. In Ad-Hoc mode, both wireless clients will need to have the same SSID. Please note that it might be
necessary to set up one client to establish a BSS (Basic Service Set) and wait briefly before setting
up other clients. This prevents several clients from trying to establish a BSS at the same time, which
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can result in multiple singular BSSs being established, rather than a single BSS with multiple clients
associated to it.
6. Check that the Network Connection for the wireless client is configured properly.
If Security is enabled, make sure that the correct encryption keys are entered on both the Adapter
and the access point.
Q. I can’t find any wireless access point / wireless device in ‘Site Survey’ function.
Ans.:
1. Click ‘Rescan’ for few more times and see if you can find any wireless access point or wireless
device.
2. Please move closer to any known wireless access point.
3. ‘Ad hoc’ function must be enabled for the wireless device you wish to establish a direct wireless link.
4. Please adjust the position of network card (you may have to move your computer if you’re using a
notebook computer) and click ‘Rescan’ button for few more times. If you can find the wireless access
point or wireless device you want to connect by doing this, try to move closer to the place where the
wireless access point or wireless device is located.
Q. Nothing happens when I click ‘Launch config utilities’
Ans.:
1. Please make sure the wireless network card is firmly inserted into your computer’s PCI slot. If the
Planet configuration utility’s icon is black, the network card is not detected by your computer. Switch
the computer off and insert the card again. If this doesn’t work, contact the dealer of purchase for
help.
2. Reboot the computer and try again.
3. Remove the driver and re-install.
4. Contact the dealer of purchase for help.
Q. I can not establish connection with a certain wireless access point
Ans.:
1. Click ‘Connect’ for few more times.
2. If the SSID of access point you wish to connect is hidden (nothing displayed in ‘SSID’ field in ‘Site
Survey’ function), you have to input correct SSID of the access point you wish to connect. Please
contact the owner of access point to ask for correct SSID.
3. You have to input correct passphrase / security key to connect an access point with encryption.
Please contact the owner of access point to ask for correct passphrase / security key.
4. The access point you wish to connect only allows network cards with specific MAC address to
establish connection. Please go to ‘About’ tab and write the value of ‘Phy_Addess’ down, then
present this value to the owner of access point so he / she can add the MAC address of your
network card to his / her access point’s list.
Q. The network is slow / having problem when transferring large files
Ans.:
1. Move closer to the place where access point is located.
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2. Enable ‘Wireless Protection’ in ‘Advanced’ tab.
3. Try a lower TX Rate in ‘Advanced’ tab.
4. Disable ‘Tx Burst’ in ‘Advanced’ tab.
5. Enable ‘WMM’ in ‘QoS’ tab if you need to use multimedia / telephony related applications.
6. Disable ‘WMM – Power Save Enable’ in ‘QoS’ tab.
7. There could be too much people using the same radio channel. Ask the owner of the access point to
change the channel number.
4.2 Glossary
1. What is the IEEE 802.11g standard?
802.11g is the new IEEE standard for high-speed wireless LAN communications that provides for
up to 54 Mbps data rate in the 2.4 GHz band. 802.11g is quickly becoming the next mainstream
wireless LAN technology for the home, office and public networks.
802.11g defines the use of the same OFDM modulation technique specified in IEEE 802.11a for
the 5 GHz frequency band and applies it in the same 2.4 GHz frequency band as IEEE 802.11b.
The 802.11g standard requires backward compatibility with 802.11b.
The standard specifically calls for:
A. A new physical layer for the 802.11 Medium Access Control (MAC) in the 2.4 GHz frequency
band, known as the extended rate PHY (ERP). The ERP adds OFDM as a mandatory new
coding scheme for 6, 12 and 24 Mbps (mandatory speeds), and 18, 36, 48 and 54 Mbps
(optional speeds). The ERP includes the modulation schemes found in 802.11b including
CCK for 11 and 5.5 Mbps and Barker code modulation for 2 and 1 Mbps.
B. A protection mechanism called RTS/CTS that governs how 802.11g devices and 802.11b
devices interoperate.
2. What is the IEEE 802.11b standard？
The IEEE 802.11b Wireless LAN standard subcommittee, which formulates the standard for the
industry. The objective is to enable wireless LAN hardware from different manufactures to
communicate.
3. What does IEEE 802.11 feature support？
The product supports the following IEEE 802.11 functions:
z
z
z
z
z
z
CSMA/CA plus Acknowledge Protocol
Multi-Channel Roaming
Automatic Rate Selection
RTS/CTS Feature
Fragmentation
Power Management
4. What is Ad-hoc？
An Ad-hoc integrated wireless LAN is a group of computers, each has a Wireless LAN adapter,
Connected as an independent wireless LAN. Ad hoc wireless LAN is applicable at a
departmental scale for a branch or SOHO operation.
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5. What is Infrastructure？
An integrated wireless and wireless and wired LAN is called an Infrastructure configuration.
Infrastructure is applicable to enterprise scale for wireless access to central database, or
wireless application for mobile workers.
6. What is BSS ID？
A specific Ad hoc LAN is called a Basic Service Set (BSS). Computers in a BSS must be
configured with the same BSS ID.
7. What is WEP？
WEP is Wired Equivalent Privacy, a data privacy mechanism based on a 40 bit shared key
algorithm, as described in the IEEE 802 .11 standard.
8. What is TKIP?
TKIP is a quick-fix method to quickly overcome the inherent weaknesses in WEP security,
especially the reuse of encryption keys. TKIP is involved in the IEEE 802.11i WLAN security
standard, and the specification might be officially released by early 2003.
9. What is AES?
AES (Advanced Encryption Standard), a chip-based security, has been developed to ensure the
highest degree of security and authenticity for digital information, wherever and however
communicated or stored, while making more efficient use of hardware and/or software than
previous encryption standards. It is also included in IEEE 802.11i standard. Compare with AES,
TKIP is a temporary protocol for replacing WEP security until manufacturers implement AES at
the hardware level.
10. Can Wireless products support printer sharing？
Wireless products perform the same function as LAN products. Therefore, Wireless products can
work with Netware, Windows 2000, or other LAN operating systems to support printer or file
sharing.
11. Would the information be intercepted while transmitting on air？
WLAN features two-fold protection in security. On the hardware side, as with Direct Sequence
Spread Spectrum technology, it has the inherent security feature of scrambling. On the software
side, WLAN series offer the encryption function (WEP) to enhance security and Access Control.
Users can set it up depending upon their needs.
12. What is DSSS？What is FHSS？And what are their differences？
Frequency-hopping spread-spectrum (FHSS) uses a narrowband carrier that changes frequency
in a pattern that is known to both transmitter and receiver. Properly synchronized, the net effect
is to maintain a single logical channel. To an unintended receiver, FHSS appears to be
short-duration impulse noise. Direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) generates a redundant
bit pattern for each bit to be transmitted. This bit pattern is called a chip (or chipping code). The
longer the chip is, the greater the probability that the original data can be recovered. Even if one
or more bits in the chip are damaged during transmission, statistical techniques embedded in the
radio can recover the original data without-the need for retransmission. To an unintended
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receiver, DSSS appears as low power wideband noise and is rejected (ignored) by most
narrowband receivers.
13. What is Spread Spectrum？
Spread Spectrum technology is a wideband radio frequency technique developed by the military
for use in reliable, secure, mission-critical communication systems. It is designed to trade off
bandwidth efficiency for reliability, integrity, and security. In other words, more bandwidth is
consumed than in the case of narrowband transmission, but the trade off produces a signal that
is, in effect, louder and thus easier to detect, provided that the receiver knows the parameters of
the spread-spectrum signal being broadcast. If a receiver is not tuned to the right frequency, a
spread –spectrum signal looks like background noise. There are two main alternatives, Direct
Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) and Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS).
14. What is WMM?
Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM), a group of features for wireless networks that improve the user
experience for audio, video and voice applications. WMM is based on a subset of the IEEE
802.11e WLAN QoS draft standard. WMM adds prioritized capabilities to Wi-Fi networks and
optimizes their performance when multiple concurring applications, each with different latency
and throughput requirements, compete for network resources. By using WMM, end-user
satisfaction is maintained in a wider variety of environments and traffic conditions. WMM makes it
possible for home network users and enterprise network managers to decide which data streams
are most important and assign them a higher traffic priority.
15. What is WMM Power Save?
WMM Power Save is a set of features for Wi-Fi networks that increase the efficiency and
flexibility of data transmission in order to conserve power. WMM Power Save has been optimized
for mobile devices running latency-sensitive applications such as voice, audio, or video, but can
benefit any Wi-Fi device. WMM Power Save uses mechanisms included in the IEEE 802.11e
standard and is an enhancement of IEEE 802.11 legacy power saves. With WMM Power Save,
the same amount of data can be transmitted in a shorter time while allowing the Wi-Fi device to
remain longer in a low-power “dozing” state.
16. What is GI?
GI stands for Guard Interval. It’s a measure to protect wireless devices from cross- interference.
If there are two wireless devices using the same or near channel, and they are close enough,
radio interference will occur and reduce the radio resource usability.
17. What is STBC?
STBC stands for Space-Time Block Coding, which is a technique used to transfer multiple copies
of data by multiple antenna, to improve data transfer performance. By using multiple antennas,
not only data transfer rate is improved, but also the wireless stability.
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