Configuring the Adapter with Intel® PROSet II

The management software for the Intel® PRO/Wireless 2011B LAN Adapter is included on the Intel CD included with the adapter. If you do not have the Intel CD, you can download the software package from the Intel support website. Before you can use Intel PROSet II, you must install the Intel® PRO/Wireless 2011B LAN Software from the Intel CD included with your adapter. For installation instructions, click here.

On Windows* 2000, Windows ME, and Windows 98, the installation program installs Intel PROSet II. If you are running Windows 95, the installation program installs the Intel® WLAN Utilities. For information on managing the adapter on Windows 95, see the Help for the WLAN Utilities.

Viewing and changing network settings

Intel PROSet II allows you to change two groups of network settings:

To view or change the network settings

  1. Double-click the Intel PROSet II icon in the System Tray, usually located to the right of the Taskbar and at the lower right corner of the computer screen. If the icon is not present in the System Tray, click Start, select Settings, and Control Panel, and then double-click the Intel PROSet II icon. To display the Intel PROSet II icon in the System Tray, make sure "Show the tray icon" is selected in the Intel PROSet II  General window.
  2. Select the wireless adapter on the left side of the Intel PROSet II window.
  3. To view or change basic settings, click the Settings tab.

For more information about configuring wireless network settings, click Help on the Intel PROSet II Help pull-down menu.

Connecting to the network using an access point

A wireless infrastructure network consists of one or more access points and one or more computers with wireless adapters installed. Each access point can have a wired connection to the Local Area Network (LAN). Computers with an installed wireless adapter communicate through an access point.
  1. Double-click the Intel PROSet II icon in the System Tray. This is typically located in the lower right corner on your computer screen.
  2. Select the wireless adapter on the left side of the Intel PROSet II window.
  3. Click the Settings tab.
  4. Click Network Settings.
  5. For the operating mode, select Communicate with access point (802.11 Station).
  6. Type a Network Name (SSID) or select one from the list. 

If you are connecting to an Intel® PRO/Wireless 2011B LAN Access Point and it has the Broadcast SSID feature enabled, you can leave the SSID field empty. Intel PROSet II automatically obtains the SSID from the access point.

Use the Network Name (SSID) assigned to the access points in the wireless LAN (WLAN). The wireless adapter scans the access point and uses the channel selected by the access point. You cannot change the channel.

Connecting to a peer-to-peer network

A peer-to-peer wireless network is a simple network of wireless computers that communicate directly with each other without using an access point.

To connect to a peer-to-peer network

  1. Double-click the Intel PROSet II icon in the System Tray.
  2. Select the wireless adapter on the left side of the Intel PROSet II window.
  3. Click the Settings tab.
  4. Click Network Settings.
  5. For the operating mode, select Peer to Peer (802.11 Ad Hoc).

  1. Type a Network Name (SSID) or select one from the list.
  2. Select a Channel Number from the pull-down list.
The Network Name (SSID) and Channel Number must be the same for all the computers in a peer-to-peer network. For the channel, follow the regulatory requirements below.

Country

ID

Channels

 

First

Last

Argentina

AR

1

13

Australia

AU

1

13

Austria

AT

1

13

Bahrain

BH

1

13

Belarus

BY

1

13

Belgium - Indoor

BE

1

13

Belgium - Outdoor

BE

1

2

Brazil

BR

1

13

Bulgaria

BG

1

13

Canada

CA

1

13

Chile

CL

1

13

China

CN

1

13

Columbia

CO

1

13

Costa Rica

CR

1

13

Croatia

HR

1

13

Czech Republic

CZ

1

13

Denmark

DK

1

13

Finland

FL

1

13

France

FR

11

13

Germany

DE

1

13

Greece

GR

1

13

Guatemala

GT

1

13

Hong Kong

HK

1

13

Hungary

HU

1

13

Iceland

IS

1

13

India

IN

1

13

Indonesia

ID

1

13

Ireland

IE

1

13

Israel

IL

5

8

Italy

IT

1

13

Japan

JP

1

14

Jordan

JO

1

13

Kuwait

KW

1

13

Liechtenstein

LN

1

13

Lithuania

LT

1

13

Luxembourg

LU

1

13

Malaysia

MY

1

13

Mexico

MX

11

13

Morocco

MA

1

13

Netherlands

NL

1

13

New Zealand

NZ

1

13

Norway

NO

1

13

Peru

PE

1

13

Panama

PA

1

13

Philippines

PH

1

13

Poland

PL

1

13

Portugal

PT

1

13

Qatar

QA

1

13

Romania

RO

1

13

Russian Federation

RU

1

13

Saudi Arabia

SA

1

13

Singapore

SG

10

13

Slovak Republic

SO

1

13

Slovenia

SI

1

13

South Africa

ZA

1

13

South Korea

KR

1

13

Spain

ES

1

13

Sri Lanka

LK

1

2

Taiwan

TW

1

13

Thailand

TH

1

13

Turkey

TR

1

13

UAE

UE

1

13

Ukraine

UA

1

13

UK

UK

1

13

USA

US

1

11

Venezuela

VE

1

13

Protecting your network with Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption

You can prevent unauthorized reception of your wireless data using the IEEE 802.11 Wired Equivalent Privacy ( WEP) encryption. The specification includes two levels of security, using a 40-bit key or a 128-bit key. For better security, use a 128-bit key. If you use encryption, all wireless devices on your WLAN must use the same encryption settings.

To set up 40-bit encryption

  1. Double-click the Intel PROSet II icon in the System Tray.
  2. Select the wireless adapter on the left side of the Intel PROSet II window.
  3. Click the Settings tab.
  4. Click Network Settings.
  5. Select 40-bit WEP.
  6. Click WEP Keys.
  7. If required, type your WEP password.
  8. Click OK. The WEP Key Configuration dialog box is displayed.
  9. Use one of four keys. In the WEP Key Index field, select a key. All devices, including access points and adapters, must use the same key.
  10. Choose how you want to enter the key. You can enter the key in one of two ways.
  1. Click OK.

To set up 128-bit encryption

  1. Double-click the Intel PROSet II icon in the System Tray.
  2. Select the wireless adapter on the left side of the Intel PROSet II window.
  3. Click the Settings tab.
  4. Click Network Settings.
  5. Select 128-bit WEP.
  6. Click WEP Keys.
  7. If required, type your WEP password.
  8. Click OK. The WEP Key Configuration dialog box displays.
  9. Use one of four keys. In the WEP Key Index field, select a key. All devices, including access points and adapters, must use the same key.
  10. Choose how you want to enter the key. You can enter the key in one of two ways.
  1. Click OK.

Using Wireless Profiles

A profile is a saved group of network settings. If you are moving from one wireless network to another, it is convenient to save the network settings for each wireless network as a profile. When you move from one network to another, you can easily select the profile for the appropriate network.

Settings include but are not limited to the network name (SSID), channel, security settings, and TCP/IP settings. Intel® My WLAN Places allows you to edit and create new profiles.

To set up a profile

  1. Double-click the Intel PROSet II icon in the System Tray.
  2. Select the wireless adapter on the left side of the Intel PROSet II window.
  3. Click the Settings tab.
  4. Click My WLAN Places.

To edit a profile

  1. Click the Settings tab.
  2. Click My WLAN Places.

To start using a profile

  1. Click the Settings tab.
  2. From the pull-down menu, select the appropriate WLAN profile for your networking situation.
  3. Click Activate Profile.
For more information about My WLAN Places, select Contents from the pull-down Help menu in the My WLAN Places window.

Switching between wired and wireless adapters

Adapter Switching allows your computer to seamlessly switch between wired and wireless adapters. You also indicate what type of adapter you prefer to use. If the preferred adapter type is unavailable, your computer uses the type of adapter available.

To change the Adapter Switching settings

  1. Double-click the Intel PROSet II icon in the Systems Tray.
  2. Select the wireless adapter on the left side of the Intel PROSet II window.
  3. Click the Mobility tab.
  4. Click Adapter Switching.

Setting the adapter's power consumption

If your notebook computer is operating on battery power, you can adjust the power settings to extend battery life.
  1. Double-click the Intel PROSet II icon in the Systems Tray.
  2. Select the wireless adapter on the left side of the Intel PROSet II window.
  3. Click the Settings tab.
  4. Click Power Settings.
  5. Make sure that the Switch power mode based on power source check box is not selected.
  6. Make sure that Let adapter manage power check box is selected.
For more information about the power settings, click the Help button.

Managing the Adapter from the Control Panel

After you install the driver for the Intel PRO/Wireless 2011B LAN Adapter, you can access the adapter property pages. This piece of software is called the Network Control Panel Applet (NCPA). For driver installation instructions, click here.

To display the adapter properties on Windows ME, 98, and 95

  1. Double-click My Computer, and then double-click Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Network.
  3. Select the Intel PRO/Wireless 2011B LAN Adapter and click Properties.
To display the adapter properties on Windows 2000
  1. Double-click My Computer, and then double-click Control Panel.
  2. Double-click Network .
  3. Right-click the Local Area Connection for the wireless adapter and click Properties.
The Control Panel Properties window for the adapter displays the properties for the adapter and allows you to set the Network Name (SSID). On the screen the SSID is referred to as the ESSID. It is a string of characters identifying the WLAN.

Click the Advanced button to view or edit WLAN adapter settings using the Mobile Unit, Power, Mobile IP, Encryption, and WLAN Adapter property pages.

The Easy Setup window and the Advanced property pages can differ in appearance between the Windows 95, 98, 2000 and CE operating systems.

You can limit access to the Advanced property pages by setting a password on the WLAN Adapter property page. When enabled, no one can access the Advanced property pages without entering the correct password.

Mobile Unit Property Page

Use the Mobile Unit property page to configure the adapter operating mode and Network Name (SSID).

Use the Operating Mode pull-down menu to select one of the following operating modes for the adapter:

Enter a Network Name (SSID) in the 802.11 ESSID field using a maximum of 32 characters. You can also enter the Network Name in the Easy Setup window. To communicate with an access point, the Network Name must match the Network Name of the access point.

You may use the Mandatory AP address field to enter the IEEE Media Access Control (MAC) address of the access point the adapter is required to associate. The adapter associates to this access point when communicating on the network. Enter an access point MAC address to associate to an access point that has a compatible Network Name.

Select Send Long Preamble Headers if the associated access point is using a long preamble when transmitting. The preamble is approximately 8 bytes of packet header data generated by the access point and attached to the packet prior to transmission. The access point and adapter are required to use the same preamble length to interoperate. Ask your system administrator if you do not know the preamble length used by the access point.

Select the International Roaming check box to enable the adapter to roam and associate to access points with different country codes.

Battery Usage Property Page

Use the Battery Usage property page to control adapter power consumption. The adapter has two power consumption modes, Continuous Access Mode (CAM) and Power Save Poll (PSP) mode. CAM yields the best performance but uses the most power. CAM is the preferred mode for systems running on AC power. PSP saves significant amounts of power over CAM. PSP is the preferred mode for systems running on battery power.

Set the slider to the far right to keep the adapter in CAM or set the slider to a PSP performance index (1 to 5). Each mode is described underneath the sliding scale.

If you are running Windows 95, disable Power Management capabilities in WLAN Monitor to use the settings on this property page. For instructions, start WLAN Monitor and access online help. To start WLAN Monitor, select Start, Programs, Intel WLAN Utilities, and then WLAN Monitor.

Transmission Power Property Page

Use the Transmission Power property page to set the adapter power level for data transmitted. Set the operating mode for the adapter on the Mobile Unit property page.

Adjusting the adapter transmit level enables you to expand or confine a transmission area in respect to interference or other wireless devices that could be operating nearby.

Use the 802.11 Tx Power Options to set the transmission power level for adapters operating in infrastructure (ESS) mode. Use the IBSS Tx Power Options to set the transmit power level for computers operating in IBSS mode. Select a transmit power level from the AdHoc Tx Power list.

Mobile IP Property Page

Use the Mobile IP property page to configure the adapter to support roaming across routers. Mobile IP enables a computer to communicate with other access points using its home IP address after changing its point-of-attachment to the Internet/intranet.

Devices supporting Mobile IP need the WLAN Utilities for the Mobile IP feature to function properly.

Select the Enable Mobile IP check box to enable Mobile IP support. For the changes to take effect, restart the system.

Use the Home Agent AP Address field to view the IP address of the access point last associated with the adapter in the home subnet. The adapter can use this access point IP address as a "home residence" when transmitting data with different access points. Therefore, the adapter always has the means to associate to an access point in its home subnet.

Enter a Mobile Home MD5 Key matching the MD5 key on the access point of the home subnet. The MD5 key is a password that is a maximum of 13 characters. You can use this feature to protect data from being tampered with when transmitting and receiving data across a foreign subnet. An adapter is required to use the MD5 key set for the access point in the access point System Configuration page. The default MD5 key is "Intel". If unsure which MD5 key to use or where to configure it for an Intel® PRO/Wireless 2011B LAN Access Point, see your system administrator.

Use the Registration Timeout pull-down menu to select a timeout value. When the computer registers with a foreign subnet access point, the registration is required to take place within the time specified. The default registration time is 60 seconds. If the computer does not register with the foreign subnet access point within the specified time, the foreign subnet access point removes the computer from its list of registered computers.

Use the Delay Time pull-down menu to select the time a computer waits for a response from a foreign subnet access point when trying to register with that access point. A computer attempts to register with an access point three times before stopping.

Encryption Property Page

Use the Encryption property page for configuring WLAN adapter encryption settings. The absence of a physical connection makes wireless links vulnerable to information theft. Encryption is an efficient method of preventing data theft and improving data security. The firmware supports Open System, 40-bit and 128-bit encryption methods.

If you are running Windows 98, Windows Me, or Windows 2000, you can also use Intel PROSet II to set up security. Instead of manually entering the encryption code, you can enter a passphrase. Unlike the NCPA encryption property page discussed above, the keys or passphrase you enter are displayed as asterisks. This practice prevents someone from reading the encryption information from your computer screen. 

Use the Encryption Algorithm list below to select the Open System, 40-bit or 128-bit Encryption algorithm you want to use for the adapter. The default setting is Open System.

Select Open System to disable encryption for the WLAN adapter and allow for the transmission and receipt of data with no security. The Open System algorithm does not encrypt packets over the network.

To be able to associate and transmit data, an access point and adapters must use the same encryption settings, as summarized below.

    Access Point

    Mobile Unit

    Association

    Open

    Open

    OK

    40

    40

    OK

    128

    40

    Association,
    No data transmission

    Open

    40

    No Association

    Open

    128

    No Association

    40

    128

    Association,
    No data transmission

    40

    Open

    No Association

    128

    Open

    No Association

    128

    128

    OK

If an access point is set to 40-bit encryption and the computer is set to 128-bit encryption, the devices can associate but no data transmission can occur between the two devices.

When 40-bit encryption is selected, enter the 10-digit hexadecimal encryption key into the two text windows.

Select 128-bit Encryption from the Encryption Algorithm pull-down menu and type a 26 hexadecimal digit encryption key by spreading the 26 hexadecima digits across the six text windows. The 128-bit Encryption option provides a higher level of security than 40-bit Encryption while maintaining an 11 Mbps data rate.

Click Reset Keys to clear the entries in the Shared Encryption Key fields.

128-bit strong encryption is subject to export restrictions and may not be available in all countries. If you select 128-bit encryption and there are export restrictions, you must also enter an access code. An Export Restrictions dialog box is displayed. Contact the Intel Corporation Technologies Support Center (1-800-653-5350) for information on acquiring an access code for 128-bit Encryption.

If an access code is required, click the Access Code button to display the Enable 128-bit Encryption dialog box. Type in the access code in the three fields provided and click OK . After you type an access code, the Access Code button is no longer displayed on the Encryption property page, and the access code is stored.

Once 128-bit encryption is enabled, select 128-bit Encryption from the Encryption Algorithm pull-down menu. Type in the 26-digit hexadecimal encryption key into the six fields provided. Click OK to save and implement the encryption key data.

WLAN Adapter Property Page

Use the WLAN Adapter property page to configure the adapter hardware and radio settings.

To configure the adapter hardware and radio settings

  1. Use the Card Type pull-down menu to specify the type of adapter in the system.

The Interrupt Number , I/O Port Address and Memory Base Address fields are automatically updated.

  1. Select the appropriate Diversity setting for your wireless network:

To optimize network performance and maintain adapter association, the Diversity setting must match the antenna configuration for the network access points your adapter associates .

Diversity is the use of two access point antennas simultaneously. Diversity improves radio reception by receiving through one antenna while transmitting at the same time through the other antenna. In highly reflective environments, antenna diversity improves network speed and performance and increases the likelihood of maintaining adapter to access point association and a high data rate.

When a single primary antenna is used, it transmits and receives. Outgoing access point transmissions must wait until all incoming data packets are received before they transmit through the single primary antenna. If an adapter is set for Primary and an access point is set for Diversity, the adapter's ability to maintain the access point's throughput is compromised and numerous missed beacons may result in the access point dropping the adapter from its list of supported devices.

Using the Diversity setting when associated with a single-antenna access point can also cause poor wireless network performance.

Password Protecting Access to the Property Pages

You can set a password to limit access to the WLAN adapter's advanced property pages. By default, the password is off.

To create a password for the Advanced property pages

  1. Click the Password button from the WLAN Adapter property page.
  1. Type in the case-sensitive password in the Current Password field. The maximum length is 10 characters.
Access to the Advanced property pages is enabled. To see these pages, click the Advanced button from the Easy Setup window.

To disable a password, type the current password and leave the New Password and Confirm New Password fields blank.

To change a password, type the current password and a new password in the New Password and Confirm New Password fields.

Updating the Driver and Firmware Version

Verify the Intel PRO/Wireless 2011B LAN Adapter driver and firmware are the most recent versions to ensure optimal functionality.

Verifying the Driver and Firmware Versions

In Windows 2000, ME, and 98, use Intel PROSet II to view driver and firmware versions.

To view the driver and firmware versions

  1. Double-click the Intel PROSet II icon on the right side of the Windows taskbar.
  2. Select the wireless adapter on the left side of the Intel PROSet II window.
  3. Click the Network Driver tab.
In Windows 95, use the WLAN Monitor utility to view driver and firmware versions. The WLAN Monitor General properties page allows you to verify driver firmware version data and view WLAN adapter signal and transmission quality information.

Upgrading the Firmware for the Adapter

The firmware is paired with the driver for the Intel PRO/Wireless 2011B LAN adapter. When you upgrade the driver, the firmware is automatically upgraded.

Upgrading Drivers for the Adapter

The most recent driver is available at the Intel support website. If the driver version on this website is more recent than the driver version on your computer, Intel recommends that you upgrade to the latest version.

To update the driver in Windows 2000

  1. Right-click My Computer and click Properties .
  2. Click the Hardware tab and click Device Manager.
  3. Open Network adapters and double-click Intel® PRO/Wireless 2011B LAN PC Card.
  4. Click the Driver tab and click Update Driver.
To update the driver in Windows Me, Windows 98, and Windows 95
  1. Uninstall the Version 2.0 driver.
  2. Install the Version 3.0 driver.
  3. Restart the computer.
To install the Version 3.0 Utilities tools
  1. Insert the Intel CD into your CD-ROM drive. If you do not have the Intel CD, you can download the software package from the Intel support website.
  2. When the program starts, click Install Drivers and Utilities and follow the instructions on the screen. If you downloaded the software package from the support website, navigate to the appropriate directory on your computer and double-click autorun.exe.


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