Installation

Introduction

Your Intel® PRO/Wireless 5000 LAN Access Point, when used with Intel PRO/Wireless 5000 LAN Adapters or other 802.11a-compliant wireless LAN adapters, offers an easy and economical way to add secure wireless connectivity to a wired local area network (LAN) within a building or office.

For detailed hardware installation requirements and diagrams, see the printed Quick Installation Guide supplied with the access point. This guide is also available in Adobe Acrobat pdf format.

If you already have the Adobe Acrobat reader installed on your system, you can view a pdf version of the Quick Installation Guide from the Intel CD. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed and wish to install it now to view the guide, click here.

Installation Options and Requirements

Review the following options and requirements for installation and configuration of the access point for connection over a wired LAN:

Connect and Power Up the Access Point

Connect the Access Point to the Wired Network

Connect the Access Point to a Source of AC Power

LED Indicators

Once the access point is connected to a wired network and is powered on, check the LED indicators to verify that the unit is functioning correctly. If the access point fails to initialize, restart it by disconnecting and reconnecting the power.

The Intel® PRO/Wireless 5000 LAN Access Point can be mounted "right side up" on a desk or table or "upside down" on a wall or ceiling. The LED discussion that follows is based on a wall- or ceiling-mounted configuration in which the access point is "upside down." In this configuration the "Ready" LED will be the top LED and "Wired link" will be the bottom LED.

Viewed on a wall- or ceiling-mounted access point, the LED indicators have the following locations and functions.

Ready Green. This indicator will stay illuminated after the access point has completed the initialization sequence. The Ready light flashes quickly 3 times during a reset to factory default settings.
Wireless radio activity (802.11a) Yellow flashes steadily if no adapter associated, and more rapidly when transferring data. Applies to models WSAP5000 and WDAP5000.
Wireless radio association (802.11a) Green will be ON if a client is associated to the access point and OFF if not. Applies to models WSAP5000 and WDAP5000.
Wireless radio activity (802.11b) Yellow flashes steadily if no adapter associated, and more rapidly when transferring data. Applies to models WSAP2000 and WDAP5000.
Wireless radio association (802.11b) Green will be ON if a client is associated to the access point and OFF if not. Applies to models WSAP2000 and WDAP5000.
Wired network activity Yellow blinking shows activity.
Wired link Green for 10 Mbps wired network speed and orange for 100 Mbps.

Configuring the Access Point for the First Time

  1. Set up a portable or desktop computer as a configuration workstation from which to view the access point browser-based Configuration Management System and configure the access point:
  2. Connect the configuration workstation to the access point over a wired LAN, either directly (using a crossover RJ-45 cable) or through a hub or switch (using a standard RJ-45 cable). (Modifications to the configuration can be done from a wireless workstation once the access point has been set up and configured on the network.)
  3. The configuration workstation must be running Microsoft Windows XP, 2000, Me, or 98, and must have one of the following web browsers installed for access to the access point Configuration Management System: Microsoft Internet Explorer versions 5.5 or later or Netscape Navigator version 4.78 or later
  4. In order to view the browser-based Configuration Management System and modify access point default settings, the configuration workstation must be configured initially with an IP address compatible with the default IP address and subnet of the access point. For example, based on the access point default IP address 192.0.2.1 and default subnet 255.255.0.0, the client workstation could be set to 192.0.2.2, 192.0.2.3, or a similar address not in use by another device.
  5. Once the workstation has been configured as just described, type the default access point IP address as a URL in the browser address field: http://192.0.2.1.
  6. To access the Express Setup pages, type a user name and a password. The default for both user name and password is Intel (upper case I, lower case ntel)
  7. Use Express Setup to configure the access point with a new IP address, subnet, and other settings suitable for the network to which it will be permanently connected.
  8. Click Apply first, then click Restart AP. After the access has restarted, connect it to the required network.

To ensure that your settings are saved, always click the Apply button after making changes to settings, then click OK to exit the page. If you click OK without clicking Apply, the new settings will not be saved.

  1. Once the access point has been configured and connected on the network, the configuration interface can be viewed from any workstation on the same network segment or subnet. Open a browser and type the actual IP address of the access point as a URL in the address field.

View the Access Point Browser Interface

  1. Make sure that the IP address of the computer you are using to configure the access point is on the same subnet or has access via a gateway to the subnet the access point is attached to (see instructions above for setting up a configuration workstation). Also make sure your proxy settings are correct. If you are not sure, contact your network administrator.
  2. Launch one of the following Internet browsers: Netscape Navigator* 4.78 or later, or Microsoft Internet Explorer* 5.5 or later.
  3. In the browser’s address field, enter http://x.x.x.x, where x.x.x.x is the access point’s IP address. The access point Configuration Management System main page will display.
  4. Access the various screens using the tree located on the left.

To view configuration, function or option changes on the browser pages, turn off the browser's caching function.

If this property or option is not turned off, the browser returns the previous view of the page without the changes.

Settings for First Time Configuration (Express Setup)

For complete coverage of access point settings see the Access Point Help File.

Setting   Description  
Default IP Address   The default IP address is 192.0.2.1. An IP address is not dynamically assigned to the access point under its default configuration. Use the default address initially, then change it to a valid address for the network to which the access point will be connected. For dynamic address assignment, see Using DHCP.
System Name User-defined name for the access point. Any combination of letters and numbers from 1 to 32 characters. Default is the model number of the access point.
Default Subnet Mask The default Subnet Mask is 255.255.0.0 if DHCP usage is Disabled or DHCP service is not available. Change this address to a valid address for the network to which the access point will be connected.
Default Gateway   There is no default gateway initially configured. Use a valid gateway address for the network to which the access point will be connected. If no valid gateway is defined on your network, use the default gateway 0.0.0.0. For gateway assignment via DHCP, see Using DHCP.
DHCP The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) dynamically assigns IP addresses on a network with a DHCP server. Default setting for the PRO/Wireless 5000 LAN Access Point is Disabled. If you wish to change this setting to Enabled and install the access point on a network using DHCP support, see Using DHCP.
Help URL Location of the Help files accessible by clicking the Help button on a screen in the access point Configuration Management System. See Access Point Help File Installation.
SSID 11A Service Set Identifier (also called Network Name, Network ID, ESSID) identifies the network to which the access point is connected. All access points and client workstations on the same wireless LAN must have the same SSID, which can be any combination of letters and numbers up to 32 characters. Default for Intel PRO/Wireless 5000 LAN devices is "101." The default SSID is intended only for preliminary setups and connections; it should usually be changed to a descriptive name for the wireless LAN network in question.

Using DHCP

The Intel PRO/Wireless 5000 LAN Access Point can be configured to use DHCP to get its IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway:

  1. Access the Express Setup page in the browser-based Configuration Management System as described in Steps 1-6 under Configuring the Access Point for the First Time.
  2. Change the DHCP setting from Disabled to Enabled on the Express Setup page (or the Configuration page). Save the new settings by clicking Apply, then click Restart AP. After the restart, connect the access point to the network to which it will be permanently connected.
  3. The next time the access point is restarted after DHCP has been enabled, it will attempt to get its IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway from the DHCP server. If no server is available, the access point will use its Default IP Address and Default Subnet Mask settings.
  4. When the access point used DHCP to obtain its IP address, you will have to determine the IP address before you can access the configuration pages. There are several strategies you can use for this, based on the MAC address assigned to the access point:

The MAC Address

The  Ethernet Media Access Control (MAC) address of an Ethernet or wireless LAN device is a hardware address unique to that device and permanently set when the device was manufactured. A MAC address is a 48-bit number written as six hexadecimal bytes separated by colons. For example:

00:A0:F8:24:9A:C8

The MAC address of the access point can be seen on the Configuration page, on the Ethernet Network Interface page, and on the label on the bottom of the access point.

Access Point Default Settings

System name   WDAP5000
IP address   192.0.2.1
Subnet mask   255.255.0.0
Default gateway   None
User   Intel (case sensitive)
Password   Intel (case sensitive)  
SSID 11A   101
WEP 11A   Disabled

Restore Factory Defaults

The access point has a Reset button that can be used to perform a hardware reset or to restore the access point's factory default settings.

The Reset button is located in a pinhole on the bottom of the access point. Insert the end of an unbent paper clip into the hole and apply pressure as follows:

For detailed information on access point configuration parameters, see the Access Point Help File.

Select a Location for Installation of the Access Point

PRO/Wireless 5000 LAN Access Points should be positioned for maximum throughput and range between access points and wireless client stations. Range and performance are dictated by the distance between the access point and client radios, and by obstacles that may be present in a specific building or office environment. The following positioning guidelines are suggested:


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