Installing the Software
This chapter provides instructions on how to install the PACKET, NDIS2, NDIS3 and ODI drivers operating under MS-DOS, Windows 3.x, and Windows for Workgroups
These topics are covered in this section:
•Driver Overview
•Windows for Workgroups 3.11 NDIS2 Installation
•DOS NDIS2 Installation
•ODI Driver Installation
•Additional Requirements and Features
•Driver Keywords and Settings
Driver Overview
This section covers the drivers. The utilities are discussed in "Utilities."
The MS-DOS and Windows for Workgroups based drivers must have a configuration file created (or edited) with an ASCII text editor.
The drivers and associated files do not ship with the adapter. You must download them from the Wireless Software Center at Cisco.com. The downloadable file, DOSDRVS.EXE, is a self-extracting executable file containing separate self-extracting executable files for each driver. After downloading and running the DOSDRVS.EXE file, you can run the driver file for your specific application. You must also run the UTIL.EXE to extract the utility programs for these drivers. The structure of the DOSDRVS.EXE file is shown in Table 3-1.
Table 3-1 DOSDRVS.EXE File Structure
|
|
DOSDRVS.EXE |
A self-extracting executable file containing these self-extracting executable files: •PKT.EXE—packet driver and files •ODI.EXE—ODI driver and files •NDIS.EXE—NDIS2 driver and files •UTIL.EXE—configuration and diagnostic utilities •DOSINST.PDF—Cisco Aironet Wireless LAN Client Adapters Installation and Configuration Guide for MS-DOS in portable data file format |
|
CSCPKT.COM |
Packet driver |
CSCPKT.INI |
Sample initialization file |
READ1ST.TXT |
Text file containing driver and installation notes |
|
CSCODI.COM |
ODI driver |
NET.CFG |
Sample initialization file |
READ1ST.TXT |
Text file containing driver and installation notes |
|
CSCNDIS2.DOS |
NDIS driver |
PROTOCOL.INI |
Sample initialization file |
READ1ST.TXT |
Text file containing driver and installation notes |
|
AWCALLID.EXE |
Establishes a call id number |
PCMCIA.COM |
Turns the PCMCIA slot on or off to allow utilities to access the adapter |
RADINFO.COM |
Displays the adapter's radio statistics |
WEPDOS.EXE |
Sets a WEP transmit key and key values |
Windows for Workgroups 3.11 NDIS2 Installation
Step 1 Power on your computer, and start Windows for Workgroups.
Step 2 Extract the NDIS.EXE files to the directory containing the network files on your computer's hard drive.
Step 3 Go to the Network program group, and click Network Set-Up.
Step 4 Under Network Setup, choose Networks.....
Step 5 Under Networks, choose Install Microsoft Windows Network. Click OK.
Step 6 Under Network Setup, choose Drivers....
Step 7 Under Network Drivers, choose Add Adapters.
Step 8 If the drivers are already copied to the hard disk, they are displayed in the list.
Step 9 Under Add Adapter, choose the appropriate Cisco Aironet Adapter. If it is not on the menu list, choose Unlisted or Updated Network Driver. Choose the correct Cisco Aironet Adapter, and click OK.
Step 10 If the chosen adapter is displayed in the Network Drivers, click Setup.
Step 11 Select the appropriate parameters, such as Infrastructure Mode, SSID, Channel, and Bitrate.
Step 12 Exit Windows for Workgroups.
Step 13 To modify the PC Card system parameters, edit the PROTOCOL.INI file in the Windows directory.
Step 14 Reboot your computer.
DOS NDIS2 Installation
The Cisco Aironet Wireless LAN Adapter can be installed in a NetBIOS-compliant MS-DOS environment such as MicroSoft LAN Manager or PC LAN. The installation of this driver includes creating or editing a configuration file (PROTOCOL.INI).
This file must contain the lines shown in Table 3-2.
Table 3-2 Minimum PROTOCOL.INI Driver Settings
|
|
[CSCNDIS2] |
[CSCNDIS2] |
DRIVERNAME = CSCNDIS2$ |
DRIVERNAME = CSCNDIS2$ |
INFRASTRUCTURE = YES If omitted, default is YES |
INFRASTRUCTURE = NO |
SSID = <your SSID> |
SSID = <your SSID> |
|
CHANNEL = <channel> |
Additional variables defined in the following section can also be used. Follow these steps to install the driver.
Step 1 Power on your computer.
Step 2 Extract the NDIS.EXE files to the directory containing the network files on your computer's hard drive.
Step 3 Copy the PROTOCOL.INI file to the network directory or merge statements from the Cisco Aironet supplied file into your existing PROTOCOL.INI file.
Step 4 Modify the CONFIG.SYS file. After the line containing: Device = PROTMAN.DOS, add
Device = [drive:] [path] CSCNDIS2.DOS.
Step 5 To modify the PC Card system parameters, edit the PROTOCOL.INI file in the network directory. For a list of parameters that can be modified, see Table 3-2.
Step 6 Reboot your computer.
DOS Packet Driver Installation
The installation of this driver includes creating or editing a configuration file (CSCPKT.INI). This file must contain the lines shown in Table 3-3.
Table 3-3 Minimum CSCPKT.INI Driver Settings
|
|
[CSCPKT] |
[CSCPKT] |
INFRASTRUCTURE = YES If omitted, default is YES |
INFRASTRUCTURE = NO |
SSID = <your SSID> |
SSID = <your SSID> |
|
CHANNEL = <channel> |
Additional variables defined in the following section can also be used.
The Wireless LAN Adapter can be installed in a MS-DOS environment by using MS-DOS IP stack products such as FTP software.
Follow these steps to install the driver.
Step 1 Power on your computer.
Step 2 Extract the PKT.EXE files to the directory containing the network files on your computer's hard drive.
Step 3 Make sure that the CSCPKT.INI file is in the directory containing the Packet driver.
Step 4 If you would like to modify the PC Card system parameters, edit the CSCPKT.INI file. For a list of parameters that can be modified, see Table 3.3.
Step 5 Load the driver by typing CSCPKT [-cinuw] <int_number> at the MS-DOS prompt (for example, CSCPKT 0x65) and press Enter.
Note Options -c, -i, -n, and -w are unused in this version of the driver and are provided for backward syntax compatibility.
Note <int_number> is an interrupt vector location in the range 0x60 to 0x7F.
Note To unload the driver, enter CSCPKT -u <int_number> (for example, CSCPKT -u 0x65). The <int_number> value must be the same value used when you installed the driver.
Step 6 Load the MS-DOS IP stack.
ODI Driver Installation
The PC Card can be installed in an ODI compliant MS-DOS environment such as Novell NetWare. Follow these steps to install the driver.
Step 1 Power on your computer.
Step 2 Extract the CSCODI.COM files to the directory containing the network files on your computer's hard drive.
Step 3 Copy the NET.CFG file, or merge the Cisco Aironet supplied NET.CFG file into your existing NET.CFG file in the network directory.
Step 4 Modify the adapter's system parameters by editing the NET.CFG file. The following parameters can be modified (INFRASTRUCTURE mode only):
•INFRASTRUCTURE = YES (If omitted, default is YES)
•SSID = <your SSID>
Step 5 Run the batch files created by the NetWare installation disks, or manually load the driver from AUTOEXEC.BAT or the command line. This can be done by running LSL, followed by CSCODI, IPXODI, and NETX or VLM.
Additional Requirements and Features
The following INI and CFG file lines might appear anywhere within a section. Only the sections containing these lines will be parsed:
•CSCPKT.INI file can have a section header of [CSCPKT].
•PROTOCOL.INI file can have any section header, but the section must contain the keyword and parameter DRIVERNAME = CSCNDIS2.
•NET.CFG file must have a section header of Link Driver CSCODI.
The following general information is pertinent:
•Multiple sections are supported.
•Blank lines are supported.
•Comments begin with semicolon and can appear anywhere on a line.
•Keywords can be uppercase or lowercase and can be surrounded by white space if desired.
•Any parameter or variable that can be set to ON or OFF can also be set to YES or NO, respectively.
•Any parameter that begins with 0x will be assumed to be hexadecimal. Any parameter that begins with a digit (excluding the 0x case) will be assumed to be decimal. Any parameter that begins with quotes will be assumed to be a quoted string parameter. Any other parameter will be assumed to be an unquoted string parameter.
•For string parameters, double quotes are required around the string if the string contains any special characters.
Note The PROTOCOL.INI file does not support some of the white space characters in a quoted string. If a string begins with an alphabetic character and contains no special characters, the quotes can be omitted.
•For Packet string parameters, the string can be enclosed with double quotes or single quotes. If a string is quoted, any character except a "null" and the quote delimiter itself can occur between the quotes.
Note If double quotes are used for a delimiter, a single quote can appear in the string, and vice versa. If the string begins with an alphabetic character and contains no special characters, the quotes can be omitted.
•For numeric parameters, the value can be hexadecimal or decimal. Hexadecimal numbers must be preceded with the characters 0x but all characters can be uppercase or lowercase.
Driver Keywords and Settings
The default PC Card configuration is set to:
•Constant Awake Mode.
•Infrastructure Mode—allows association with any access point matching the SSID supplied by the user.
•The factory-supplied network address.
•Receive directed packets to this address as well as multicasts and broadcasts.
•Retry data packets up to 16 times before discarding the frame.
•Retry RTS sequence up to 16 times before discarding the frame.
•RTS exchange on all frames greater than 300 bytes.
•Fragment frames longer than 700 bytes.
•Discard fragmented transmit packets if not delivered in 5 seconds.
•Discard fragmented receive frames if not complete after 10 seconds.
•Active scanning with 3-Kusec energy detect time and 20-Kusec probe response wait timeout.
•Rescan if 8 beacons are consecutively missed.
•Send an access point keep-alive message every 10 seconds.
The following tables contain keywords and parameter settings common to both the NDIS2 PROTOCOL.INI, ODI NET.CFG, and the PKT CSCPKT.INI configuration files.
Basic System Parameters
Basic system operation can be adjusted with the following parameters.
Table 3-4 General Network Parameters
|
|
|
INFRASTRUCTURE |
ON, YES OFF, NO |
(Optional)—Specifies whether system operation uses an infrastructure or peer-to-peer/ad hoc network. Default: ON, YES |
SSID |
1-32 character string |
Identifies the service set identifier of the specific wireless network you are connected to. This parameter must match the system SSID. |
NODENAME |
1-16 character string |
(Optional)—Specifies a readable name for the station. |
NETADDRESS |
Any IEEE MAC address except broadcast and multicast |
(Optional)—Allows for locally administered MAC addresses by overriding the unique MAC ID on the adapter. |
NODE ADDRESS |
|
Same as NETADDRESS (keyword valid only in NET.CFG file). |
RXMODE |
NORMAL UNICAST NOMULTICAST |
(Optional)—Determines what frames are delivered to the driver from the adapter. Normal means unicast, multicast, and broadcast frames are received. Default: NORMAL |
DATARATE1 |
0-255 |
(Optional)—Specifies the rate at which the adapter communicates with the access point to which it associates. Default: 1-11 This setting must match the access point's setting. |
DATARATE2 |
0-255 |
Network Performance Variables
Network performance can be optimized with the following variables.
Table 3-5 Advanced Network Variables
|
|
|
LONGRETRYLIMIT |
0-255 |
(Optional)—Specifies the number of times an unfragmented packet is retried before it is dropped and a transmit error is reported to the driver. Default: 16 |
SHORTRETRYLIMIT |
0-255 |
(Optional)—Specifies the number of times a fragmented packet is retried to gain access before it is dropped and a transmit error is reported to the driver. Default: 16 |
RTSTHRESHOLD |
0-2312 |
(Optional)—specifies the minimum frame size in bytes for which RTS/CTS delivery are used. Packets longer than the specified value are delivered by using RTS/CTS handshaking. Default: 300 |
TXMSDULIFETIME |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Specifies the maximum time to attempt packet delivery. Default: 5000 kus (5 seconds) |
RXMSDULIFETIME |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Specifies the maximum time for receiving a fragmented packet. Default: 10000 kus (10 seconds) |
TXPOWERLEVEL |
0-100 |
(Optional)—Selects the programmed transmit power level in mW, which can vary per country. |
DIVERSITY |
DEFAULT ON RIGHT LEFT |
(Optional)—Specifies the transmit or receive diversity method used by the adapter. Default = Diversity is turned on On = Adapter uses both antennas Right = Adapter uses the antenna attached to jack 1 Left = Adapter uses the antenna attached to jack 2
Default: ON |
LEAP |
ON (YES) OFF (NO) |
(Optional)—turns LEAP (Cisco's version of Extensible Authentication Protocol) on or off. Default: OFF |
WORLDMODE |
ON (YES) OFF (NO) |
(Optional)—Allows the adapter to automatically inherit channel configuration and output power properties from the access point to which it associates. Default: OFF (NO) Enable World mode when the adapter needs to automatically match the country configuration of the access point to which it associates. |
SHORTPREAMBLE |
0, 1, 2 |
(Optional)—Establishes the length of the packet's synchronization bit. Default: 0 0 = Automatic 1 = Long preamble 2 = Short preamble |
Fragmentation Variables
Additional system performance adjustments can be made with the following group of variables.
Table 3-6 Fragmentation Variables
|
|
|
FRAGTHRESHOLD |
256-312 (must be an even value) |
(Optional)—Specifies the fragmentation size in bytes. Frames longer than the specified value are transmitted using multiple packets. Default: 700 |
Power Management Variables
The Wireless LAN Adapter power management can be adjusted with the following group of variables.
Table 3-7 Power Management Variables
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|
|
POWERSAVEMODE |
CAM PSP FASTPSP |
(Optional)—Establishes the operating method the device uses to conserve electrical power. CAM = Constant Awake Mode PSP = Power Save Mode FASTPSP = Fast Power Save Mode Default: CAM In ad hoc mode, if the POWERSAVEMODE is PSP or FASPSP, the ATIMDURATION variable must be a non-zero value. CAM keeps the client adapter powered up continuously so there is little lag in message response time. This mode consumes the most power but offers the highest throughput. PSP powers the adapter on and off based on a time algorithm. When retrieving packets, the adapter remains in PSP mode and manages only the amount of traffic within the time period when it is scheduled on. When the time expires, the adapter turns off for the required time and then turns back on again to retrieve more data. FASTPSP switches between a PSP mode and CAM, depending on network traffic. This mode switches to CAM when retrieving a large number of packets and switches back to PSP after the packets have been retrieved. |
MAXPOWERSAVE |
ON (YES) OFF (NO) |
(Optional)—Turns Maximum Power Save mode on or off. Default: OFF MAXPOWERSAVE causes the access point to buffer incoming messages for the client adapter, which wakes up periodically and polls the access point to see if any buffered messages are waiting for it. The adapter can request each message and then go back to sleep. MAXPOWERSAVE conserves the most power but offers the lowest throughput. Is recommended for devices for which power consumption is the ultimate concern (such as small battery-powered devices). |
ATIMDURATION |
Between 0 and less than the beacon interval |
(Optional)—Specifies the length of time for ATIMs following a beacon. Default: 5 Kusec Constant Awake Mode is 0. In ad hoc mode, this value must be non-zero if POWERSAVEMODE is PSP or FASTPSP. This value is used only when starting a new network. When joining a network, the value currently in use is adopted. |
SLEEPFORDTIM |
ON (YES) OFF (NO) |
(Optional)—Allows the node to sleep through DTIMs for extra power saving. Broadcast and multicast traffic might be missed. Default: OFF Used only in INFRASTRUCTURE mode when POWERSAVE mode is PSP or FASTPSP. |
LISTENTIME |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Determines how often to awaken for beacons. Default: 200 Kusec (200 ms) Used only in INFRASTRUCTURE mode when POWERSAVE mode is PSP or FASTPSP. The PC card always awakens to receive DTIMs when in PSP Mode, unless sleep for DTIMs is set. |
FASTLISTENTIME |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Determines how often to awaken for beacons. default: 100 Kusec (100 ms) Used only in INFRASTRUCTURE mode when POWERSAVE mode is PSP or FASTPSP. The PC Card always awakens to receive DTIMs when in FASTPSP Mode. |
LISTENDECAY |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Specifies the rate at which the listen interval grows. Default: 2 Used only in INFRASTRUCTURE mode when POWERSAVE mode is PSP or FASTPSP. Listen interval begins at FASTLISTENTIME and eventually decays to LISTENTIME. |
FASTLISTENDELAY |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Specifies the time to delay immediately after a transmission before beginning at FASTLISTENTIME. Default: 200 Kusec (200ms) Used only in INFRASTRUCTURE mode when POWERSAVE mode is PSP or FASTPSP. |
Scanning Variables
Additional system performance adjustments can be made with the following group of variables.
Table 3-8 Scanning Variables
|
|
|
SCANMODE |
ACTIVE, PASSIVE, ADVANCED |
(Optional)—Determines the current scanning mode used by the adapter. Default: ACTIVE |
BEACONLISTENTO |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Determines the amount of time to listen for a beacon on each channel. Default: 40 Kusec Used only if SCANMODE = PASSIVE |
PROBEENERGYTO |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Determines the amount of time to listen for RF energy following a probe. Default: 3 Kusec Used only if SCANMODE = ACTIVE |
PROBERESPONSETO |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Determines the amount of time to wait for a probe response after energy is detected on a channel. Default: 20 Kusec Used only if SCANMODE = ACTIVE |
STATIONARY |
ON, OFF, YES, NO |
(Optional)—indicates whether or not the station is mobile. Default: OFF |
PROBEDELAY |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Indicates how long to wait on a frequency before sending a probe request. Default: 3 Kusec |
OFFSCANINTERVAL |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Determines how often to attempt to use the off-line scanning method to search for new access points. Default: 0 (which disables off-line scanning) |
OFFSCANDURATION |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Determines how long to use the off-line scanning method during each attempt. Default: 0 (disables off-line scanning) |
Infrastructure Parameters
Additional system performance adjustments can be made with the following parameters.
Table 3-9 Infrastructure Parameters
|
|
|
SSID |
1 to 32 character string |
Establishes the adapter's service set identifier. This parameter must match the SSID of the system for proper infrastructure operation. Default: tsunami |
BEACONLOSTTIME |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Determines the interval of consecutively missed beacons which will cause a rescan. Default: 500 Kusec |
REFRESHINTERVAL |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Determines the amount of time in seconds between refresh packets to the access point. Use 0xFFFF to disable Default: 10,000 Kusec (10 sec) |
SPECIFIEDAP |
Any IEEE MAC address except broadcast and multicast |
(Optional)—Forces association to the specified access point. |
SPECIFIEDAP2 |
Any IEEE MAC address except broadcast and multicast |
(Optional)—Forces association to one of the specified access points. |
SPECIFIEDAP3 |
Any IEEE MAC address except broadcast and multicast |
(Optional)—Forces association to one of the specified access points. |
SPECIFIEDAP4 |
Any IEEE MAC address except broadcast and multicast |
(Optional)—Forces association to one of the specified access points. |
SPECIFIEDAPTO |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Establishes the time to attempt to associate to a specified access point before searching for any available access points (with matching SSID. Default: 10,000 Kusec (10 sec) |
AUTHTIMEOUT |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Establishes the time to attempt to authenticate to an access point. Default: 2,000 Kusec (2 sec) |
AUTHTYPE |
OPEN, WEPOPEN WEPSHARED MIXEDOPEN MIXEDSHARED |
(Optional)—Determines the wireless network's level of security. OPEN = Allows client, regardless of its WEP settings, to authenticate and attempt to communicate with an access point. WEPOPEN = Client uses full encryption. Access point Encryption by Station parameter must be set to full encryption and Accept Authentication Type parameter set to Open. WEPSHARED = Client uses full encryption. Access point Encryption by Station parameter must be set to Full Encryption and Accept Authentication Type parameter set to Open. MIXEDOPEN = Client can operate in a cell with other clients regardless of encryption used. Access point Encryption by Station parameter must be set to open, Authentication Accept Type parameter set to Open. MIXEDSHARED = Client can operate over a range of cells with other clients regardless of encryption used. Access Point Encryption by Station parameter must be set to optional, and Accept Authentication Type parameter must be set to shared. Default: OPEN This parameter is not available in ad hoc mode. |
ASSOCIATIONTO |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Shows the maximum amount of time that the client waits for a response to an association request from the access point. Default: 2,000 Kusec (2 sec) |
Ad Hoc Variables
Ad hoc system operation is accomplished with this group of variables.
Table 3-10 Ad Hoc Variables
|
|
|
JOINNETTO |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Determines the amount of time that an ad hoc station scans before starting its own network. Default: 10,000 Kusec (10 sec) |
BEACONPERIOD |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Specifies the beaconing interval. Default: 100 Kusec |
DSCHANNEL |
0-14 |
(Optional)—This variable is valid only for a node that starts a network. This is the channel identifier specifying the frequency to communicate on. For all other nodes, the radio will scan for the proper frequency. Default: 0 (which will cause the radio to pick a default channel appropriate for its programmed carrier set) Any other value (1 to 14) is validated against the programmed carrier set and rejected if invalid. |
ATIMDURATION |
Between 0 and less than the beacon interval |
(Optional)—Specifies the length of time for ATIMs following a beacon. Default: 5 Kusec Constant Awake Mode is 0. In ad hoc mode, this value must be non-zero if POWERSAVEMODE is PSP or FASTPSP. This value is only used when starting a new network. When joining a network, the value currently in use is adopted. |
Adapter Keywords
The following is a list of keywords that control the host system hardware resources the Cisco Aironet Wireless LAN Adapter requires.
Note At a minimum, the adapter requires 64 consecutive 16-bit I/O ports, one nonsharable Interrupt and one PC Card type II slot.
If you are using card services, these resources are assigned for you. However, you can override the card services resource assignments by including the PortBase or INT/IRQ keywords in the appropriate configuration file.
If you are not using card services, your host system must have an Intel 82365 or compatible PC Card controller chip. The driver then configures the PC Card controller chip directly, and each of the following parameters should be specified in your configuration file.
Table 3-11 Adapter Keywords
|
|
|
PORTBASE |
0-0xFFFF |
(Optional)—Specifies the starting address for a block of 32 consecutive 16-bit I/O ports. Make sure the block of I/O addresses does not overlap the address of another device in the machine. This can be used to override a card service assignment. Default: 0x140 (if card services are not used) The starting PORTBASE address must be on an even 0x40 byte boundary. |
PORT |
0-0xFFFF |
Only valid in NET.CFG file (same as PORTBASE). |
INT |
2-15 |
(Optional)— Specifies the hardware interrupt the PC Card uses. The Interrupt must be unique (not used by another device in the machine). Use this keyword to override a card service assignment. Default: 11 (if card services are not used) |
IRQ |
2-15 |
Same as INT. |
SOCKET |
0-7 |
(Optional)— Ignored if card services are used. If card services are not used, this is the PC Card socket the PC Card is inserted in. Default: 0 |
MEMORY |
0xC000-0xDF00 |
(Optional)—Ignored if If card services are used. If card services are not used, this is a block of memory the driver uses to view the PC Card CIS. Default: 0xD000 In the NET.CFG file, the parameter is D0000, not 0xD000. |
MEM |
0xC00-0xDF00 |
Same as MEMORY. |