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3Com OfficeConnect 3CRWE41196 User Manual

Manual is about: 11Mbps Wireless Access Point

Summary of OfficeConnect 3CRWE41196

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    Http://www.3com.Com/ part no. Dua4119-6aaa01 published march 2003 officeconnect ® 11mbps wireless access point user guide 3crwe41196.

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    3com corporation 5500 great america parkway santa clara, california 95052-8145 copyright © 2003, 3com corporation. All rights reserved. No part of this documentation may be reproduced in any form or by any means or used to make any derivative work (such as translation, transformation, or adaptation)...

  • Page 3: Ontents

    C ontents a bout t his g uide naming convention 7 conventions 8 feedback about this user guide 8 related documentation 9 product registration 9 1 i ntroducing the a ccess p oint officeconnect 11mbps wireless access point 12 access point advantages 13 package contents 13 minimum system and component ...

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    4 a ccess p oint c onfiguration navigating through the access point configuration pages 31 main menu 31 option tabs 31 welcome screen 32 notice board 32 password 33 wizard 33 lan settings 34 unit configuration 34 dhcp clients list 36 wireless settings 37 configuration 38 encryption 40 connection con...

  • Page 5: Ip A

    A u sing d iscovery running the discovery application 59 windows installation (95/98/2000/me/nt) 59 b ip a ddressing the internet protocol suite 61 managing the access point over the network 61 ip addresses and subnet masks 61 how does a device obtain an ip address and subnet mask? 63 dhcp addressin...

  • Page 7: Bout

    A bout t his g uide this guide describes how to install and configure the officeconnect 11mbps wireless access point (3crwe41196). This guide is intended for use by those responsible for installing and setting up network equipment; consequently, it assumes a basic working knowledge of lans (local ar...

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    8 a bout t his g uide conventions table 1 and table 2 list conventions that are used throughout this guide. Feedback about this user guide your suggestions are very important to us. They will help make our documentation more useful to you. Please e-mail comments about this document to 3com at: pddte...

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    Conventions 9 example: ■ officeconnect 11mbps wireless access point user guide ■ part number dua4119-6aaa01 ■ page 24 do not use this e-mail address for technical support questions. For information about contacting technical support, please refer to the support and safety information sheet. Related ...

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    10 a bout t his g uide.

  • Page 11: Ntroducing

    1 i ntroducing the a ccess p oint welcome to the world of networking with 3com ® . In the modern business environment, communication and sharing information is crucial. Computer networks have proved to be one of the fastest modes of communication but, until recently, only large businesses could affo...

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    12 c hapter 1: i ntroducing the a ccess p oint officeconnect 11mbps wireless access point the officeconnect 11mbps wireless access point is designed to provide a cost-effective means of connecting wired and wireless networks. A single access point makes the internet, e-mail and network resources, su...

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    Access point advantages 13 access point advantages the advantages of the access point include: ■ cross-platform operation for compatibility with windows, unix and macintosh computers ■ easy-to-use, web-based setup and configuration ■ provides centralization of all network address settings (dhcp) ■ s...

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    14 c hapter 1: i ntroducing the a ccess p oint minimum system and component requirements your access point requires that the computer(s) and components in your network be configured with at least the following: ■ a computer with an operating system that supports tcp/ip networking protocols (for exam...

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    Front panel 15 flashing slowly - the access point has completed the reset to factory defaults process, and is waiting for you to release the reset button. The access point will then enter the start-up sequence and resume normal operation. If you have used the reset button to reset the unit to factor...

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    16 c hapter 1: i ntroducing the a ccess p oint rear panel the rear panel ( figure 3 ) of the access point contains one lan port, a reset button, an mdi/x switch and a power adapter socket. Figure 3 access point - rear panel 5 wireless antennae the antennae on the product should be placed in a ‘v’ po...

  • Page 17: Ardware

    2 h ardware i nstallation introduction this chapter will guide you through a basic installation of the access point, including: ■ connecting the access point to your network. ■ setting up your computers for networking with the access point. Safety information warning: please read the “safety informa...

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    18 c hapter 2: h ardware i nstallation when positioning your access point, ensure: ■ it is out of direct sunlight and away from sources of heat. ■ cabling is away from power lines, fluorescent lighting fixtures, and sources of electrical noise such as radios, transmitters and broadband amplifiers. ■...

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    Powering up the access point 19 powering up the access point to power up the access point: 1 plug the power adapter into the power adapter socket located on the back panel of the access point. 2 plug the power adapter into a standard electrical wall socket. Connecting the access point the first step...

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    20 c hapter 2: h ardware i nstallation.

  • Page 21: Unning

    3 r unning the s etup w izard accessing the wizard 3com recommends that you perform the initial access point configuration from a computer that is directly connected to one of the lan ports and not from a wireless connection. However, you may configure the access point from a wireless admin computer...

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    22 c hapter 3: r unning the s etup w izard figure 5 discovery welcome screen 3 when the welcome screen is displayed, select the nic from which the access point will be discovered. Then click on next and wait until the application discovers the access points connected to your lan. Figure 6 discovered...

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    Accessing the wizard 23 figure 7 discovery finish screen 5 click on finish to launch a web browser and display the login page for the access point as shown in figure 8 . 6 to log in, enter the password (the default setting is admin ) in the system password field and click log in ( figure 8 ). Be sur...

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    24 c hapter 3: r unning the s etup w izard 7 if the password is correct, the country selection screen appears. Select the country you wish to configure the access point for, then click apply. ( figure 9 ). This screen is only displayed on initial configuration of the access point. Figure 9 country s...

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    Accessing the wizard 25 figure 10 welcome screen figure 11 wizard screen.

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    26 c hapter 3: r unning the s etup w izard password figure 12 change administration password screen when the change administration password screen ( figure 12 ) appears, type the old password, then a new password in both the new password and confirm password boxes. 3com recommends entering a new pas...

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    Accessing the wizard 27 this screen determines how the access point obtains its ip address. There are three options. Obtain ip address automatically - the access point will obtain an ip address from a dhcp server already operating on your network. Specify an ip address manually - select this option ...

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    28 c hapter 3: r unning the s etup w izard figure 15 dhcp server setup screen this screen displays a suggested lan ip address and subnet mask of the access point. It also allows you to change the ip address and subnet mask. Two further fields are available for you to enter the start address of an ad...

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    Accessing the wizard 29 wireless settings figure 16 wireless configuration screen this screen displays the current channel and service area name. It also allows you to change these settings. There are a maximum of 13 channels, the number available to you is dependent on the country you reside in. Th...

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    30 c hapter 3: r unning the s etup w izard summary figure 17 configuration summary screen when you complete the setup wizard, a configuration summary will display. Verify the configuration information of the access point and then click finish to save your settings. 3com recommends that you print thi...

  • Page 31: Ccess

    4 a ccess p oint c onfiguration navigating through the access point configuration pages this chapter describes all the screens available through the access point configuration pages, and is provided as a reference. To get to the configuration pages, browse to the access point by entering the url in ...

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    32 c hapter 4: a ccess p oint c onfiguration getting help on every screen, a help button is available which provides access to the context-sensitive online help system. Click help for further assistance and guidance relating to the current screen. Welcome screen figure 18 access point welcome screen...

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    Welcome screen 33 password figure 20 password screen changing the administration password you can change the password to prevent unauthorized access to the administration system. To do this: 1 enter the current password in the old password field 2 enter the new password in the new password field 3 e...

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    34 c hapter 4: a ccess p oint c onfiguration lan settings the lan settings menu provides the following options: unit configuration the lan settings screen is used to determine how the lan ip address of your access point is obtained. It can be obtained automatically or you can manually configure the ...

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    Lan settings 35 manually setting the ip address 3com recommends that you assign your access point a static ip address. 1 select unit configuration and then select static ip address (to be specified manually). The screen shown in figure 23 is displayed. Figure 23 unit configuration screen for static ...

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    36 c hapter 4: a ccess p oint c onfiguration figure 24 dhcp server configuration screen 3 clicking auto range automatically selects the largest range of addresses available for your network. Alternatively you can manually enter start and end addresses for the ip address pool. The dhcp server support...

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    Wireless settings 37 the dhcp clients list provides details on the devices that are connected to the lan. The list is only created when the access point is set up as a dhcp server. For each device that is connected to the lan, the ip address, host name, mac address and client type of that device is ...

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    38 c hapter 4: a ccess p oint c onfiguration configuration figure 26 configuration screen enable wireless networking allows you to enable/disable the wireless section of your lan. When disabled, no wireless pcs can gain access to your wired or wireless lan through this access point. Channel selectio...

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    Wireless settings 39 service area name/ssid this allows you to name your wireless network. The field will accept any alphanumeric string and has a maximum length of 32 characters. Your wireless computers must be configured with exactly the same name or you will not establish a connection. The servic...

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    40 c hapter 4: a ccess p oint c onfiguration encryption figure 27 encryption screen wired equivalent privacy or wep allows you to encrypt the traffic between your wireless pc and the access point. It is important to remember that with wep disabled anyone with a wireless pc can eavesdrop on your netw...

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    Wireless settings 41 encryption keys figure 28 encryption keys screen a key is a hexadecimal (0-9, a-f) number used to encrypt and decrypt the data. There can be up to 4 keys and each key can be as long as 26 digits. The access point also offers a number of methods for converting plain text into hex...

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    42 c hapter 4: a ccess p oint c onfiguration wep and 13 characters for 128 bit wep. You must enter a separate string for each of the 4 keys. You can leave a string blank provided this key is not selected as the active transmit key. ■ passphrase - this is another common method and similar to the 3com...

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    Wireless settings 43 figure 29 connection control screen a higher level of security can be achieved for your wireless network if you use both encryption and you specify only certain wireless computers can connect to the access point. By default, any wireless computer that has the same service area n...

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    44 c hapter 4: a ccess p oint c onfiguration to create a list of wireless computers that can access the access point: 1 press new. The screen shown in figure 30 opens. 2 select one or more mac addresses of the wireless pcs that you want to allow to connect to the access point. 3 click add. The list ...

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    Wireless settings 45 once an entry has been deleted it cannot be undone. Please wait 30 seconds for changes to take effect. Client list figure 32 client list screen the wireless client list provides details on the devices that are connected to the wireless lan. The list is only created when wireless...

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    46 c hapter 4: a ccess p oint c onfiguration profile figure 33 profile screen some 3com wireless network adapters allow you to import wireless configurations via a ‘profile’. The access point can generate a profile so that you do not need to configure your wireless pcs manually. The profile contains...

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    Wireless settings 47 saving a profile to set up a profile (once the service area name/ssid and encryption settings have been configured in the access point): 1 enter a profile name (up to 25 alphanumeric characters) and then click save profile. 2 your browser will then prompt you to enter a file nam...

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    48 c hapter 4: a ccess p oint c onfiguration system tools the main frame of the system tools screen includes three administration items: restart, configuration, and upgrade ( figure 34 ). Restart figure 34 restart screen if your access point is not operating correctly, you can choose to restart the ...

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    System tools 49 select the configuration tab to display the configuration screen ( figure 35 ). Backup configuration click backup to save the current access point configuration. You will be prompted to download and save a file to disk. Restore configuration data if you want to reinstate the configur...

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    50 c hapter 4: a ccess p oint c onfiguration support web site to a folder on your computer. Once you have done this, select browse to tell your web browser where this file is on your computer, and then click apply. The file will be copied to the access point, and once this has completed, the access ...

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    Status and logs 51 status and logs figure 37 status and logs screen selecting status and logs from the main menu displays the status and logs screens ( figure 37 ) in your web browser window. The status screen displays a tabular representation of your network and internet connection. The screen shot...

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    52 c hapter 4: a ccess p oint c onfiguration status status displays the current unit status, including a summary of the configuration logs logs will allow you to view the events logged by the access point you may be asked to refer to the information on the status and logs screens if you contact your...

  • Page 53: Roubleshooting

    5 t roubleshooting basic connection checks ■ check that the access point is connected to your switch or hub and that all the equipment is powered on. Check that the lan port link status led on the access point are illuminated, and that any corresponding leds are also illuminated. ■ ensure that the c...

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    54 c hapter 5: t roubleshooting forgotten password and reset to factory defaults if you can browse to the access point configuration screen but cannot log on because you do not know or have forgotten the password, follow the steps below to reset the access point to it’s factory default configuration...

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    Wireless networking 55 ■ ensure that the wireless clients are using the same ssid or service area name as the access point. The ssid is case-sensitive ■ ensure that you are using the same level of security on all of your wireless computers (none, 40/64 or 128 bit) and that all devices are using the ...

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    56 c hapter 5: t roubleshooting access point. In an ideal network the access point should be located in the centre of the network with wireless computers distributed around it. Applications are generally available with the computer wireless card to carry out a site survey. Use this application to fi...

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    Frequently asked questions 57 ■ ip address: 192.168.1.2 ■ subnet mask: 255.255.255.0 ■ default gateway address: 192.168.1.1 3 restart the computer, and re-apply power to the access point. 4 using the web browser on the computer, enter the following url in the location bar: http://192.168.1.1 . This ...

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    58 c hapter 5: t roubleshooting there is a single lan ports on the access point. How are additional computers connected? You can expand the number of connections available on your lan by using hubs, switches and wireless access points connected to the access point. 3com wireless access points and of...

  • Page 59: Sing

    A u sing d iscovery running the discovery application 3com provides a user friendly discovery application for detecting the access point on the network. If you are unable to use the discovery application, the access point on initial power-up will attempt to obtain an ip address from your local dhcp ...

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    60 a ppendix a: u sing d iscovery 2 when the welcome screen is displayed, select the nic from which the access point will be discovered. Then click on next and wait until the application discovers the access points connected to your lan. Figure 40 discovered access point screen 3 figure 40 shows an ...

  • Page 61: Ip A

    B ip a ddressing the internet protocol suite the internet protocol suite consists of a well-defined set of communications protocols and several standard application protocols. Transmission control protocol/internet protocol (tcp/ip) is probably the most widely known and is a combination of two of th...

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    62 a ppendix b: ip a ddressing for your network to work correctly, all devices on the network must have: ■ the same sub-network address. ■ the same subnet mask. The only value that will be different is the specific host device number. This value must always be unique. An example ip address is ‘192.1...

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    How does a device obtain an ip address and subnet mask? 63 this type of ip address operates on a subnet mask of ‘255.255.0.0’. See table 4 for an example about how a network (only four computers represented) and a access point might be configured. Table 4 ip addressing and subnet masking how does a ...

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    64 a ppendix b: ip a ddressing an ip address at random from the industry standard subnet of 169.254.X.X (with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0). If two devices allocate themselves the same address, the conflict is detected and one of the devices allocates itself a new address. Automatic ip addressing su...

  • Page 65: Echnical

    C t echnical s pecifications this section lists the technical specifications for the officeconnect 11mbps wireless access point. 11mbps wireless access point interfaces lan connection - 10mbps/100mbps dual speed ethernet port (10base-t/100base-tx) wlan interface standard ieee 802.11b, direct sequenc...

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    66 a ppendix c: t echnical s pecifications dimensions ■ width = 220 mm (8.7 in.) ■ depth = 135 mm (5.3 in.) ■ height = 24 mm (1 in.) weight approximately 592 g (1.3 lbs) standards functional: iso 8802/3 ieee 802.3 ieee 802.11b, wifi safety: ul 1950, en 60950 csa 22.2 #950 iec 60950 emc: en 55022 cla...

  • Page 67

    67 ■ windows xp ■ mac os 8.5 or higher ■ unix ethernet performance the access point complies to the ieee 802.3i, u and x specifications. Wireless performance the access point complies with the ieee 802.11b specification and conforms to the wifi interoperability test standard. Cable specifications th...

  • Page 68

    68 a ppendix c: t echnical s pecifications.

  • Page 69: Afety

    D s afety i nformation important safety information warning: warnings contain directions that you must follow for your personal safety. Follow all directions carefully. You must read the following safety information carefully before you install or remove the unit: warning: the access point generates...

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    70 a ppendix d: s afety i nformation warning: disconnect the power adapter before moving the unit. Warning: rj-45 ports. These are shielded rj-45 data sockets. They cannot be used as telephone sockets. Only connect rj-45 data connectors to these sockets. Wichtige sicherheitshinweise vorsicht: warnhi...

  • Page 71

    71 vorsicht: es sind keine von dem benutzer zu ersetzende oder zu wartende teile in dem gerät vorhanden. Wenn sie ein problem mit dem access point haben, das nicht mittels der fehleranalyse in dieser anleitung behoben werden kann, setzen sie sich mit ihrem lieferanten in verbindung. Vorsicht: vor de...

  • Page 72

    72 a ppendix d: s afety i nformation avertissement: l’appareil fonctionne à une tension extrêmement basse de sécurité qui est conforme à la norme cei 950. Ces conditions ne sont maintenues que si l'équipement auquel il est raccordé fonctionne dans les mêmes conditions. Avertissement: il n’y a pas de...

  • Page 73: Ser

    E e nd u ser s oftware l icence a greement 3com corporation end user software license agreement you should carefully read the following terms and conditions before downloading, installing and using this product, the use of which is licensed by 3com corporation ("3com") to its customers for their use...

  • Page 74

    74 a ppendix e: e nd u ser s oftware l icence a greement and developed solely at private expense. The software is delivered as "commercial computer software" as defined in dfars 252.227-7014 (june 1995) or as a commercial item as defined in far 2.101(a) and as such is provided with only such rights ...

  • Page 75: Lossary

    G lossary 802.11b the ieee standard to which the 3com officeconnect 11mpbs wireless access point conforms. This standard provides for 1,2,5.5 and 11 mbps data rates and a set of fundamental signaling methods and other services (see weca). 10base-t the ieee specification for 10 mbps ethernet over cat...

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    76 g lossary 802.3 standard for ethernet and is an operation that takes place in a few milliseconds. Bandwidth the information capacity, measured in bits per second, that a channel can transmit. The bandwidth of ethernet is 10 mbps, the bandwidth of fast ethernet is 100 mbps. The bandwidth for 802.1...

  • Page 77

    G lossary 77 your internet browser), the user is sent to the proper ip address. The dns server address used by the computers on your home network is the location of the dns server your isp has assigned. Encryption a method for providing a level of security to wireless data transmissions. The officec...

  • Page 78

    78 g lossary ietf internet engineering task force. An organization responsible for providing engineering solutions for tcp/ip networks. In the network management area, this group is responsible for the development of the snmp protocol. Infra-structure mode infra-structure mode is the 802.11b configu...

  • Page 79

    G lossary 79 network a network is a collection of computers and other computer equipment that are connected for the purpose of exchanging information or sharing resources. Networks vary in size, some are within a single room, others span continents. Network interface card (nic) a circuit board insta...

  • Page 80

    80 g lossary tcp/ip transmission control protocol/internet protocol. This is the name for two of the most well-known protocols developed for the interconnection of networks. Originally a unix standard, tcp/ip is now supported on almost all platforms, and is the protocol of the internet. Tcp relates ...

  • Page 81: Ndex

    I ndex a access 13 addresses ip 61 administration password 26, 33 automatic addressing 63 c cable specifications 67 channels 83 configuration backup 49 restore 49 conventions notice icons, about this guide 8 text, about this guide 8 country selection 24 d dhcp 27, 36, 63 discovery application 59 f f...

  • Page 82

    82 i ndex u unit configuration 34 upgrade 49 w wireless authorised pcs 43 channel selection 38 client list 45 configuration 38 connection control 42 encryption 40 led 15 networking 54 nic 14 service area name 39 settings 29, 37.

  • Page 83: Egulatory

    R egulatory n otices for the 11mbps w ireless a ccess p oint channels use of the 11mbps wireless access point is only authorized for the channels approved by each country. For proper installation, login to the management interface and select your country from the drop down list. Table 5 below detail...

  • Page 84

    84 information to the user if this equipment does cause interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures: ■ reorient the receiving antenna. ■ ...

  • Page 85

    85 exposure to radio frequency radiation: the radiated output power of the 3com officeconnect 11mbps wireless access point is far below the fcc radio frequency exposure limits. Nevertheless, the 3com officeconnect 11mbps wireless access point shall be used in such manner that the potential for human...

  • Page 86

    86 rf exposure compliance statement (u.S.) caution: the 3com officeconnect 11mbps wireless access point has been certified as a mobile computing device as per fcc section 2.1091. In order to comply with the fcc rf exposure requirements, the 3com officeconnect wireless cable/dsl gateway must only be ...

  • Page 88

    3com corporation, corporate headquarters, 5500 great america parkway, santa clara, ca 95052-8145, usa. To learn more about 3com products and services, visit our world wide web site at www.3com.Com all specifications are subject to change without notice. Copyright © 2003 3com corporation. All rights ...