Configuring a Wireless Network:
Dell� TrueMobile� 1300 Wireless USB Adapter User's Guide
The Dell WLAN Configuration Utility allows you to configure
the parameters of your communications with the wireless network through
the Wireless Networks menu. The following topics are covered
in this section of the manual:
Note: If your computer runs
the Windows XP operating system with the Wireless Zero Configuration service
enabled, configuration of a wireless connection is controlled by that
service. You must disable that service in order to use the Dell WLAN Configuration
Utility to configure wireless communications.
Available Networks: The
first section of this menu displays a list of the available wireless networks. If
you are associated with a network, a blue bubble appears over the icon for the network
in both this list and in the Preferred networks list.
The Configure button to the right of this
list allows you to configure your connection to the highlighted network;
refer to Network Configuration for
an explanation of this process. The Refresh
button forces the Configuration Utility to update the list by scanning
for available networks.
Preferred Networks: The
second section of this menu displays a list of preferred networks. This
list shows the order, from top to bottom, of the networks to which your
computer will attempt to connect. If your computer is connected to any
of these networks, a blue bubble appears over the icon for that network.
If your computer cannot find any of these networks when it performs a scan,
a crossed-out red bubble appears over the icon
for that network
When your computer starts searching
for a wireless network, it begins by attempting to connect to the first
network in this list. If it cannot connect to this network, it then attempts
to connect to the second network in the list. This process continues until
the computer establishes a connection with one of these networks. After
a connection is established, if a higher priority network become available,
then the current connection is dropped and the computer connects with
the higher priority network.
You can change the order of preferred networks by highlighting
a network in this list and clicking the Move Up
or Move Down buttons.
The Add button allows you
to add a network to the list of preferred networks. The Properties
button allows you to configure the selected network. Refer to Network
Configuration for an explanation of the operation of these buttons.
The Remove button removes the selected network
from the list of preferred networks.
Two items appear beneath the Preferred networks section.
The Show wireless configuration icon in systray
field determines whether the icon for the Dell WLAN configuration utility
appears in the system tray at the bottom right side of your desktop. If
this field is not checked, you can start the Configuration Utility from
the Start Menu by selecting Programs → Dell TrueMobile
→ TrueMobile 1300 USB2.0 WLAN Card Utility.
Clicking on the Advanced...
button displays the following menu:
The first section of this menu allows you to specify the
networks to access when your computer is searching for a wireless network
connection. Clicking the check box next to the Automatically
connect to non-preferred networks field allows your computer to
connect to any available network if it cannot connect to a preferred network.
At the bottom of the Wireless networks menu are three buttons. Clicking the
OK button applies any changes you made in this or any of the other menus
of the Configuration Utility and closes the utility. Clicking the Cancel
button cancels any changes you made since you last clicked the Apply but
does not close the utility. Clicking the Apply button saves any changes
you made in this or any of the other menus of the utility and leaves the utility
open.
There are three ways to configure a network through the Dell
WLAN Configuration Utility:
by choosing a network in the list of available networks
and clicking the Configure button
by choosing a network in the list of preferred networks
and clicking the Properties button
by clicking the Add button
beneath the list of preferred networks
When you click any of these buttons a window similar to the
following appears on your screen:
If you clicked the Configure
or Properties button, the name of the network
highlighted when you clicked the button appears in the Network
name (SSID) field. If you clicked the Add
button to display this menu, this field is blank. To add a network to
the list of preferred networks, enter its name in this field.
Two buttons appear at the bottom of this menu. Clicking the
OK button applies any changes you made in this or any of the other menus
of the Configuration Utility. Clicking the Cancel
button cancels any changes you made since you last clicked the Apply
button. Clicking either of these buttons returns to the Wireless
networks menu.
Network configuration consists of specifying values for association
and authentication, as explained in
the following sections.
Association refers to the ability to join a network, either
infrastructure or adhoc. The most basic requirement for associating with
a network is specifying the correct name, or Service Set Identifier (SSID),
for the network.
Networks may also require a key for association. If this is the case for the
network you are configuring, you must enter the authentication and encryption
types for your keys in the Wireless Network Key section of this menu. To choose a value
for these fields, click the down arrow to the right of the appropriate file and
highlight one of the values that appear in the drop-down list.
Open and Shared authentication require no further configuration.
To use WPA-PSK authentication, you must click the Properties button
next to this field and enter a shared secret key.
For key encryption, you can choose either disabled or WEP. To
configure WEP encryption, click the Properties button next to this field.
When you click this button, a menu similar to the following appears.
When you specify that WEP is enabled for the network, the
Configuration Utility selects Create WEP Keys Manually,
and allows you to enter keys as either alphanumeric or hexadecimal characters.
To enter a key, click in the field for any of the four WEP keys and begin
typing. For 64-bit encryption, you must type exactly 5 alphanumeric or
10 hexadecimal characters in each of the four key fields; for 128-bit
encryption, you must type exactly 13 alphanumeric or 26 hexadecimal characters.
You then click the OK button to create your encryption keys.
After you click the OK button, the Configuration Utility uses
asterisks to mask your keys.
The Key index (advanced) field lets you specify which
of the four encryption keys you use to transmit data on your wireless
LAN. You can change the default key by clicking on the up or down arrow
at the right of this field until the number of the key you want to use
appears. As long as the Access Point or computer with which you are communicating
has the same key in the same position, you can use any of the keys as
the default.
To create encryption keys using a passphrase, click the radio
button next to Create WEP Keys with Pass Phrase
and type a character string in the Pass Phrase
field. As with creating keys manually, you must type exactly 5 alphanumeric
or 10 hexadecimal characters for 64-bit encryption, or exactly 13 alphanumeric
or 26 hexadecimal characters for 128-bit encryption. After you click the
OK button, the Configuration Utility generates 4 WEP keys and
uses asterisks to mask your keys.
Two fields appear at the bottom of the Association menu. If you check
the first field (by clicking in the box to the left of the field), your computer
can associate with Access Points that do not support encryption, provided that
the network name used by the AP matches the Network name specified in this menu.
If the network that you are configuring is an ad-hoc network, the second field at the bottom
of the Association menu is checked. If you are adding an adhoc network, click the
check box next to this field. When this field is checked, you specify the channel
used in the ad-hoc network by clicking the down arrow to the right of the Ad-hoc
Channel field and highlighting the appropriate channel.
If the network you are configuring requires authentication,
select the Authentication tab to continue.
Selecting this tab displays a menu similar to the following:
To enable authentication, click the check box next to the
Enable IEEE 802.1x authentication for this network
field. Checking this box activates the fields in the menu, allowing you
to specify authentication parameters.
The first field in this menu lets you specify the type of
Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) used by the network. To choose
a type, click the down arrow to the right of this field and choose one
of the types from the displayed list. Click the up and down arrows to
the right of this list to display all the available types.
Beneath this field are three additional fields used to specify
other authentication parameters. To enable any of these parameters, click
the check box next to the appropriate field.
After you choose an EAP type, click the Properties
button to specify the information required for authentication. The following
sections describe configuration of each available EAP type.
Clicking the Properties button
for PEAP authentication displays the following menu:
PEAP requires a Username and a Server Name; enter this information
in the appropriate fields on your screen. With PEAP, you can use a client
certificate for authentication with the server by clicking in the check
box next to the Use client certificate field
and then highlight a certificate from the list to select it.
Clicking next to the Allow intermediate
certificate authority field lets you receive certification credentials
from any authentication server authorized to provide authentication services
by the server named in the Server Name field.
Clicking next to the Allow subdomains field
allows you to receive certification from an authorized server on any subdomain
in your network.
Tunneled authentication requires a Username and Password
(which you can enter in the appropriate fields in this menu), and an authentication
method. To choose a method, click the down arrow next to the Authentication
field, and then click on the method in the displayed list that you wish
to use.
To save the information you entered in this menu, click the
OK button. To discard any changes you made
in this information, click the Cancel button.
Clicking either of these buttons returns to the Wireless
network properties menu.
With PEAP, you can also enable WPA (WiFi Protected Access)
for enhanced encryption. Clicking the check box next to Enable
WiFi Protected Access (WPA) in the Wireless
network properties menu enables WPA with PEAP.
Clicking the Properties button
for TLS/Smart Card authentication displays the following menu:
TLS/Smart Card authentication requires a Username and a Server
Name; enter this information in the appropriate fields on your screen.
With TLS/Smart Card authentication, you can use a client certificate for
authentication with the server by clicking in the check box next to the
Use client certificate field and then highlight
a certificate from the list to select it.
Clicking next to the Allow intermediate
certificate authority field lets you receive certification credentials
form any authentication server authorized to provide authentication services
by the server named in the Server Name field.
Clicking next to the Allow subdomains field
allows you to receive certification from an authorized server on any subdomain
in your network.
Tunneled authentication requires a Username and Password
(which you can enter in the appropriate fields in this menu), and an authentication
method. To choose a method, click the down arrow next to the Authentication
field, and then click on the method in the displayed list that you wish
to use.
To save the information you entered in this menu, click the
OK button. To discard any changes you made
in this information, click the Cancel button.
Clicking either of these buttons returns to the Wireless
network properties menu.
With TLS/Smart Card authentication, you can also enable WPA
(WiFi Protected Access) for enhanced encryption. Clicking the check box
next to Enable WiFi Protected Access (WPA)
in the Wireless network properties menu
enables WPA with TLS/Smart Card authentication.
Clicking the Properties button
for LEAP authentication displays the following menu:
LEAP security requires a Username and Password; enter this
information in the appropriate fields on your screen.
You can also enable CCX (Cisco
Compatible Extensions) with LEAP security. Network EAP utilizes an authentication
server on the network. To use this facility, click the check box next
to Use network EAP.
CCX also provides a means to avoid associating with unauthorized
Access Points. To enable this facility, click the check box next to Enable rogue AP
detection. With this facility
enabled, you can also change authentication credentials if AP authentication
fails by clicking the check box next to the Allow
Change in Credentials on Failure field, and set a time out value
for this authentication by clicking the up and down arrows to the right
of the Timeout field.
With LEAP authentication, you can also enable WPA (WiFi Protected
Access) for enhanced encryption. Clicking the check box next to Enable WiFi
Protected Access (WPA) in the Wireless network properties menu enables WPA with
LEAP authentication.
To save the information you entered in this menu, click the
OK button. To discard any changes you made
in this information, click the Cancel button.
Clicking either of these buttons returns to the Wireless
network properties menu.
Clicking the Properties button
for MD5 Challenge authentication displays the following menu:
MD5-Challenge authentication requires only a Username and
Password; enter this information in the appropriate fields on your screen.
To save the information you entered in this menu, click the OK
button. To discard any changes you made in this information, click the
Cancel button. Clicking either of these
buttons returns to the Wireless network properties
menu.
Clicking the Properties button
for TTLS (Tunneled Transport Layered Security) authentication displays
the following menu:
TTLS requires a Username and a Server Name; enter this information
in the appropriate fields on your screen. With TTLS, you can use a client
certificate for authentication with the server by clicking in the check
box next to the Use client certificate field
and then highlighting a certificate from the list to select it.
Clicking next to the Allow intermediate
certificate authority field lets you receive certification credentials
form any authentication server authorized to provide authentication services
by the server named in the Server Name field.
Clicking next to the Allow subdomains field
allows you to receive certification from an authorized server on any subdomain
in your network.
Tunneled authentication requires a Username and Password
(which you can enter in the appropriate fields in this menu), and an authentication
method. To choose a method, click the down arrow next to the Authentication
field, and then click on the method in the displayed list that you wish
to use.
To save the information you entered in this menu, click the
OK button. To discard any changes you made
in this information, click the Cancel button.
Clicking either of these buttons returns to the Wireless
network properties menu.
With TTLS, you can also enable WPA (WiFi Protected Access)
for enhanced encryption. Clicking the check box next to Enable
WiFi Protected Access (WPA) in the Wireless
network properties menu enables WPA with TTLS.
