3Com 8000, User Manual

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Installation Overview 3
Installation Overview
1 Choose the best place for the installation (flat surface, wall, or acoustical ceiling).
Look for a location away from equipment that might cause radio interference. The
site should be elevated and centrally located relative to the users on your wireless
network.
2 Make sure that you are familiar with the following items and have them available
where required for your installation:
■
Access point
■
3Com Integrated Power-over-Ethernet power supply and power cord
■
Standard category 5 straight (8-wire) Ethernet cable
■
Mounting hardware (for wall- or ceiling-mount installations)
It may be useful for you to conduct a site survey before permanently installing the
access point. See “Conducting a Site Survey” on page 31.
3 Install the access point following the steps outlined in “Installing the Access Point”
on page 5.
4 Connect the access point to the power supply and connect the power supply to a
power source. (If you use your own power-over-Ethernet hub or switch, ensure
that your equipment also complies with the IEEE 802.3af standard.)
5 If you are linking your wireless network to your wired Ethernet network, run an
Ethernet segment from the To Hub/Switch port on the power brick to a LAN port.
(Be sure you do not connect the Ethernet segment to the port labeled To Access
Point. Doing so may damage network components.)
6 After hardware installation is complete, install the access point tools, utilities, and
user guide from the installation CD.
7 To set access point security or configure the wireless network, refer to “Managing
the Wireless LAN” on page19.
8 To set up a wireless client to authenticate through the access point to your RADIUS
server, refer to “Using the Wireless 802.1X Agent” on page16.
9 For information on improving the signal between the access point and a wireless
client, see “Antenna Options” on page 11.
802.1x Support Port-based network access control utilizes the physical
characteristics of the switched LAN infrastructures to authenticate
devices attached to a LAN port, and prevent access to that port in
cases where the authentication process fails.
Encryption Supports 40-bit and 128-bit shared encryption, and 128-bit
dynamic encryption key. Compatible with Cisco and Agere/Lucent
Access Points and Clients, Microsoft
Management tools Web server in the access point supports device configuration and
management through your web browser. Access point software
tools run under Windows 95, 98, 98se, Me, WinNT 4.0 SP4 or
above, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. The 3Com Network
Supervisor discovers and displays a map of all Wireless Clients
within a segment. Built-in Web server simplifies firmware
upgrades. Web-based interface requires Java script support and so
is compatible with Internet Explorer 5.0 or greater and Netscape
Communicator 6.0 or greater.