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3Com Airconnect 11Mbps Wireless LAN Access Point
Page 3
Author: Tim Higgins Review Date: 8/29/2000
Bring
in the clients, please...
The standard form-factor for 802.11b LAN client adapters is PCMCIA or
PC Card. The AirConnect card uses the Intersil Prism II chip
set (the other 802.11b chipset manufacturer is Lucent) and has a detachable
antenna. The antenna module also contains two LEDs which both indicate
wireless LAN activity. Drivers for virtually all flavors of Windows (except
for ME) are included on the CD, along with Netware 4.x and 5.x drivers.
Linux and MacOs users will have to go elsewhere for the LAN card needs,
however (see the Chart).
Driver installation went smoothly on my Win98SE Compaq 1650 laptop, with
the only hitch again being poor documentation. The driver installation
doesn't include the "Launcher" application which is a System
Tray app that provides a number of handy features for monitoring the adapter's
performance and changing its properties. You need to run the separate
Mobile Connection Manger installer (located under the CD's "Install
WLAN Applications" menu).
After installation, the Launcher will appear
in the System Tray each time you start up. The screen shots below
give you some idea of the goodies that the Launcher gives you.
The Launcher window opened from the System Tray
Signal Quality window
Link Performance window
LAN Adapter settings are done via the Adapter properties in the Network
Control Panel. You can set the Adapter's power mode, its LAN Service
Area, and enable "Mobile IP". This last option lets you move
between Access Points in larger networks. I assume that the Encryption
driver upgrade also lets you set the Encryption mode and keys, too.