Tl-Wn851N Wireless N Pci Adapter: 2.4Ghz Draft 11N/G/B
Tl-Wn851N Wireless N Pci Adapter: 2.4Ghz Draft 11N/G/B
Tl-Wn851N Wireless N Pci Adapter: 2.4Ghz Draft 11N/G/B
No part of the specifications may be reproduced in any form or by any means or used to make
any derivative such as translation, transformation, or adaptation without permission from
TP-LINK TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD. Copyright © 2008 TP-LINK TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD.
All rights reserved.
http://www.tp-link.com
FCC STATEMENT
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device,
pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to pro-vide reasonable
protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates,
uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not in-stalled and used in accordance with
the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no
guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does
cause harmful 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:
2) This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause
undesired operation.
Any changes or modifications not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance
could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.
CE Mark Warning
This is a class B product. In a domestic environment, this product may cause radio interference,
in which case the user may be required to take adequate measures.
National Restrictions
2400.0-2483.5 MHz
Outdoor use limited to 10 mW Military Radiolocation use. Refarming of the 2.4 GHz
France e.i.r.p. within the band band has been ongoing in recent years to allow current
2454-2483.5 MHz relaxed regulation. Full implementation planned 2012
Appendix A: Specifications................................................................................... 26
Appendix B: Glossary............................................................................................ 27
Package Contents
The following items should be found in your package:
) Note:
Make sure that the package contains the above items. If any of the listed items are damaged or
missing, please contact with your distributor.
Conventions:
The ‘Adapter’ mentioned in this user guide stands for TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
without any explanations.
1
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Chapter 1 Introduction
Thank you for choosing the TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter!
With the 802.11n technology, higher throughput improvements using MIMO (multiple input,
multiple output antennas), the TL-WN851N’s auto-sensing capability allows high packet transfer
rate of up to 300Mbps for maximum throughput. It has good capability on anti-jamming, and it can
also interoperate with other wireless (802.11b) products. The adapter supports WEP, WPA and
WPA2 encryption to prevent outside intrusion and protect your personal information from being
exposed.
The adapter is easy to install and manage. The Quick Setup Wizard guides you step-by-step
through the installation process; the TP-LINK Wireless N Client Utility helps you create a wireless
connection immediately.
With unmatched wireless performance, reception, and security protection, the TL-WN851N is the
best choice for easily adding or upgrading wireless connectivity to your notebook computer.
1.2 Features
¾ Complies with IEEE802.11n (draft), IEEE802.11g, IEEE802.11b standards
¾ Supports WPA/WPA2 data security, IEEE802.1x authentication, TKIP/AES encryption,
64/128/152-bit WEP encryption
¾ Supports high rate of up to 300Mbps for maximum throughput, supports automatically
adjust to lower speeds due to distance or other operating limitations
¾ Provides 32-bit PCI interface
¾ Supports Ad-Hoc and Infrastructure modes
¾ Good capability on anti-jamming
¾ Supports roaming between access points when configured in Infrastructure mode
¾ Ease to configure and provides monitoring information
¾ Supports Windows 2000, XP, Vista
¾ Built-in two internal antennas which are listed in a format of 2x2 for two receivers and two
transmitters.
2
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
3
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
2.2.1 Overview
The Adapter’s Setup Wizard will guide you through the Installation procedure for Windows 2000,
XP and Vista. The Setup Wizard will install the TP-LINK Wireless N Client Utility (11NWCU) and
drivers.
When you install the hardware prior to before installing the software, the system will prompt
“Found New Hardware Wizard”, click Cancel, and run the Setup Wizard program on the
CD-ROM.
The Setup steps for Windows 2000, XP and Vista are very similar. The following setup steps
are for Windows XP.
4
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 2-1
2. Soon, Figure 2-2 will display after a moment. Click Next to continue.
Figure 2-2
3. After that, you should choose a Setup type. It is recommended that you select Install
Client Utilities and Driver. Select Install Driver Only to install driver only, select Make
Driver Installation Diskette(s) to make the diskette(s) as the installation driver (shown in
Figure 2-3). Click Next to continue.
5
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 2-3
4. Click Browse to change the destination location for the software, then click Next in the
screen below (shown in Figure 2-4).
Figure 2-4
5. After that, select the program folder, you should create a new folder name or select one
from the Existing Folders list. It is recommended that you keep the default setting. Click
Next to continue the installation.
6
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 2-5
6. Choose configuration tool, if you are not sure, please leave it default. Then click Next to
continue.
Figure 2-6
7. Click OK to continue the Installation on the screen below.
7
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 2-7
8. Wait a while for the setup as shown in Figure 2-8.
Figure 2-8
) Note:
1) For Windows XP, the Setup Wizard will notify you of how to proceed with the installation
during these steps (shown in Figure 2-9). Our drivers have been tested thoroughly, and
are able to work with the operating system. Click Continue Anyway to continue the
Installation.
8
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 2-9
2) In Windows 2000, the warning screen is shown below (Figure 2-10), and please select
Yes to continue installation.
Figure 2-10
9. After all the steps above, you will see the screen below, click Finish to complete the
installation.
9
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 2-11
10
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Chapter 3 Configuration
TP-LINK TL-WN851N can be configured by TP-LINK Wireless N Client Utility (11NWCU). This
chapter describes how to configure your Adapter for wireless connectivity on your Wireless
Local Area Network (WLAN) and use the data security encryption features.
After Installing the Adapter, the Adapter’s tray icon will appear in your system tray. It
appears at the bottom of the screen, and shows the signal strength using color and the received
signal strength indication (RSSI).
If the icon is red, there is poor signal strength and the RSSI is less than 5dB.
If the icon is yellow, there is poor signal strength and the RSSI is between 5dB and 10dB.
If the icon is green, there is good signal strength and the RSSI is between 10dB and 20dB.
If the icon is green, there is excellent signal strength and the RSSI is more than 20dB.
Double-click the icon and the 11NWCU will run. You can also run the utility by clicking the Start
→Program→TP-LINK→ TP-LINK Wireless N Client Utility→TP-LINK Wireless N Client
Utility. The 11NWCU provides some integrated and easy tools to:
¾ Display current status information
¾ Edit and add configuration profiles
¾ Display current diagnostics information
The Current Status tab contains general information about the program and its operations. The
Current Status tab needn’t any configurations.
11
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 3-1
The following table describes the items found on the Current Status screen.
¾ Profile Name - This shows the name of current selected configuration profile. The
configuration of Profile name will be described on the General tab of Profile Management.
¾ Link Status - This shows whether the station is associated to the wireless network.
¾ Wireless Mode - Here displays the wireless mode.
¾ Network Type - The type of network and the station currently connected are shown here.
The options include:
• Infrastructure (access point)
• Ad Hoc
) Note:
You can configure the network type and wireless mode on the Advanced tab of Profile
Management.
¾ IP Address - This displays the computer’s IP address.
¾ Control Channel - This shows the currently connected channel.
¾ Data Encryption - Here displays the encryption type the driver is using. You can configure
it on the Security tab of Profile Management.
¾ Server Based Authentication - This shows whether the server based authentication is
used.
¾ Signal Strength - This shows the strength of the signal.
Click Advanced on the screen above, you can see advanced information about the program
and its operations.
12
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 3-2
To add a new configuration profile, click New on the Profile Management tab. To modify a
configuration profile, select the configuration profile from the Profile list and click Modify. Then
you will see the Management dialog box (shown in Figure 3-3).
¾ Profile Name - Please enter the Profile name which identifies the configuration profile. This
name must be unique. Note that the profile names are not case-sensitive.
¾ Client Name - Please enter the Profile name which identifies the client machine.
¾ Network Names (SSIDs) - Please enter the IEEE 802.11 wireless network name. This
field has a maximum limit of 32 characters.
13
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 3-3
Select the Security tab in the screen above, and then you can edit the fields to configure the
profile. To define the security mode, select the radio button of the desired security mode as
follows.
14
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 3-4
¾ WPA/WPA2: Wi-Fi Protected Access.
¾ WPA/WPA2 Passphrase: Wi-Fi Protected Access Passphrase.
¾ 802.1x: Enables 802.1x security.
¾ Pre-Shared Key (Static WEP): Enables the use of shared keys that are defined on both
the access point and the station. To define shared encryption keys, choose the Shared Key
radio button and click Configure to fill in the Define Shared Keys window (shown in Figure
3-5).
) Note:
The WEP security mode is not available for 802.11n.
¾ None: No security (not recommended).
) Note:
If the access point which the Adapter is associated has WEP set and the client has WEP enabled,
make sure that Allow Association to Mixed Cells is checked on the Security tab to allow
association. To complete WEP encryption configuration, you must select the 802.11
Authentication Mode as appropriate on the Advanced tab of this Profile Management dialog.
To configure the Encryption Keys under the Pre-Shared keys (Static WEP) Security mode:
15
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 3-5
) Note:
Select different Security Options, the configurations are different; you can select the
appropriate security option and configure the exact key as your need.
This screen below allows you to make advanced configuration for the profile.
16
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 3-6
¾ Power Save Mode - Please select the power save mode in the drop-down list.
• Maximum - Selects maximum mode to let the access point buffer incoming messages
for the Adapter. The Adapter will detect the access point if any messages are waiting
periodically.
• Normal - Normal mode uses maximum when retrieving a large number of packets,
then switches back to power save mode after retrieving the packets.
• Off - Turns power saving off, thus powering up the Wireless PCI Adapter continuously
for a short message response time.
¾ Network Type: There are basically two modes of networking:
• Infrastructure - All wireless clients will connect to an access point or wireless router.
• Ad-Hoc - Directly connecting to another computer, for peer-to-peer communication,
using wireless network adapters on each computer, such as two or more TL-WN851N
wireless adapters.
) Note:
1) An Infrastructure network contains an Access Point or wireless router. All the wireless
devices or clients will connect to the wireless router or access point.
2) An Ad-Hoc network contains only clients, such as laptops with wireless desktop adapters. All
the adapters must be in Ad-Hoc mode to communicate.
¾ Wireless Mode: Specifies 2.4 GHz 300 Mbps, 2.4 GHz 54 Mbps or 2.4 GHz 11 Mbps
operation in an access point network. The Wireless adapter must match the wireless mode
of the access point with which it associates.
17
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
¾ Wireless Mode when Starting an Ad Hoc Network: Specifies 2.4 GHz 300/54/11 Mbps
to start an Ad Hoc network if no matching network name is found after scanning all
available modes. This mode also allows the selection of the channel that the Wireless
Adapter uses. The channels available depend on the regulatory domain. If the adapter
finds no other ad hoc adapters, the channel that the adapter starts the ad hoc network with
will be selected automatically. The Adapter must match the wireless mode and channel of
the clients it associates.
¾ 802.11 Authentication Mode: Select which mode the Adapter uses to authenticate to an
access point:
• Automatic causes the adapter to attempt authentication using shared, but switches it
to open authentication if shared fails.
• Open System enables an adapter to attempt authentication regardless of its WEP
settings. It will only associate with the access point if the WEP keys on both the
adapter and the access point match.
• Shared-key only allows the adapter to associate with access points that have the
same WEP key.
For infrastructure (access point) networks, click Preferred APs… to specify four access points
at most to the client adapter that attempts to be associated to the access points. The four
access points have different priorities; the frontal has the higher priority.
Figure 3-7
) Note:
The profile being used can’t be removed.
18
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 3-8
Figure 3-9
19
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 3-10
20
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 3-11
3. Highlight the profiles to add to auto profile selection, and click Add. The profile will appear
in the Auto Selected Profiles box.
4. Highlight a profile in the Auto Selected Profiles box.
5. Click Move Up or Move Down as appropriate.
) Note:
The first profile in the Auto Selected Profiles box has highest priority, while the last profile has the
lowest priority.
6. Click OK.
7. Check the Auto Select Profiles checkbox on the Profile Management tab (shown in
Figure 3-2).
) Note:
When auto profile selection is enabled by checking Auto Select Profiles on the Profile
Management tab, the client adapter will scan for an available network. The profile with the
highest priority and the same SSID as one of the found networks will be used to connect to the
network. If the connection fails, the client adapter will try the next highest priority profile that
matches the SSID until an available network is found.
3.3 Diagnostics
The Diagnostics tab of the TP-LINK Wireless N Client Utility (11NWCU) provides buttons used
to retrieve receiving and transmitting statistics. The Diagnostics tab does not require any
configuration.
The Diagnostics tab lists the following receiving and transmitting diagnostics for frames
received or transmitted by the wireless network adapter:
¾ Multicast frames transmitted and received
¾ Broadcast frames transmitted and received
21
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 3-12
Click the Adapter Information button in the screen above, you will see the adapter information,
including general information about the wireless network adapter and the Network Driver
Interface Specification (NDIS) driver. Access the adapter information from the Diagnostics tab.
The Advanced Statistics show receiving and transmitting statistical information about the
following receiving and transmitting diagnostics for frames received by or transmitted to the
wireless network adapter.
22
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 3-13
Figure 3-14
Icon means the connection has been established. Icon means there is no
connection.
To establish a connection, please follow the steps below.
1. Right-click the icon in your system tray, then click Connect to a network.
23
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 3-15
2. The following screen will show you available wireless networks. Highlight the one you want
to join, and then click Connect.
Figure 3-16
3. To continue, click Connect Anyway. Click the Cancel button to end the connection.
24
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Figure 3-17
4. If the connection is successful established, the following screen will appear, click close to
finish the connection.
Figure 3-18
25
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Appendix A: Specifications
Normal
Interface 32 bit PCI Interface
Standards IEEE802.11n (draft); IEEE802.11g; IEEE802.11b;
Operating System Windows 2000, XP, Vista
Throughput 300Mbps (Maximal)
27/54/81/108/162/216/243/270Mbps
13.5/27/40.5/54/81/108/121.5/135Mbps
Radio Data Rate 13/26/39/52/78/104/117/130Mbps
6.5/13/19.5/26/39/52/58.5/65Mbps
1/2/5.5/11Mbps
(Auto Rate Sensing)
11b:CCK,QPSK,BPSK;
Modulation 11g:OFDM;
11n: QPSK,BPSK,16-QAM,64-QAM
Media Access Protocol CSMA/CA with ACK
Transmit Power 19dBm (Maximal)
Data Security WPA/WPA2; 64/128/152-bit WEP; TKIP/AES
Frequency 2.4 ~ 2.4835GHz
Spread Spectrum Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS)
Safety & Emissions FCC, CE
26
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
Appendix B: Glossary
¾ 802.11b - The 802.11b standard specifies a wireless product networking at 11 Mbps using
direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) technology and operating in the unlicensed radio
spectrum at 2.4GHz, and WEP encryption for security. 802.11b networks are also referred to
as Wi-Fi networks.
¾ 802.11n - 802.11n builds upon previous 802.11 standards by adding MIMO (multiple-input
multiple-output). MIMO uses multiple transmitter and receiver antennas to allow for increased
data throughput via spatial multiplexing and increased range by exploiting the spatial diversity,
perhaps through coding schemes like Alamouti coding. The Enhanced Wireless Consortium
(EWC)[3] was formed to help accelerate the IEEE 802.11n development process and promote
a technology specification for interoperability of next-generation wireless local area
networking (WLAN) products.
¾ Ad-hoc Network - An ad-hoc network is a group of computers, each with a Wireless Adapter,
connected as an independent 802.11 wireless LAN. Ad-hoc wireless computers operate on a
peer-to-peer basis, communicating directly with each other without the use of an access point.
Ad-hoc mode is also referred to as an Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS) or as
peer-to-peer mode, and is useful at a departmental scale or SOHO operation.
¾ DSSS - (Direct-Sequence Spread Spectrum) - DSSS generates a redundant bit pattern for all
data transmitted. This bit pattern is called a chip (or chipping code). Even if one or more bits
in the chip are damaged during transmission, statistical techniques embedded in the receiver
can recover the original data without the need of retransmission. To an unintended receiver,
DSSS appears as low power wideband noise and is rejected (ignored) by most narrowband
receivers. However, to an intended receiver (i.e. another wireless LAN endpoint), the DSSS
signal is recognized as the only valid signal, and interference is inherently rejected (ignored).
¾ FHSS - (Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum) - FHSS continuously changes (hops) the
carrier frequency of a conventional carrier several times per second according to a
pseudo-random set of channels. Because a fixed frequency is not used, and only the
transmitter and receiver know the hop patterns, interception of FHSS is extremely difficult.
27
TL-WN851N Wireless N PCI Adapter
developed by the military for use in reliable, secure, mission-critical communications systems.
It is designed to trade off bandwidth efficiency for reliability, integrity, and security. In other
words, more bandwidth is consumed than in the case of narrowband transmission, but the
trade off produces a signal that is, in effect, louder and thus easier to detect, provided that the
receiver knows the parameters of the spread-spectrum signal being broadcast. If a receiver is
not tuned to the right frequency, a spread-spectrum signal looks like background noise.
There are two main alternatives, Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) and Frequency
Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS).
¾ WEP - (Wired Equivalent Privacy) - A data privacy mechanism based on a 64-bit or 128-bit or
152-bit shared key algorithm, as described in the IEEE 802.11 standard. To gain access to a
WEP network, you must know the key. The key is a string of characters that you create.
When using WEP, you must determine the level of encryption. The type of encryption
determines the key length. 128-bit encryption requires a longer key than 64-bit encryption.
Keys are defined by entering in a string in HEX (hexadecimal - using characters 0-9, A-F) or
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange – alphanumeric characters)
format. ASCII format is provided so you can enter a string that is easier to remember. The
ASCII string is converted to HEX for use over the network. Four keys can be defined so that
you can change keys easily.
¾ Wi-Fi - A trade name for the 802.11b wireless networking standard, given by the Wireless
Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA, see http://www.wi-fi.net), an industry standards
group promoting interoperability among 802.11b devices.
¾ WLAN - (Wireless Local Area Network) - A group of computers and associated devices
communicate with each other wirelessly, which network serving users are limited in a local
area.
¾ WPA - (Wi-Fi Protected Access) - A wireless security protocol uses TKIP (Temporal Key
Integrity Protocol) encryption, which can be used in conjunction with a RADIUS server.
28