Wireless Troubleshooting

- Is it a hardware problem
- How can I check to be sure if I am interfered or not
- If I've confirmed it is an interference problem. What should I do
- What should I do if I have low signal or high noise
- Unable to associate to the access point
- Unable to authenticate to the access point
- Unable to get an IP address via DHCP
- Unable to transmit traffic
- What should I get back to my technical support for analysis

Is it a hardware problem ?

If following symptoms happen on the access point

- None of the LEDs turn on when I plug in the power adapter

Make sure you are using the supplied power adapter and that it is plugged in to an appropriate power source. Check that the power source is turned on. If the problem persists, you may have a hardware problem. In this case, you should contact your local vendor.

- The ZyAIR reboots automatically sometimes

The supplied power to ZyAIR is too low. Check that the ZyAIR is receiving enough power. ¡@

How can I check to be sure if I am interfered or not ?

There may not be an easy or quick answer to this. One thing to notice first is whether the problems are continuous or intermittent. Interference usually occurs intermittently, or else it would have likely been noticed when the link was first commissioned.

If I've confirmed it is an interference problem. What should I do?

Change the location and choose other radio channel to see whether the impact of the interference decreases and the link quality improves.

What should I do if I have low signal or high noise ?

To improve the signal, check or get the antennas with reverse SMA type connectors. For noise problems, please shield or remove the interference. If the situation doesn't improve, please change radio channels.

Unable to associate to the access point

1. Verify that the PC card or PCI adapter is installed correctly.
2. Is the signal strength and link quality good ? Move closer to the access point to see if it helps ? If not, you may have radio problems. Make sure you are in the wireless coverage of your access point.
3. Temporarily disable the WLAN MAC Filter function on the access point. If this solves the problem, check to make sure the MAC address of the wireless client is not contained in the list of denied MAC addressed.
4. Temporarily disable any security feature on both the access point and the client. If this solves the problem, check to make sure that the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) key you use to transmit data is set up exactly the same on your AP and on any wireless devices with which it associates.
5. Make sure the configuration on access point and wireless consistent. Verify that the configuration for the SSID on PC matches the access point's ESSID.

You can verify the result of association by using wireless client utility or entering command "wlan association disp" in SMT Menu 24.8..

B3000> wlan association disp [NUM] MAC Address Association time ------------------------------------------------------------- [001] 0x00:0x60:0xb3:0x69:0x03:0x37 00:00:02 2000/01/01 1 ------------------------------------------------------------- Total: 1

Unable to authenticate to the access point

If your client adapter is unable to authenticate to an access point, check the security settings of your client adapter and the access point. These include the following areas:

Authentication with shared key (WEP):

If you use WEP shared key to authenticate the wireless clients, you should check whether following configuration parameters on both AP and wireless clients match:

- WEP key values, WEP key sizes, WEP activation, and WEP transmit key parameters

¡@

Authentication with 802.1X:

If 802.1X security is used in your network, you can troubleshoot the authentication through SMT Menu 24.3.1 - System Maintenance - Log and Trace. Here is the format of the log message: [user] [mac of user`s STA] [type] [message]

¡@

802.1X with built-in user account:

[test] [0:a:8a:a2:ae:4e] [login success] [accepted by profiles] [test] [0:a:8a:a2:ae:4e] [login fail] [user password error related to profiles] [mars] [0:a:8a:a2:ae:4e] [login fail] [user not found in profiles]

802.1X with RADIUS server:

[test] [0:60:b3:69:3:37] [login fail] [rejected by RADIUS server] [test] [0:60:b3:69:3:37] [auth enticating ...] [no response from RADIUS server] [test] [0:60:b3:69:3:37] [logo ut] [user requested]

Note: Some wireless clients (for example, Symbol PCMCIA client) support open authentication and WEP encryption for data traffic. To support these clients in your network, you need to select either 'Open System' or 'Auto' for authentication method when WEP is enable. If you have a mix network which mean there are adapter from different vendor, the suggest configuration is 'Auto'. The system will automatically detect your adapter type and auto configure to the client adapter when WEP is enabled.

Unable to get an IP address via DHCP

1. Verify that the DHCP server service is running.
2. The other wired clients on the same segment are able to be successfully addressed dynamically.
3. Verify that the ethernet interface on the access point is up.
4. Verify that the client has passed association and authentication to the access point.
5. Verify that the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) key on the client is set up exactly the same on your AP.

Unable to transmit traffic

1. Verify that the client has passed association and authentication.
2. Make sure the client is configured with exact IP setting or get a valid IP address from DHCP server. You can go to a DOS prompt and type: ipconfig and press Enter to verify this.
3. Ping the gateway in your network. A response other than Request timed out indicates a successful ping.
4. Enable packet trace function on the access point Verify that the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) key on the client is set up exactly the same on your AP.

What should I get back to my technical support for analysis ?

Following information are helpful to your technical support to troubleshoot your problem, please get back the answer and associated files to your support:

1. Is this a new or existing installation ?
2. Did it work before ?
3. Have there been any recent changes that might affect the LAN, the client workstation or the radio environment ?
4. What is the firmware version you are using now ? Do you have uploaded firmware recently ?
5. Is addresses, networking information and ROMFILE available ? If yes, please send it (include your password) to your support.

All contents copyright (c) 2003 ZyXEL Communications Corporation.