The Dell TrueMobile 1184 Wireless Broadband Router has seven Light Emitting
Diodes (LEDs), or link
lights, on its front side. The following table defines the behavior for each
LED:
Continuously lit when power is connected. Blinking when the unit is
resetting.
Wireless
Wireless LAN
Steady on when there is at least one wireless link connecting to the
unit.
Internet
DSL or cable
modem
Steady green light indicates the connection is active, blinks with data activity.
Steady amber light indicates data collision.
LAN 1
LAN 2
LAN 3
LAN 4
Local Area Network
Steady green light indicates the connection is active and transfer rate
is at 100Mbps.
Steady greenish amber light indicates the connection is active and
transfer rate is at 10Mbps.
The Wireless Broadband Router can be set to boot up under various mechanisms.
Each mechanism is accompanied by a peculiar sequence of LED behaviors on the
Wireless Broadband Router.
Power on:
When power is first applied to the unit.
Default reset: Press the reset button for about
2 second
and release it to restore the default factory settings to the device.
Save & Restart: When changes are committed
to the Wireless Broadband Router using any software, the device immediately
undergoes reboot process.
Software reset device: Uses the web browser to reset the unit
without changing
its settings.
Load Default Setting: Use the web browser to load the default
factory settings. It has the same effect as the default reset.
LED Behaviors
Power on:
Sequence 1: WAN LED blinking one time .
Sequence 2: LAN LED blinking two time.
Sequence 3: power and wireless LED blinking alternately, five times for each
LED.
Sequence 4: power LED blinking around eight times .
Sequence 5: power LED continuously lit .
Sequence 6: complete unit power on.
Default reset:
Sequence 1: press reset button for about 2 seconds until the power light goes
off and immediately comes back.
Sequence 2: power LED continuously lit.
Sequence 3: release button .
Sequence 4: power LED off .
Sequence 6: WAN LED blinking one time .
Sequence 7: power and wireless LEDs blinking alternately around 5 times for
each.
Sequence 8: power LED blinking around eight times.
Sequence 9: power LED continuously lit.
Sequence 10: Complete default reset.
In a WLAN, wireless clients and access points send and
receive information through the air. Without implementing security, it is
possible for an unauthorized person to intercept the information.
A common way of implementing security and protecting
information is encryption. Encryption applies a set of instructions,
called an algorithm, to information. The instructions combine the plain or
clear text of information with a sequence of hexadecimal numbers, called an encryption key.
Before transmitting information over the airwaves, the
wireless client or access point encrypts
or scrambles the information. The access point or wireless client receiving the
information uses the same key to decrypt
or unscramble the information. The information is only readable to WLAN devices
that have the correct encryption key. The longer the key is, the stronger the
encryption.
The form of data encryption used by the Wireless Broadband Router is called Wired Equivalent Privacy
(WEP). When encryption is enabled,
you must set the WEP key in the client to match the WEP key used by the access
point because you will ONLY associate to access points that have a matching WEP
Key. For added security, change the encryption key often. WEP, or encryption,
is an optional feature that can be enabled or disabled.
There are two WEP encryption methods: 40(64)-bit and
128-bit. 40-bit and 64-bit encryption are identical. Some vendors use the term
40-bit; others use 64-bit. A wireless device that claims to have 40-bit
encryption interoperates with a device that claims to have 64-bit encryption,
and vice versa. A 40(64)-bit key consists of 10 hexadecimal numbers, arrayed as follows:
Key #1: 1011121314
Key #2: 2021222324
Key #3: 3031323334
Key #4: 4041424344
A 128-bit key has several trillion times as many possible
combinations than a 40(64)-bit key. It consists of 26 hexadecimal numbers, arrayed as
follows:
Key (#1): 101112131415161718191A1B1C
All wireless clients and access points in a WLAN must use
the same encryption method and key. The following two examples stress how
important this point is.
Example 1
The encryption method for an access point is 40(64)-bit.
The method for a wireless client is 128-bit encryption. The client and access
point cannot communicate with each other, even though the selected key is the same. To resolve this
problem, set the access point to use 128-bit encryption.
Example 2
The encryption method is the same for the access point and
wireless client. You select key 1 for the access point and key 2 for the
wireless client. The wireless client cannot communicate with the WLAN. To
resolve this problem, select key 1 for the wireless client.
CAUTION: Use the same key and encryption method for the wireless
devices in the WLAN. Otherwise,
they cannot communicate with each other.
The Wireless Broadband Router uses either hexadecimal digits
or ASCII characters to create encryption keys. Hexadecimal digits include the
numbers 0 to 9 and the letters A to F. For example, the decimal number 15 is
represented as F in the hexadecimal numbering system.
ASCII is the acronym for the American Standard Code for Information Interchange. Pronounced ask-ee,
ASCII is a code for representing English characters as numbers, with each letter
assigned a number from 0 to 127. For example, the ASCII code for uppercase M
is 77. Most computers use ASCII codes to represent text, which makes it possible
to transfer data from one computer to another.
Wireless network adapters and access points can transmit
data at one of the following rates: 11, 5.5, 2, or 1 Mbps. As the distance
between an adapter and access point increases or decreases, the data rate
automatically changes. Other factors, like interference, also affect the data
rate. The Wireless Broadband Router uses automatic rate selection and rate scaling to
determine the most efficient rate of communication. Rate scaling maintains optimal
communication between wireless clients and the WLAN.
