WIRELESS LAN ACCESS POINT 7250/8250/8750/8850 RELEASE NOTES

Legal Rights
IMPORTANT: READ THIS BEFORE INSTALLING OR USING THIS SOFTWARE You should carefully read the terms and conditions of the Software License Agreement. This text is contained in a file called license.txt. Your legal rights are defined therein. USE OF THIS SOFTWARE INDICATES THAT YOU ACCEPT SUCH TERMS AND CONDITIONS. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH SUCH TERMS AND CONDITIONS, DO NOT USE THIS SOFTWARE. CAUTION: DO NOT install this software release on 3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 8200 (3CRWE820075A), 3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 8500 (3CRWE850075A), or 3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 8700 (3CRWE870075A).

Before You Perform the Upgrade

Before upgrading the Access Point, take note of the following:

Related Documentation
These release notes relate to software version 3.2.0. Use these notes in conjunction with the User Guides for:

Before performing the upgrade, verify that all firewalls between the administrator computer (computer used to perform the upgrade) and the Access Point are disabled. This includes the Windows XP SP2 firewall that is enabled by default. Do not use a wireless link to perform the upgrade. Use a wired connection to ensure that the upgrade process is not interrupted. During the upgrade process, do not power off or reset the Access Point and do not close the Web interface. During the upgrade process, make sure that both power and network connections are secure. Otherwise, the upgrade may fail and cause unrecoverable damage to the device and require that the unit be returned for repair.

3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 7250 (3CRWE725075A) 3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 8250 (3CRWE825075A) 3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 8750 (3CRWE875075A) 3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 8850 (3CRWE885075A)

WIRELESS LAN ACCESS POINT 7250/8250/8750/8850 RELEASE NOTES

During the upgrade process, the Upgrade Kit creates a log file in the folder where you installed the Upgrade Kit. The file name is log.txt. The default log file path is C:\Program Files\3Com\3Com Enterprise Access Point Upgrade Kit\log.txt This log file records the date, time, target device IP address and the result of the upgrade process.

Upgrading from Firmware Version 3.1.0 or Later

If your Access Point is already running firmware version 3.1.0 or later, installing upgrade kit is not required. You need to upgrade the firmware manually using a TFTP server. Do the following:
1 Download the appropriate firmware image

3com-img_R.bin for 8250/8750/8850, 3com-img_rl.bin for 7250 from 3Com Web site.
2 Launch a TFTP server application (for example,

After the post-upgrade reboot, the ordering of SSID headings on WIDMAN will change. The SSID for radio interface 1 appears on the left, and the SSID for radio interface 2 appears on the right. If the upgrade procedure is interrupted for any reason, run the Upgrade Kit again. This time, leave the password field blank, but use the same user name as you used before. If you type any password, the Upgrade Kit will be unable to connect to the Access Point to perform the upgrade.

3CDAEMON) on your local computer.

3 Log on to the Access Points Web interface, and then

go to the Administration page.

4 Enter the firmware upgrade information, and then

upgrade the firmware. Refer to the help file for more information.

Upgrading from Firmware Version 2.07.03 or Earlier

If your Access Point is running firmware version 2.07.03 or earlier, you need to use the Upgrade Kit to perform the firmware upgrade. Before upgrading, back up the Access Point settings. Upgrading the firmware resets most of the settings to factory defaults. Only the IP address and backup/restore setting will be retained. After upgrading, restore the Access Point settings that you backed up before the upgrade. Alternatively, you can reconfigure the Access Point settings using the Web interface.

Upgrading to This Release

Before performing the upgrade, make sure your read the important notes in Before You Perform the Upgrade. The procedure for upgrade the firmware depends on the version of the firmware that is currently installed on the Access Point. 3Com recommends rebooting the Access Point before upgrading the software.

Features and Enhancements

CAUTION: Before installing the Upgrade Kit, close all running TFTP applications.
1 Install the Upgrade Kit. To do this, double-click

Features and Enhancements

Installing this software version provides the following new features and enhancements to your Access Point.

setup.exe. When the setup wizard appears, follow the prompts on the wizard to install the Upgrade Kit.
2 Start the 3Com Enterprise Access Point Upgrade Kit

Wireless Distribution System

Wireless Distribution System (WDS) provides a flexible way to extend the wireless network. A Distribution System (DS) is a network (normally a wired network) that interconnects separate access points into a single LAN. With WDS, the interconnection no longer needs to be a wired medium. WDS uses the wireless medium to interconnect separate access points, thereby eliminating the cost and inconvenience that may hinder wired installations. The WDS link status for each WDS link can help you determine the status of each WDS link.

either by double-clicking shortcut icon on your desktop or by clicking the program shortcut in your programs folder.
3 Specify the Access Point that you want to upgrade by

providing the following information:

IP address of the Access Point Administrator logon name Administrator password

If you are upgrading 3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 7250, select the Check here if your device is 3CRWE725075A check box.
4 Click Upgrade. The Upgrade Kit connects to the

Access Point and upgrade the software. The upgrade process takes about five to six minutes. When the upgrade is completed successfully, a pop-up message that says Congratulations! appears.
5 Click Exit to close the Upgrade Kit. 6 Verify that the upgrade was successful by logging on

Virtual Access Point

This Virtual Access Point (VAP) feature allows a single radio interface on the Access Point to behave as two virtual access points. Each of these two virtual access points can form a wireless network with its own service parameters. Each VAP has its own set of security parameters except for the WEP key table, which is shared between the two VAPs.

to the Web interface, and then checking the current software version. The version number should appear as 3.2.0.

WIRELESS LAN ACCESS POINT 7250/8250/8750/8850 RELEASE NOTES

Received Signal Strength Indication

The Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) monitor allows the Access Point to scan the wireless spectrum within the radio's operating range. The Access Point will display the signal strength for each wireless network within range.

This is mostly useful in a WDS environment.

SNMPv3
This feature is compatible with IEEE SNMPv3 protocol.

SSHv2
This feature secures the connection between the Access Point and the admin computer.

Support for Dual G Radios

This feature allows the Access Point to operate two G radios simultaneously. You can achieve this configuration by adding an 802.11g Upgrade Kit to the 3Com Wireless LAN Access Point 8250 (3CRWE825075A). When using two G radios on the same Access Point, you need to use a directional antenna (3CWE598) on at least one of the radios. The directional antenna should be located at least 36 inches from the Access Point and aimed away from the other antenna(s). Failure to set up as described will result in RF interference between the radios and decrease overall performance.

11g Static Turbo

This feature allows 108Mbps connection speed if the client card based on the Atheros chipset, which is capable of supporting 11g static turbo feature.

Known Issues
The following issues have been identified in this firmware version.

RADIUS MAC Authentication with VLAN

The Access Point does not support dynamic VLAN assignment during RADIUS MAC authentication. The authenticated client will join the VLAN that is configured for its SSID. To allow clients to join RADIUS-server assigned VLANs, use 802.1x authentication.

Support for EAP-SIM

This feature supports authentication based on SIM card recognition.

Spanning Tree Protocol

Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) allows the Access Point to determine the most efficient path to forward data. It also allows network administrator to set up redundancy on the network while avoiding problems associated with network loops.

Poor Throughput When Using Older Intel Centrino 802.11b Client Drivers
Some Intel Centrino 802.11b clients that are using older Windows driver versions have lower throughput performance. 3Com recommends upgrading to the latest client driver to increase throughput.

Known Issues

Browser Support
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later is required. If you use Internet Explorer 5.0, it must have Microsoft XML Parser 3.0 installed to display the Web interface properly. This library can be downloaded from: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/det ails.aspx?FamilyID=4a3ad088-a893-4f0ba932-5e024e74519f&DisplayLang=en

you can create a static ARP entry on your computer for the Access Point for management purposes.

Device Manager Cannot Locate Devices

If the 3Com Wireless Infrastructure Device Manager cannot locate devices or does not appear to run properly, try uninstalling and then reinstalling it. If the problem persists, there may be a conflict caused by the location of the W32N50.DLL file. Make sure that this file is located in the Windows system directory. Locate any other copies of this file and rename them (for example, to W32N50.DLL.old). This problem is caused when other devices are installed and they overwrite this file.

MIB Support
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) version 3 is supported. If an error occurs while you are browsing MIBs, see the 3Com Knowledgebase at http://knowledgebase.3com.com. The 3Com Knowledgebase provides troubleshooting information related to MIBs.

Invalid Display of WEP Keys

When you enable WEP encryption or change the WEP key length, ignore any keys that are displayed and re-enter the WEP keys.

Date/Time Settings
Date and time settings that are entered manually (by disabling the SNTP Server setting on the System Log page) revert to the defaults after the Access Point is reset or power cycled. This affects the accuracy of log reports. To avoid this problem, enable the SNTP server setting and allow the Access Point to obtain the date and time from an SNTP server.

Applying RADIUS Accounting Updates

If modifications are made to any of the RADIUS Accounting Server settings, RADIUS Accounting is stopped and restarted on the Access Point. All currently associated clients must re-associate in order to continue to have RADIUS accounting records. Resetting the Access Point will force all clients to re-associate.

ARP Filtering
If you enable ARP filtering from the Ethernet Type Filter on the Filter Control Web page, make sure that your computer has an ARP entry for the Access Point. Otherwise, the Access Point will drop all ARP requests. If the ARP entry is deleted or has expired,

Poor Network Performance when More Than 64 VLANs Are Configured

The Access Point can support up to 64 VLANs. If you have more than 64 VLANs configured on your

WIRELESS LAN ACCESS POINT 7250/8250/8750/8850 RELEASE NOTES

network, the Access Point broadcasts packets to all 64 VLANs. This may result in poor wireless network performance or cause the Access Point to reset.

WPA with 3Com OfficeConnect 11a/b/g Card (3CRWE154A72)

The OfficeConnect driver v2.4.1.33 has a known issue when the security settings are configured as WEP/TKIP mixed mode with WPA client only (WEP key: 128 bit) and 802.1x authentication. When these settings are used, the OfficeConnect card is not able to associate to the Access Point. To resolve this issue, 3Com recommends upgrading to the latest 3CRWE154A72 driver.

Launching a Configuration with HTTPS Protocol

When the Secure Web Server Connection is enabled, you must manually specify https:// in the browser window address pane when launching the configuration with 3NS.

Using RADIUS to Assign VLANs

When using VLANs, you must configure the VLAN ID format on the Access Point and RADIUS server to match. The Access Point defaults to string format.

Dual Radio Support for WDS Links Not Supported

The Access Point will typically support client traffic on one of the radios and WDS link traffic on the other. On an 8750, if multiple WDS links are required, they must use the same radio. Dual radio support for WDS links is not supported.

Macintosh, 3CRPAG175, 3CRDAG675 Clients with 802.1x EAP-MD5 Authentication

To allow 802.1x EAP-MD5 authentication using 3CRPAG175 and 3CRDAG675, you must enter at least one WEP key on the security page of the Web interface. The same WEP key must be entered in the 3Com Launcher software utility on the client computers. On Macintosh computers, the Airport software utility does not allow users to enter a WEP key when 802.1x is used. This limitation prevents Macintosh clients from communicating with the Access Point. Please use other authentication methods that assign WEP keys automatically, such as EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS, or PEAP.

Configuration May Be Reset when Radio Module Is Reinstalled

Re-installing the radio or installing a different radio may cause the configuration settings to be reset. 3Com recommend backing up the configuration settings before removing a radio from the Access Point. If the process does reset the configuration settings, you can restore the previous configuration after reinstallation.

Station Roaming Over the WDS Link Could Fail

When STP and VLAN are enabled, the station roaming over the WDS link between different APs could fail. This issue will be resolved in next release of firmware.

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Copyright 2005, 3Com Corporation. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, 3Com registered trademarks are registered in the United States and may or may not be registered in other countries. 3Com and the 3Com logo are registered trademarks of 3Com Corporation. Intel is a registered trademark and Intel Centrino is a trademark of Intel Corporation. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Other brand and product names may be registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders. Part No. DNA87507-5AAA03 Published August 2005