This Technical F.A.Q. includes four groups:

1. EthIR LAN FAQ
2. Configuration Issues
3. Infrared Related Issues
4. Networking Issues
5. Software

What is the EthIR LAN system and what is it comprised of?

The EthIR LAN system provides the following functions

1. IR network access. For a laptop computer user, instead of using the PCMCIA Ethernet card connecting to the network, Infrared is used. For a PDA user, this is the way to connect the PDA to the network, in most cases, the Internet. Another popular PDA IR network access usage is for the PDA to synchronize with a server.
2. OBEX content delivery. Some of the EthIR LAN products, ES301/ES1000/ES3011b support OBEX. It can beam content to PDA and vise versa. The content can be stored in the built-in memory of ES1000, or on the network FTP server to be accessed by ES301 and ES3011b. There are lots of usage of OBEX content delivery, beaming out company information at a trade show, beaming out information in a library and so on.

The EthIR LAN is comprised of the EthIR Switch, the EthIR Beam, and firmware which controls the functionality of the EthIR LAN. The EthIR Switch comes in 1, 8 and 16 port models. Each port of the EthIR Switch can support one EthIR Beam to provide infrared network access for an IrDA enabled device. Therefore, up to 8 EthIR Beams can be attached to an 8-port EthIR Switch and 16 EthIR Beams for a 16-port model.

The EthIR LAN system provides infrared connectivity for devices running Windows 95/98/2000/XP, Windows CE, PocketPC, MacOS, PalmOS, or linux.

We support the following protocols:IrDA TinyTP layer

• OBEX
• IrComm
• IrNet
• IrLAN 

Transport layer

• TCP/IP/PPP

No. The EthIR LAN system makes use of CAT3 or CAT5 cabling. Regular RJ45 cables support the EthIR Beams attached to the EthIR LAN system as well as 10/100 BaseT uplinks to an existing network. The uplink of ES101 and ES1000 is 10BaseT. ES301, ES208/216 have 10/100BaseT uplink. ESB3011b has 802.11b uplink.

All of the EthIR LAN products support the following

• DHCP or Static IP assignment
• SNMP

No.  The uplink of EthIR LAN is either 10BaseT or 10/100BaseT. It works seamless alongside existing networking devices.

No. An EthIR Beam receives infrared frames from an infrared device and delivers these to the EthIR Switch. The EthIR Switch then translates these infrared frames to Ethernet frames (and vice-versa) forwarding and receiving frames to and from an Ethernet network. An Ethernet hub cannot translate infrared frames. That is the purpose of the EthIR Switch.

The EthIR LAN comes in 1, 8 and 16 IR port models.

If you're notebook has infrared hardware and is able to run Windows 95/98/2000/XP and has Microsoft's IrDA drivers installed then it will be supported by the EthIR LAN system. If Windows 95 then support is at least a base of 115Kbps speed (SIR), if Windows 98 or later then 4Mbps (FIR) is most circumstances. Other devices supported include Windows CE (v. 2.0+) handheld, PocketPC and palm-size devices, Apple PowerBooks, and PalmOS devices (v. 3.3+) Of course, support will always depend on whether or not your device has an infrared port and IrDA compliant hardware and drivers.

Yes. A variety of different devices can interface with the multiple port EthIR LAN at the same time. If you wish to connect 8 devices to an EthIR LAN then an 8-port model with 8 EthIR Beams will be required. Each EthIR Beam will support ONE infrared device at a time.

No. An EthIR Beam provides infrared connectivity for only ONE device at a time. . Usually the laptop or PDA tries to ”discover‘ an IR device, EthIR LAN in this case. If more then one PDAs are discovering at the same time, it will be the first one that discovers the EthIR LAN that wins the IR connection. Once an IR connection is established, both the PDA and EthIR LAN change to a higher baud rate to communicate. At this point, the other PDA or laptop will not be able to communicate with either devices since it is still using a low baud rate to do discovery.

To make an Infrared connection, usually the PDA or laptop tries to ”discover‘ an IR access point. It is up to the Operating System of the PDA or laptop to decide what to do in this situation. Usually, if there are more than one IR access points being discovered, it is the first one that replied during the discovery phase that the PDA or laptop will be connected to.

That is not the proper way to connect a network printer to the network. A network printer must be hardwired to an existing network and accessible as a shared resource. A notebook or device must then be told of the shared device's existence. As with an Ethernet network connection, an infrared network connection merely provides a vehicle for the transmission of data to and from the computer device that is connected to the network except it does so wirelessly.

Usually a IrDA digital camera expected to communicate to a computer and uses a protocol other than TCP/IP/PPP. Unless the camera supports TCP/IP/PPP, it would not be able to connect to EthIR LAN and upload digital pictures.

The RJ45 connectors on the ES208/216 multiport EthIR Switch are designed to connect to either an EthIR Beam or a computer‘s Ethernet card. It cannot connect to the uplink of another EthIR LAN device or an Ethernet hub.

Due to the characteristics of IrDA, one meter short range and line-of-sight, Infrared is considered to be fairly secure. It would be almost impossible for another person or device to intercept the IR communication between other devices.

If the device is a Windows 95/98 notebook or Apple Macintosh Powerbook then, Yes. Once the device detects an interruption in infrared network connectivity it continuously sends out a signal searching for an infrared access point. When it is found and the access point 'discovers' the device, network connectivity is restored. If the device is a Windows CE or Palm Pilot then, No. Any interruption in infrared network connectivity will have to be re-established but this is merely a point and click situation.

Some notebook manufacturers ship notebooks with the infrared port 'disabled'. In the BIOS settings or in the Control Panel / System / Device Manager, there is an option to enable the infrared port. Unless the port is enabled then it will be as if the device did not have an infrared port. Consult your manufacturer's documentation for the proper procedure.

Sometimes an infrared port may be so well integrated into the casing of the notebook that it may be difficult to tell that a port even exists on the notebook. Look for a square or oval aperture usually on the rear sides or center panel. Some manufacturers place the port on either the left or right side panel and others may even have two ports -- one on the rear and one of the front of the notebook. Consult your manufacturer's documentation for the location of the infrared port on your device.

The term "pass-through" mode refers to the EthIR Switch's ability to provide connectivity for infrared AND Ethernet connections, however there is a difference. Where an infrared connection is direct for an infrared device in the sense that the EthIR Switch accepts infrared signals and converts these to Ethernet (and vice-versa) for uplink to an Ethernet network, an Ethernet connection for an Ethernet device is 'indirect' in that the EthIR Switch accepts the Ethernet signals but merely passes these signals through to an Ethernet hub so that it may process the signals for uplink to an Ethernet network. This feature can best be appreciated in a classroom or conference room where there is only one RJ45 wall jack to an existing Ethernet network but several infrared and Ethernet devices existing in that room requiring uplink to that one port.

EthIR LAN can be protected by a password. If the password is enabled and you lost it, you would have to call Clarinet System and provide us with the serial number of the EthIR Switch.

EthIR LAN cannot be updated with wrong firmware, an error message will be displayed.

It is for service by Clarinet System only.

Yes. A closed "workgroup" environment can exist without having to uplink the EthIR Switch to an existing network. In this scenario several infrared devices connected to the EthIR Switch can share resources and communicate with each other, provide internet connectivity (if one device is connected to the Internet via a modem) and allow for printing services if a printer is attached to one of the other devices all in this closed "stand-alone" environment.

ESB301 serves this situation the best since it contains two 10/100 BaseT switching ports œ one for its uplink and one for the PC.

1. What must I enable or disable on my notebook, handheld, or palm-size device to work with the EthIR LAN system?
2. How do I connect Palm devices to the EthIR LAN system?
3. Is EthIR LAN compatible with all versions of the Palm Pilot?
4. How do I upgrade my Palm Pilot to OS 3.3?
5. How do Windows CE, PocketPC devices and Palm Pilots synchronize remotely to a host PC?
6. How can I remotely synchronize to my host PC if it has been configured for DHCP?

On a Windows 95/98/2000/XP laptop computer, IR uses dial-up network connection. We provide a software, —ClarinetIR“ that automatically configure and connection your laptop to the EthIR LAN.

Windows CE devices communicate with the EthIR LAN system with minimal setup. Click Start / Programs / Communications and Make a New Connection. Select "Direct Connection" and click Next. From the drop down menu choose "Infrared Port". If you intend to use "Active Sync" you will need an additional configuration step in the TCP/IP Settings. Under "Name Servers" in the WINS setting enter in the IP address of the partner notebook you intend to Sync with. If you do not intend to use ActiveSync then skip the preceding step and click Finish.

We provide ClarinetIR.prc for PalmOS device that configure it to use IR as its network connection. All you have to do is install it and run it once.
Without using ClarinetIR.prc , You would have to configure the Palm manually. 
Click the —Prefs“ icon.

Performing a Network Synchronization:

Click the Palm‘s —Home“ button (Top left button on the bottom panel). 
Click the HotSync button.
Choose the Modem entry (the name of your Connection service will appear directly below the HotSync graphic).
Click the Option list button (Bottom left button on the bottom panel). 
Insure the following entries are made for each of the Options: 
Modem Sync Prefs:  Network 
LANSync Prefs:  LANSync 
Primary PC Setup:
Primary PC Name: Enter name of partner computer or leave blank.
Primary PC Address: Enter the IP address and subnet mask that has been assigned to the partner computer. 
Conduit Setup: Check the folders of the Palm Desktop program that you wish to synchronize. 
Connection Setup: IR to a PC/Handheld. 
On the partner computer, right click on the HotSync icon on the system tray and insure that Network is checked. 
Remove the Palm Organizer from its cradle (if it was cradled). Point its infrared port toward an EthIR Beam and click the HotSync icon. 

Network synchronization should now be taking place. You will notice syncing process on the partner computer and the Palm‘s screens.

All the PlamOS devices with OS version 3.3. or later are capable of access the network using EthIR LAN. For earlier PalmOS version, Palm provide an IR enhancement program. You can get a copy from http://www.palm.com/support/downloads/irenhanc.html

Check Palm website for links to download the upgraded OS and instructions on installing it.

It would be —network HotSync“ for a PalmOS device and ActiveSync for a WinCE or PocketPC device.

For PalmOS device, you need to have the name of your computer configured in the HotSync client on your Palm. This only works if your computer is on the same subnet with our EthIR LAN. Otherwise, you would have to find out the IP address of your compute and enter it into HotSync client on your Palm.

1. What is IrDA, ASK, SIR, MIR, and FIR?
2. How does PDA (Palm and PocketPC) connect to the network using IR?
3. My PDA can connect to the Internet using IR with my cell phone. Can it work with EthIR LAN
4. You have a FIR driver for Compaq iPaq and I have a 3800 iPaq, would the driver work?
5. What are the typical usages of PDA accessing the network?
6. How do I connect Windows, CE, PocketPC, Macintosh, and Palm devices to the EthIR LAN system?
7. My notebook supports FIR but I can only connect at SIR speed. Why is this?
8. How can I upgrade my notebook from SIR to FIR?
9. What is "Infrared Monitor"?
10. I do not have Infrared Monitor in my Control Panel. What should I do?
11. What is ClarinetIR?
12. Can I print to a network printer using the EthIR LAN system?
13. Can I use a PCMCIA card as well as the infrared port and connect to the EthIR LAN?

IrDA is the Infrared Data Association (www.irda.org). This non-profit entity has been established to provide uniform direction and guidelines for infrared connectivity and protocol development among computer manufacturers. SIR (serial infrared -- 115Kbps speed), MIR (medium infrared -- 1.152Mbps speed), and FIR (fast infrared -- 4Mbps speed) are standards of speeds developed and implemented by members companies of IrDA. The EthIR LAN system currently supports only SIR and FIR speeds. The next generation speed VFIR (very fast infrared) will support infrared transmission speeds of up to 16Mbps. This standard has already been agreed upon as is awaiting manufacturer implementation. ASK is a protocol implemented by Sharp Electronics. Some notebooks are both IrDA and ASK able and users can choose which standard to use. Since ASK is not supported by the EthIR LAN system Sharp users should enable the IrDA standard on their infrared device.

All of the PDAs today, PalmOS, PocketPC and others, support remote access using a dial-up modem. It is just like a PC uses a modem to dial-up to an ISP. However in the case of IR, PDA uses its built-in IR port to connect to a modem (EthIR LAN in this case). Technically speaking, the PDA is making a PPP connection, using IR, to the EthIR LAN and then be connected to the network. After the PDA connected to EthIR LAN using IR, then a typical TCP/IP application, web browser for example, opens a connection to a web site.

Yes. EthIR LAN acts just like a IR modem without actually dialing the phone number your PDA usually dials and connect your PDA to the network. Of course, the network that EthIR LAN is connected to needs to be connected to the Internet.

No. The reason is iPaq 3800 does not have FIR hardware. Our FIR driver supports Compaq iPaq 36xx and 37xx families because they have FIR hardware. Check with HP/Compaq for 4Mb FIR availability of their future PPC. As in 2Q/02, NEC PPC supports 4Mb FIR and ASUS A600 is capable of running 4Mb. The throughput of FIR is significantly faster than PDA with SIR. Check the performance chart at website for comparison.

The most commonly used applications are

• network computer, server synchronization

• Internet access, web browsing, AvantGo for example

• E-mail access, EudoraMail for example

Clarinet System has a software called —ClarinetIR“ that supports Windows 95/98/2000/XP. It configures the laptop and connects to EthIR LAN automatically. This is the recommended way to connect to EthIR LAN. Also we provide —ClarinetIR“ support for PalmOS and PocketPC. For Macintosh PowerBooks, you need to configure the Mac to use IR to connect to the network.

Your notebook's manufacturer did not implement the FIR speed drivers that would take advantage of the infrared hardware's full capabilities. As a result, you are obtaining the minimal speed available when interfacing with the EthIR LAN system. Check the manufacturer's WEB site or contact them directly to see if they have developed FIR infrared drivers for your particular notebook model. Alternately, check the Clarinet Systems' WEB site http://www.clarinetsys.com for possible workaround solutions.

Again, check the manufacturer's WEB site or contact them directly to see if they have developed FIR infrared drivers for your particular notebook model. Alternately, check the Clarinet Systems' WEB site http://www.clarinetsys.com for possible workaround solutions.

Infrared Monitor is an applet within Control Panel that allows you to configure how you wish your infrared connection to work and at what speeds. Also, you can monitor the connectivity as it happens provided you have launched infrared monitor. The first tabbed page "Status" informs you of connectivity, and at what speed you are connecting to another infrared device.

Copyright Clarinet Systems, Inc. 2002 The second tabbed page "Options" allows you to enable/disable infrared communication and to set the connection speed.

Your notebook may not have infrared hardware installed. There would be no point for the manufacturer to have added this extra applet within Control Panel. Another reason could be that, at the initial operating system installation process, the "portable" option was not chosen (this option would implement features on a notebook like infrared which are usually not available on desktop hardware). If your notebook DOES have infrared hardware you can utilize Clarinet Systems' "Windows 95 Infrared Driver Installation" disk. This can also be downloaded from the Clarinet Systems' WEB site: http://www.clarinetsys.com. Alternately, you can reference the manual procedures from the EthIR LAN User Guide.

ClarinetIR is a software program that helps you configure your Windows laptop, PalmOS and PocketPC devices. For Windows laptop computer, installation of this product places a desktop icon for easy point-and-click connectivity. The software is intelligent in that it will monitor for an infrared signal should your connection be lost or obstructed.

Yes. Just as a network can have many printers to choose from for printing purposes, you would search for a network printing device whether using an infrared connection via the EthIR LAN system or a hardwired Ethernet connection. For example, Bachmann Software //www.bachmannsoftware.com provides software applications for PDA to network print through EthIR LAN.

No. The EthIR LAN system was developed with the view of implemented the infrared hardware technology on your notebook or handheld computer without the need of a PCMCIA card. Such cards are expensive and drain the computer of power whereas the infrared port uses only minimal power. Also, there could be conflicts when both infrared and PCMCIA cards contend for the same IRQ resources on a notebook.

1. After I connected EthIR LAN to our network and powered it on, how do I know if it is working?
2. What is IP pool?
3. When I use your configuration tool and search for the EthIR LANs on the network, it displays the location of the EthIR LAN. I think it is very useful. How can I change the location of the EthIR LAN and is it stored in the memory?
4. I can only PING the EthIR LAN on the same subnet but not across a router
5. Does EthIR LAN support telnet?
6. I can PING the EthIR LAN but my PDA cannot connect
7. My PDA can connect to EthIR LAN, but cannot access the Internet
8. Does the EthIR LAN system support other connectivity/synchronization software?

If EthIR LAN is set to DHCP, it will start doing DHCP requests for IP addresses for the Switch itself and for its IP Pool. Once it acquires all the IP addresses it needs, you can PING EthIR LAN with its IP address. You can use our configuration tools, with IR, either on the laptop, PalmOS to find the IP address of EthIR LAN. If you know the range of the IP addresses EthIR LAN is in, you can use our configuration tool on a desktop and search for EthIR LAN.

If static IP addresses are used, make sure all the followings are correct:

• EthIR LAN IP address

• subnet mask

• DNS IP addresses

• Gateway IP address

• IP addresses in the IP pool

IP pool stores the temporary IP address(es) we assign to the PDA during a connection. ES101, 301 and 1000 require one IP address in the IP pool. For ES208 you can assign up to 8 IP addresses in the IP pool, however it can be less than 8. If DHPC is used, ES208 will request 9 IP addresses, one for itself and 8 for the IP pool. The number of IP addresses in the IP pool means the number of PDAs can access the network at the same time, since each of them needs an IP address.

When I use your Configuration Tool and search for the EthIR LAN on the network, it displays the location of the EthIR LAN. I think it is very useful. How can I change the location of the EthIR LAN and is it stored in the memory?

The —location“ is actually stored in the NVM of the EthIR LAN. It is under SNMP in the configuration. You can use our PC configuration tool to modify it. If you program —location“ for every EthIR LAN in your facility, you find exactly where each EthIR LAN is by using our PC configuration tool.

Make sure the gateway IP address is properly assigned to the EthIR LAN. You can use our Palm configuration tool to verify it. There should not be a problem if DHPC is used.

Copyright Clarinet Systems, Inc. 2002 Another reason is sometimes the IP address assigned to EthIR LAN was used be assigned to another machine. The gateway/router remember the MAC address of the last machine in its ARP cache. Since EthIR LAN has its own MAC address, and the gateway/router does not know that the IP address has been reassigned to EthIR LAN. To solve this problem is for your network admin to clear the ARP cache in the gateway/router.

No, we do not support telnet.

One way to tell if PDA is actually trying to connect is by looking at the LED on the EthIR Beam, it should be blinking. If it stays dim, then the PDA is not connecting, at least not using IR. Make sure your PDA is configured properly to use IR to connect. We Provide —ClarinetIR“ to automatically configure both PalmOS and PocketPC devices to connect using IR.

It could be either DNS or proxy related. If DNS IP addresses are not properly assigned to EthIR LAN, either by DHCP or statically, your PDA application would complain about it. If your facility requires proxy to connect to the Internet, make sure your PDA application supports proxy.

If the connectivity/synchronization software works with Ethernet based networks then there should be no problems with the EthIR LAN system as the EthIR LAN simply provides infrared uplink to Ethernet based networks.

1. What kinds of software do you produce?
2. How do I install your software?
3. Where can I get another copy of the EthIR LAN Configuration Tool software and ClarinetIR software?
4. Where can I get firmware updates?

Clarinet Systems provides software to manage the EthIR LAN hardware as well as to make connectivity simpler for Windows 95/98/2000/XP, PalmOS, PocketPC devices.

Copyright Clarinet Systems, Inc. 2002

• Firmware is produced that manages the functionality of the EthIR LAN . This firmware is periodically updated for greater stability and increased functionality.

• The EthIR LAN Configuration Tool is a software enabling network administrators to better manage the EthIR LAN and to enter in IP address information for EthIR LAN itself or a Pool of IPs for DCC connections as well as DNS, Proxy, and Gateway IPs, or simply telling the EthIR LAN to allow for a DHCP server on the network to manage this feature. We support both PC and PalmOS.

• ClarinetIR is a software program that automatically configures a Windows PC, PalmOS and PocketPC device to use IR for network connection. The same results can be achieved by following a series of steps manually.

The Firmware is installed with the assistance of the PC version of the EthIR LAN Configuration Tool software. The EthIR LAN Configuration Tool software should be installed by a network administrator on a secured desktop or notebook in order to allow for easier administration of ETHIR LANs on the network. ClarinetIR can be installed by following our installation procedure on our CD.

Customers can download the needed files from the Clarinet Systems website: http://www.clarinetsys.com

Customers can download the needed files from the Clarinet Systems website: http://www.clarinetsys.com