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This chapter provides an overview of the Cisco Aironet Configuration Administration Tool (ACAT) for Windows utility used by administrators to create a configuration file to control the installation of the utilities, driver, firmware, and profiles for client adapters on PCs running a Windows operating system and using Cisco Aironet 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz client adapters.
The following topics are covered in this chapter:
•Obtaining and Installing Client Adapter Software
•Uninstalling Client Adapter Software
ACAT is a tool used by administrators to specify software installation options for client adapters in PCs running a Windows operating system. The specified options are placed in a configuration file used by the Cisco Aironet Wireless LAN Client Adapter Installation Wizard (hereafter referred to as the Install Wizard) to install the software components and a client adapter's configuration profiles.
Note ACAT 1.6 supports only the Windows 2000 and XP operating systems.
Using ACAT, an administrator can specify the following installation options:
•Software components
–Client adapter radio firmware
–Driver for a client adapter
–Cisco Aironet Client Utility (ACU)
–Cisco Aironet Client Monitor (ACM)
–Security Modules (LEAP, EAP-SIM, PEAP, and EAP-FAST)
•Administrator global override settings
•Client adapter configuration profiles
•Client adapter type
–PCM-35x—Cisco Aironet 350 series PCMCIA card
–MPI-35x—Cisco Aironet 350 series Mini-PCI card
–PCI-35x—Cisco Aironet 350 series PCI card
–CB20A—Cisco Aironet 5-GHz PC-Cardbus card
Note ACAT 1.6 is compatible only with Install Wizard 1.6.
Note ACAT 1.6 does not support the Cisco Aironet 340 and 4800 series client adapters or the Cisco Aironet IEEE 802.11a/b/g Wireless LAN Client Adapters (CB21AG and PI21AG).
To obtain the latest ACAT software from the Cisco website, follow these steps:
Step 1 Use your web browser to go to the Cisco Software Center at the following URL:
http://www.cisco.com/public/sw-center/sw-wireless.shtml
Step 2 Choose Option #2: Aironet Wireless Software Display Tables.
Step 3 Choose Cisco Aironet Wireless LAN Client Adapters.
Step 4 Under Windows System Administration Tool, Choose Aironet Configuration Administration Tool (ACAT).
Step 5 Choose the ACAT file (ACAT-v16.exe) with the greatest version number, where v16 is the version number.
Step 6 Enter the requested information on the encryption authorization form and click Submit.
Step 7 Read the terms and conditions of the Software License Agreement and click Accept.
Step 8 Double-click the ACAT file to download it.
Step 9 Save the file to your computer's hard drive then exit the web browser.
Step 10 Find the downloaded ACAT-v16.exe file using Windows Explorer, double-click it, and extract the files into the same directory on your hard drive as the Install Wizard 1.6. The following files are extracted:
•ACAT.exe—ACAT executable file.
•ACAT.HLP—ACAT help file used by the ACAT program.
Note If you do not place the ACAT files into the same directory as the Install Wizard 1.6, you must place a copy of the InstallData.txt file into your ACAT directory. The InstallData.txt file can be found in the Install Wizard directory.
Note InstallData.txt is an ASCII text installation file used by the ACAT program that cannot be edited. The file data is check-sum protected and if modified generates an error when ACAT is activated.
Follow the steps below to activate the ACAT program:
Step 1 Click Start > Run.
Step 2 Browse to the location of the extracted software, choose ACAT.exe, click Open, and click OK.
Note If the InstallData.txt file is not in the same folder as ACAT, an error message appears indicating that ACAT cannot find the InstallData.txt file. You must place a copy of the InstallData.txt file (located in the Install Wizard 1.6 directory) into the ACAT directory or place the ACAT (ACAT.EXE and ACAT.HLP) files into the Install Wizard directory.
When ACAT activates, a graphical user interface appears (see Figure 1-1) that allows the administrator to easily select and specify installation options. Typically, the administrator selects a client adapter type, software component installation options, global override options, and then creates client adapter profiles. To simplify the process, ACAT uses three major tabs and a drop-down menu.
The ACAT main window is shown in Figure 1-1.
Figure 1-1 ACAT Main Window
The main ACAT window provides three configuration tabs (see Figure 1-1):
•Installed Components—Allows you to specify the software components to be installed by the Install Wizard.
•Global Override Settings—Allows you to specify how to handle existing profiles and to enable or disable a user's ability to change the installed profiles using the ACU. These settings also allow you to specify that the Install Wizard uses a silent install without user interaction.
•Profile Settings—Allows you to specify configuration parameters for profiles to be installed by the Install Wizard.
The ACAT File menu provides the following selections (see Figure 1-2):
•New—Opens a new ACAT configuration file for a specified client adapter.
•Open—Locates and opens an existing ACAT configuration file.
•Save—Saves the ACAT configuration file to the ACAT directory and continues.
•Save as—Saves the ACAT configuration file to a desired location and continues.
•Load from Registry—Imports existing profiles from the Windows registry.
•Create/Manage Profile—Adds, deletes, or renames new profile names.
•Exit—Closes and exits the ACAT program.
The ACAT File menu is shown in Figure 1-2.
Figure 1-2 ACAT File Menu
The ACAT Help menu option provides the following selections:
•Contents—Provides help information on ACAT options and settings.
•About—Provides the ACAT version number.
ACAT creates a configuration file, CiscoAdminConfig.dat, using the specified installation options for a selected client adapter type. To operate, the ACAT configuration file must be in the Install Wizard folder. When you activate the Install Wizard by clicking IWSetup.exe in the Install Wizard folder, the Install Wizard program uses the ACAT configuration file to specify the installation options for a specific client adapter type.
Note The ACAT configuration file uses the same filename as the Install Wizard configuration file. Prior to saving or placing the ACAT generated configuration file in the Install Wizard folder, you may want to copy the Install Wizard's original configuration file (CiscoAdminConfig.dat) into a backup folder for possible future use.
Note Multiple invocations of the Install Wizard are required to configure multiple client adapter types.
The ACAT configuration file is encrypted to protect sensitive security data such as SSID, WEP keys, and network security settings. Also, the client adapter profiles created by ACAT can be configured to support static WEP, LEAP, EAP-SIM, PEAP, or EAP-FAST network security options.
When you need to install profiles for multiple client adapter types, you should consider the following recommendations:
•On a server accessible to all users, create and name a directory for each client adapter type.
•Place a copy of all the Install Wizard files and sub-directories into each of the client adapter directories.
•Create an ACAT configuration file with the needed profiles for each client adapter type. Save each ACAT configuration file into the appropriate client adapter directory with the Install Wizard files.
Note All ACAT configuration files use the same filename (CiscoAdminConfig.dat) and therefore must be saved separately.
•To install profiles for a specific client adapter type, each user must execute the Install Wizard (IWSetup.exe) in the appropriate client adapter directory for their client adapter type.
The client adapter software (drivers, firmware, utilities, and the Install Wizard) are not part of the ACAT software package and must be obtained separately. Refer to the Cisco Aironet 350 and CB20A Wireless LAN Client Adapters Installation and Configuration Guide for Windows for instructions on obtaining and using the Install Wizard.
Note This version of ACAT is compatible only with Install Wizard 1.6.
Note The Install Wizard is automatically activated when you uncompress the Install Wizard software package. Click Cancel if you want only to uncompress the software and do not want to install the client adapter drivers, firmware, and utilities on your PC.
You can remove the ACAT software from your PC by deleting the following files:
•ACAT.exe
•ACAT.HLP
•ACAT.GID
•InstallData.txt (if not located in the Install Wizard directory)
•CiscoAdminConfig.dat (if not located in the Install Wizard directory)
When you run the Install Wizard using an ACAT generated configuration file set for a silent install, the main Install Wizard window is not displayed. To uninstall the software components and profiles installed by the Install Wizard, follow these steps:
Step 1 Click Start > Settings > Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs.
Step 2 Choose Cisco Aironet Installation Wizard.
Step 3 Click Change/Remove.
Step 4 When the Install Wizard window appears, choose Uninstall All Components and click Next.
Note Uninstall All Components removes all installed software components and all client adapter profiles in the PC registry.
Note The Custom Installation/Upgrade selection on the Install Wizard window enables you to change the installation parameters and software components specified in the ACAT configuration file.
Step 5 The Install Wizard window indicates the uninstall progress. When a message appears that indicates the system is about to reboot, click OK.
When your PC reboots, the uninstall is complete.
Note If you uncompressed the Installation Wizard software package in a non-temporary folder, you must manually delete the Install Wizard installation files and directories.