4-10
Setting Up the Access Point
Configuring Security Settings
Deciding Which Security Profile to Use
Table 4-1 shows a summary of available security profiles. Use this table as a
reference when deciding on which security profile best suits your network.
Remember that certain security profiles may require additional software or
hardware. 802.1X, for example, requires a RADIUS server to be configured on
the network. Additionally, not all wireless network cards support WPA.
Choose a security profile that provides the highest level of security while
maintaining compatibility with most, if not all, existing wireless devices on
the network.
Table 4-1. Summary of Wireless Security
When you have decided which security profile to implement on your network,
refer to the next section, ”
Configuring the Access Point with Your Preferred
Security Profile”.
Security Profile Client Support Implementation Considerations
None
(NOT RECOMMENDED)
Built-in support on all 802.11a,
802.11b, and 802.11g devices
No key management, data encryption, or user
authentication is used
WEP Built-in support on all 802.11a,
802.11b, and 802.11g devices
• Provides only weak security
• Requires manual key management
WPA-PSK (TKIP) Requires WPA-enabled system
and network card driver (native
support provided in Windows
XP)
• Provides dynamically generated keys that are periodical-
ly refreshed
• Provides similar shared key user authentication
• Provides robust security in small networks
WPA2-PSK (AES) Requires WPAs-enabled
system and network card driver
(native support provided in
Windows XP)
• Provides robust security in small networks
• Requires manual management of pre-shared key
• Wireless devices may require hardware upgrade to be
WPA2 compliant
802.1X (RECOMMENDED) Requires WPA-enabled system
and network card driver (native
support provided in
Windows XP)
• Provides dynamically generated keys that are periodical-
ly refreshed
• Requires configured RADIUS server
• Provides backward compatibility to the original WPA
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