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802.11n Access Points - Software Management Guide 52
• 802.1x Authentication
802.1x provides an authentication framework for wireless LANs, allowing a user to be authenticated by a central
authority. 802.1x uses an existing protocol, the Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP, RFC 2284), that works on
Ethernet, Token Ring, or wireless LANs for message exchange during the authentication process.
In a wireless LAN with 802.1x, a user (known as the Supplicant) requests access to an access point (known as the
Authenticator). The access point forces the user into an unauthorized state that allows the client to send only an EAP
start message. The access point returns an EAP message requesting the user's identity. The client returns the identity,
which is then forwarded by the access point to the authentication server (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service
(RADIUS)), which uses an algorithm to authenticate the user and then returns an accept or reject message back to the
access point. Assuming an accept was received, the access point changes the client's state to authorized and normal
traffic can now flow.
• WPA/802.11i (WPA2) Security
— WPA: WPA is a replacement for WEP. WPA uses the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) for key
management, and offers a choice of either the 802.1x authentication framework together with extensible
authentication protocol (EAP) for enterprise WLAN security (Enterprise mode), or simpler pre-shared key (PSK)
authentication for the home or small office network which does not have an authentication server (Personal
mode).
— WPA2: IEEE 802.11i, also known as WPA2, is an amendment to the 802.11 standard specifying security
mechanisms for wireless networks. 802.11i uses Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) block cipher.
5.5.1 Wireless Security
Navigate to CONFIGURATION > Security > Wireless Security. The Wireless Security Configuration screen appears.
Figure 5-15 Wireless Security Configuration
Tabulated below are the ‘Wireless Security’ parameters and the method to configure the configurable parameters:
Click OK and COMMIT, to save the configured parameters.
Parameter Description
Profile Name Specifies the user-defined name for a security profile.
Auth Mode Specifies the security mode for the wireless network. The Auth Mode may vary between
None, WEP, PSK, 802.1x. (See Create a New Security Profile.)
Entry Status Specifies the status of the user-defined security profiles. The available status are:
– Enable: Enables the user-defined Security profile.
– Disable: Disables the user-defined Security profile.
– Delete: Deletes the user-defined Security profile.
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