NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card WG511U - Manual (Page 59)

User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U
Wireless Networking Basics B-7
August 2004
• 802.1x
802.1x defines port-based, network access control used to provide authenticated network
access and automated data encryption key management.
• Cisco LEAP
Light Extensible Authentication Protocol (LEAP) is a proprietary 802.1x EAP method
developed by Cisco for use on wireless networks that use Cisco 802.11 wireless devices. It
features dynamic per user per session WEP keys.
These security technologies are discussed below.
WEP Overview
The absence of a physical connection between nodes makes the wireless links vulnerable to
eavesdropping and information theft. To provide a certain level of security, the IEEE 802.11
standard has defined two types of authentication methods, Open System and Shared Key. With
Open System authentication, a wireless PC can join any network and receive any messages that are
not encrypted. With Shared Key authentication, only those PCs that possess the correct
authentication key can join the network. By default, IEEE 802.11 wireless devices operate in an
Open System network. Recently, Wi-Fi, the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance
( http://www.wi-fi.net ) developed the Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), a new strongly enhanced
Wi-Fi security. WPA will soon be incorporated into the IEEE 802.11 standard. WEP and WPA are
discussed below.
WEP Authentication
An access point must authenticate a station before the station can associate with the access point or
communicate with the network. The IEEE 802.11 standard defines two types of WEP
authentication: Open System and Shared Key.
• Open System Authentication allows any device to join the network, assuming that the device
SSID matches the access point SSID. Alternatively, the device can use the “ANY” SSID
option to associate with any available access point within range, regardless of its SSID.
• Shared Key Authentication requires that the station and the access point have the same WEP
Key to authenticate. These two authentication procedures are described below.
The WEP Open System authentication process is illustrated in below.