Points to Note When Using the WXR100, WX1200, WX4400, or WX2200

7

Mfgr

Model, Driver,

OS

WEP

Mixed

TKIP

CCMP

Web

 

and Driver Date

 

 

TKIP/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

WEP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SMC

SMC2835W

XP

Pass

Pass

Pass

NA

Pass

 

1.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(99-012084-163)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.0.17.0,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6/16/2003

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Symbol

LA-4121-1020-US XP

Pass

Pass

Pass

NA

Pass

 

3.9.71.178,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3/25/2004

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* Belkin Wireless Pre-N requires WPA/TKIP on a TKIP/WEP mixed SSID.

†Dell TrueMobile 1150 drivers v7.86 and newer might not work with Dynamic WEP when you have WPA/TKIP enabled. If you experience problems such as an inability to associate with the MAP, install the previous revision of the driver, which is available from Dell’s support site.

‡ Requires a registry change to work properly; for more information, see “Win- dows 2000 Many enterprises have a large installed base of Windows 2000 lap- tops, making this a common choice of platform. Windows 2000 Service Pack 4 includes a native 802.1X client. If you choose to use the 802.1X client built-in to Windows 2000, please note the following:” on page 9.

** Intel Centrino based chipsets might not associate with the SSID when pow- er-save mode is enabled. Future drivers or laptop firmware might resolve this issue, but until then 3Com recommends disabling power-save mode complete- ly in the driver properties for the NIC.

†† The Intel Centrino based chipset has not been tested with WPA yet, though Dynamic WEP does operate properly in a mixed TKIP and WEP configuration. ‡‡ NetGear WG511/WAG511 doesn't associate properly to a WebAAA SSID. The NIC does not support DHCP.

*** Use the 848x driver, not the 846x driver.

††† Proxim Harmony 802.11a (8450) cannot associate properly.

Driver Dependent Behavior

Some clients prefer a beaconed clear SSID to their configured SSIDs. If you configure MSS to beacon a clear SSID, some client adapters prefer this beaconed SSID over the SSIDs they are configured to use.

Conversely, some adapters can associate only with a beaconed SSID. Determine whether to beacon the clear SSID based on the types of clients in the net- work.

Standby mode can prevent some clients from reasso- ciating. If a laptop PC whose wireless adapter is associated with a Managed Access Point (MAP) goes into standby (hibernate) mode, the operating system can either freeze or experience a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) when the laptop comes out of standby mode and attempts to reassociate with the access point. To work around this behavior, disable standby mode. Alternatively, disable and reenable the wireless adapter after the client emerges from standby mode.

If a client passes authentication but fails authoriza- tion, the client might indicate that authentication has succeeded but the MAP nonetheless disassociates from the client. In this case, the client might indicate that the network is unavailable. For example, this situation can occur if the certificate exchange is valid but the requested VLAN or ACL filter is not available, or a Mobility Profile™ denies service to the client. Once the MAP disassociates from the client, the network continues to be unavailable to the client through the MAP for the duration of the 802.1X quiet-period timer, which defaults to 60 seconds. An error message indicating that a client has failed authorization appears in the WX switch’s system log.

802.1X Clients

Properly preparing your clients for wireless connectivity is one of the most important things you can do to ensure an easy rollout. Here are some guidelines for preparing common 802.1X clients and platforms.