Cisco Systems DL-2159-05 Management Options, Roaming Client Devices, Quality of Service Support

Chapter 1 Overview

Management Options

•Secure Shell (SSH) support for providing a strong user authentication and encryption of management traffic. SSH is a software package that provides a cryptographically secure replacement for or an alternative to Telnet. It provides strong host-to-host and user authentication as well as secure encrypted communications over a non secure network. The feature operates as follows:

–The SSH server on the access point listens to its TCP port 22 for requests.

–When a request from a client is received, the access point sends a public key, supported cipher specification details, and supported authentication type (password only) to the client.

–The client generates a double encrypted session key and sends it to the access point along with the chosen cipher specification.

–The access point authenticates the client based on a user ID and password when the user manager feature is enabled.

–If authentication is successful, all management traffic between the client and access point is encrypted using the session key.

Management Options

You can use the access point management system through the following interfaces:

•A web-browser interface

•A command-line interface (CLI)

•Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)

The access point’s management system pages are organized the same way for the web- browser interface and the CLI. The examples in this manual are all taken from the browser interface. Chapter 2, “Using the Management Interfaces” provides a detailed description of each management option.

Roaming Client Devices

If you have more than one access point in your wireless LAN, wireless client devices can roam seamlessly from one access point to another. The roaming functionality is based on signal quality, not proximity. When a client’s signal quality drops, it roams to another access point.

Wireless LAN users are sometimes concerned when a client device stays associated to a distant access point instead of roaming to a closer access point. However, if a client’s signal to a distant access point remains strong, the client will not roam to a closer access point. If client devices checked constantly for closer access points, the extra radio traffic would slow throughput on the wireless LAN.

Quality of Service Support

The access point now supports Cisco’s QoS, primarily in the area of wireless VoIP telephones from Spectralink and Symbol Technologies Corporation. The access point also provides priority classification, prioritized queueing, and prioritized channel access for other downlink IEEE 802.11 traffic such as streaming audio or video traffic.

With this software release, the access point does not include any QoS enhancements in Cisco IEEE 802.11 client software.

Cisco Aironet 1200 Series Access Point Software Configuration Guide

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