Dell 5dw Networking, Installing the printer on a wireless network, Wireless network compatibility

Networking

Installing the printer on a wireless network

Wireless network compatibility

Your printer contains an IEEE 802.11n wireless print server. Your printer is compatible with IEEE 802.11 b/g/n routers that are Wi-Fi certified.

Supported network security options

The printer supports three wireless security options: no security, WEP, and WPA/WPA2.

No Security

It is not recommended to use no security at all on a home wireless network. Using no security means that anyone within range of your wireless network can use your network resources—including Internet access, if your wireless network is connected to the Internet. The range of your wireless network may extend far beyond the walls of your home, allowing access to your network from the street or from your neighbors’ homes.

WEP

WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) is the most basic and the weakest type of wireless security. WEP security relies on a series of characters called the WEP key.

Every device on the wireless network must use the same WEP key. WEP security can be used on both ad hoc and infrastructure networks.

A valid WEP key has:

•Exactly 10 or 26 hexadecimal characters. Hexadecimal characters are A–F, a–f, and 0–9 or

•Exactly 5 or 13 ASCII characters. ASCII characters are letters, numbers, punctuation, and symbols found on a keyboard.

WPA/WPA2

WPA (Wi-Fi Protected Access) and WPA2 (Wi-Fi Protected Access 2) offer stronger wireless network security than WEP. WPA and WPA2 are similar types of security. WPA2 uses a more complex encryption method and is more secure than WPA. Both WPA and WPA2 use a series of characters, called the WPA pre-shared key or passphrase, to protect wireless networks from unauthorized access.

A valid WPA passphrase has:

•From 8 to 63 ASCII characters. ASCII characters in a WPA passphrase are case-sensitive. or

•Exactly 64 hexadecimal characters. Hexadecimal characters are A–F, a–f, and 0–9.

Networking

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