Communication mode

There are two communication mode options:

•Ad hoc: On an ad hoc network, the device is set to ad hoc communication mode and communicates directly with other wireless devices without the use of a WAP. All devices on the ad hoc network must fulfill the following requirements:

◦Be 802.11 compatible

◦Have ad hoc as the communication mode

◦Have the same network name (SSID)

◦Be on the same subnet and same channel

◦Have the same 802.11 security settings

•Infrastructure (recommended): On an infrastructure network, the device is set to infrastructure communication mode and communicates with other devices on the network, whether the devices are wired or wireless, through a wireless access point, such as a wireless router. Access points commonly act as routers or gateways on small networks.

Security settings

NOTE: For the available settings for the device, see Understand the network configuration page.

For more information on wireless security, visit www.wifi.org.

•Network authentication: The device's factory default setting is Open, which does not require security for authorization or encryption. The other possible values are OpenThenShared, Shared, and WPA-PSK(Wi-Fi®Protected Access Pre-Shared Key).

WPA increases the level of over-the-air data protection and access control on existing and future Wi-Fi networks. It addresses all known weaknesses of WEP, the original native security mechanism in the 802.11 standard.

WPA2 is the second generation of WPA security; it provides enterprise and consumer Wi-Fi users with a high level of assurance that only authorized users can access their wireless networks.

•Data encryption:

◦Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) provides security by encrypting data sent over radio waves from one wireless device to another wireless device. Devices on a WEP-enabled network use WEP keys to encode data. If your network uses WEP, you must know the WEP key(s) it uses.

◦WPA uses the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) for encryption.

◦WPA2 provides a new encryption scheme, the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). AES is defined in counter cipher-block chaining mode (CCM) and supports the Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS) to enable security between client workstations operating in ad hoc mode.

To set up wireless communication using the installer (Windows)

NOTE: For this method, you will need to have a wireless network set up and

running. You will also need a USB cable. Do not attach the USB cable until prompted by the installer.

Set up the device for wireless communication (some models only)

163