SMC Networks SMC2555W-AG manual System Configuration

System Configuration

WPA Key Management – WPA can be configured to work in an enterprise environment using IEEE 802.1x and a RADIUS server for user authentication. For smaller networks, WPA can be enabled using a common pre-shared key for client authentication with the access point.

•WPA authentication over 802.1x: The WPA enterprise mode that uses IEEE 802.1x to authenticate users and to dynamically distribute encryption keys to clients.

•WPA Pre-shared Key: The WPA mode for small networks that uses a common password string that is manually distributed. If this mode is selected, be sure to also specify the key string.

Multicast Cipher Mode – Selects an encryption method for the global key used for multicast and broadcast traffic, which is supported by all wireless clients.

•WEP: WEP is the first generation security protocol used to encrypt data crossing the wireless medium using a fairly short key. Communicating devices must use the same WEP key to encrypt and decrypt radio signals. WEP has many security flaws, and is not recommended for transmitting highly-sensitive data.

•TKIP: TKIP provides data encryption enhancements including per-packet key hashing (that is, changing the encryption key on each packet), a message integrity check, an extended initialization vector with sequencing rules, and a re-keying mechanism.

•AES: AES has been designated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology as the successor to the Data Encryption Standard (DES) encryption algorithm, and will be used by the U.S. government for encrypting all sensitive, nonclassified information. Because of its strength, and resistance to attack, AES is also being incorporated as part of the 802.11 standard.

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