ZyXEL Communications G-1000 manual Introduction to WPA, 6.6.1 WPA2-PSK Application Example

G-1000 User’s Guide

6.6 Introduction to WPA

Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA and WPA2) applies IEEE 801.2x and Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) to authenticate wireless clients using and external RADIUS database. WPA has better user authentication and improved data encryption than WEP, and WPA2 provides even better data encryption and user authentication than WPA. See the appendix for more information on WPA(2) user authentication and WPA encryption.

If the wireless clients support WPA2 and you have an external RADIUS server, use WPA2 for stronger data encryption. If you don’t have an external RADIUS server, you should use WPA2-PSK (WPA2-Pre-Shared Key). WPA2-PSK only requires a single (identical) password entered into each WLAN member. As long as the passwords match, a client will be granted access to a WLAN.

If the wireless clients do not support WPA2, use WPA or WPA-PSK, depending on whether or not you have an additional RADIUS server. Use WEP only if the wireless clients do not support WPA(2).

Note: You can’t use the Local User Database for authentication when you select WPA(2).

6.6.1 WPA(2)-PSK Application Example

AWPA-PSK (or WPA2-PSK) application looks as follows.

1First enter identical passwords into the AP and all wireless clients. The Pre-Shared Key (PSK) must be between 8 and 63 printable characters (including spaces; alphabetic characters are case-sensitive).

2The AP checks each client’s password and (only) allows it to join the network if the password matches.

3The AP derives and distributes keys to the wireless clients.

4The AP and wireless clients use the TKIP or AES encryption process to encrypt data exchanged between them.

Chapter 6 Wireless LAN 59