19216811.liveConfiguring Wireless Network
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4.
Select an authentication setting from the
Authentication Type
drop-down list:
−
WEP-Open. The Wireless Encryption Protocol (WEP) is an older security protocol that allows any
wireless clients within the radio range to access your network without an encryption key. This
setting provides the least level of security. For security reasons, do not select this setting unless
there is a compatibility issue with an older wireless client. For added protection, set an encryption
key on your AP and enter the same key into your other wireless clients.
−
WEP-Shared. Similar to the WEP-Open setting, do not select this setting unless there is a
compatibility issue with an older wireless client. Unlike the WEP-Open setting, the WEP-Shared
setting prevents open access by any wireless client; therefore, it is more secure than the WEP-Open
setting. For added protection, set an encryption key on your AP and enter the same key into your
other wireless clients.
−
WPA-PSK. This setting provides good security and works with most wireless clients but perhaps not
some older clients. This setting requires that an encryption key to be set on the AP and that the
wireless client be configured to use Wi-Fi Protected Access – Pre-Shared Key (WPA-PSK) with the
same encryption key.
−
WPA-PSK (TKIP) and WPA2-PSK (AES). This is the default setting. This setting allows a wireless
client to use either WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK to access your network. An encryption key must be
configured on the AP and the same key must be entered on the wireless client.
−
WPA2-PSK. This setting requires that wireless clients use only WPA2-PSK to access your networks.
An encryption key must be configured on the AP and entered into the wireless client. WPA2-PSK is
currently the most secure Wi-Fi encryption protocol but may not be available on many wireless
clients.
5.
Select
Use custom Wireless Network Key
and enter a security key in the field.
This security key will be used by all clients to access your wireless network. You can define a 64-bit or
128-bit encryption key. For 64-bit encryption, enter a 10-digit hexadecimal number. For 128-bit
encryption, enter a 26-digit hexadecimal number. A hexadecimal number uses the characters 0-9, a-f,
or A-F.
Using the MAC Address Filtering
The MAC address is a factory-programmed address assigned to each hardware device. The
MAC address
filtering
feature enables you to block or allow wireless connection to all devices or an individual device. It is
most often used to allow only “known and trusted” devices to associate to the AP
. By default, the
MAC
address filtering
is disabled, meaning that all discovered devices are allowed. When enabled, the wireless
connection is blocked to all MAC addresses.
Note:
Check the capabilities of the wireless clients that will be accessing
this network and find the most secure protocol that is supported by all.