NETGEAR ProSafe ME103 Reference Manual page 34

Reference Manual for the ME103 802.11b ProSafe Wireless Access Point
Table 3-1. Basic Wireless Security Options
Field
Network
Authentication
Data Encryption
Network Key
Configure 802.1x
3-13
Description
You can select the following network authentication options:
• Open: the ME103 does not perform any authentication. However, if the 802.1x
option is configured, authentication of connections can be performed by a
RADIUS server.
• Shared: this is for shared key authentication. The SSID and data are encrypted.
You can select the following data encryption options:
• Disabled
• 64- or 128-bit WEP
With Open Network Authentication and 64- or 128-bit WEP Data Encryption, the
ME103 does perform 64- or 128-bit data encryption but does not perform any
authentication. However, if the 802.1x option is configured, authentication of
connections will be performed by a RADIUS server.
If WEP is enabled, you can manually or automatically program the four data
encryption keys. These values must be identical on all PCs and access points in
your network (key 1 must be the same for all, key 2 must be the same for all, etc.)
There are two methods for creating WEP encryption keys:
• Passphrase.
These characters are case sensitive.
Enter a word or group of printable characters in the Passphrase box and click the
Generate button.
Note: Not all wireless adapters support passphrase key generation.
• Manual.
These values are not case sensitive.
64-bit WEP: enter 10 hexadecimal digits (any combination of 0-9, a-f, or A-F).
128-bit WEP: enter 26 hexadecimal digits (any combination of 0-9, a-f, or A-F).
WEP security can be compromised by a determined snoop. If you require the kind
of strong security that is extremely difficult to compromise, use 802.1x RADIUS
authentication as explained in
page 5-1. For an explanation of 802.1x security, please see
Port Based Network Access Control" on page
August 2003
"Configuring Advanced Security 802.1x Options" on
B-9.
Basic Installation and Configuration
"Understanding 802.1x