Extreme Networks Summit WM20 User Manual page 27

The Summit WM Controller, Access Points and Software system provides the centralized mechanism by
which the corresponding security parameters are configured for a group of APs.
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is a security protocol for wireless local area networks defined in the
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802.11b standard
Wi-Fi Protected Access version 1 (WPA1™) with Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP)
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Wi-Fi Protected Access version 2 (WPA2™) with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) and Counter
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Mode with Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code (CCMP)
Authentication
The Summit WM Controller relies on a RADIUS server, or authentication server, on the enterprise
network to provide the authentication information (whether the user is to be allowed or denied access
to the network). A RADIUS client is implemented to interact with infrastructure RADIUS servers.
The Summit WM Controller provides authentication using:
Captive Portal – a browser-based mechanism that forces users to a Web page
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RADIUS (using IEEE 802.1x)
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The 802.1x mechanism is a standard for authentication developed within the 802.11 standard. This
mechanism is implemented at the wireless Port, blocking all data traffic between the wireless device
and the network until authentication is complete. Authentication by 802.1x standard uses Extensible
Authentication Protocol (EAP) for the message exchange between the Summit WM Controller and the
RADIUS server.
When 802.1x is used for authentication, the Summit WM Controller provides the capability to
dynamically assign per-wireless-device WEP keys (called per-station WEP keys in 802.11). Or in the case
of WPA, the Summit WM Controller is not involved in key assignment. Instead, the controller is
involved in the path between RADIUS server and the user to negotiate the appropriate set of keys. With
WPA2 the material exchange produces a Pairwise Master Key which is used by the AP and the user to
derive their temporal keys. (The keys change over time.)
In the Summit WM Controller, Access Points and Software, a RADIUS redundancy feature is provided,
where you can define a failover RADIUS server (up to 2 servers) in the event that the active RADIUS
server fails.
Privacy
Privacy is a mechanism that protects data over wireless and wired networks, usually by encryption
techniques.
The Summit WM Controller, Access Points and Software supports the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
standard common to conventional access points.
It also provides Wi-Fi Protected Access version 1 (WPA v.1) encryption, based on Pairwise Master Key
(PMK) and Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP). The most secure encryption mechanism is WPA
version 2, using Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).
Summit WM20 User Guide, Software Release 4.2
Summit WM Controller, Access Points and Software and Your Network
27