NETGEAR WG511U Network Manual
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NETGEAR WG511U Network Manual

NETGEAR WG511U Network Manual

Wireless networking basics wireless pc card
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Download this manual See also: User Manual, Installation Manual
Appendix B
Wireless Networking Basics
This chapter provides an overview of wireless networking and security.

Wireless Networking Overview

The WG511U Wireless PC Card conforms to the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE) 802.11b standard for wireless LANs (WLANs) and a product update will bring the
WG511U into conformance to the 802.11g standard when it is ratified. On an 802.11b or g
wireless link, data is encoded using direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) technology and is
transmitted in the unlicensed radio spectrum at 2.5GHz. The maximum data rate for the 802.11b
wireless link is 11 Mbps, but it will automatically back down from 11 Mbps to 5.5, 2, and 1 Mbps
when the radio signal is weak or when interference is detected. The 802.11g auto rate sensing rates
are 1, 2, 5.5, 6, 9, 11, 12, 18, 24, 36, 48, and 54 Mbps. Likewise, the 802.11a wireless link offers a
maximum data rate of 54 Mbps, but will automatically back down to rates 48, 36, 24, 18, 12, 9,
and 6 Mbps.
The 802.11 standard is also called Wireless Ethernet or Wi-Fi by the Wireless Ethernet
Compatibility Alliance (WECA, see http://www.wi-fi.net), an industry standard group promoting
interoperability among 802.11 devices. The 802.11 standard offers two methods for configuring a
wireless network - ad hoc and infrastructure.

Infrastructure Mode

With a wireless access point, you can operate the wireless LAN in the infrastructure mode. This
mode provides wireless connectivity to multiple wireless network devices within a fixed range or
area of coverage, interacting with wireless nodes via an antenna.
In the infrastructure mode, the wireless access point converts airwave data into wired Ethernet
data, acting as a bridge between the wired LAN and wireless clients. Connecting multiple access
points via a wired Ethernet backbone can further extend the wireless network coverage. As a
mobile computing device moves out of the range of one access point, it moves into the range of
another. As a result, wireless clients can freely roam from one access point domain to another and
still maintain seamless network connection.
Wireless Networking Basics
B-1
August 2004

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  • Page 1: Wireless Networking Overview

    (IEEE) 802.11b standard for wireless LANs (WLANs) and a product update will bring the WG511U into conformance to the 802.11g standard when it is ratified. On an 802.11b or g wireless link, data is encoded using direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) technology and is transmitted in the unlicensed radio spectrum at 2.5GHz.

  • Page 2: Ad Hoc Mode (Peer-To-Peer Workgroup

    User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U Ad Hoc Mode (Peer-to-Peer Workgroup) In an ad hoc network, computers are brought together as needed; thus, there is no structure or fixed points to the network - each node can generally communicate with any other node. There is no access point involved in this configuration.
  • Page 3 User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U 802.11b/g Wireless Channels IEEE 802.11b/g wireless nodes communicate with each other using radio frequency signals in the ISM (Industrial, Scientific, and Medical) band between 2.4 GHz and 2.5 GHz. Neighboring channels are 5 MHz apart.
  • Page 4 User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U Note: The available channels supported by the wireless products in various countries are different. For example, Channels 1 to 11 are supported in the U.S. and Canada, and Channels 1 to 13 are supported in Europe and Australia.
  • Page 5 User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U Figure B-1: IEEE 802.11a Channel Allocations The WG511U user can use thirteen channels in non-turbo mode. Table B-3: 802.11a Turbo Mode Off Radio Frequency Channels Turbo Mode OFF...

  • Page 6: Wireless Security Overview

    User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U The WG511U user can use five channels in turbo mode. Turbo Mode ON Channel Frequency 5.21 GHz 5.25 GHz 5.29 GHz 5.76 GHz 5.8 GHz The available channels supported by the wireless products in various countries are different.

  • Page 7: Wep Overview

    User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U • 802.1x 802.1x defines port-based, network access control used to provide authenticated network access and automated data encryption key management. • Cisco LEAP Light Extensible Authentication Protocol (LEAP) is a proprietary 802.1x EAP method developed by Cisco for use on wireless networks that use Cisco 802.11 wireless devices.
  • Page 8 User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U 802.11 Authentication Open System Steps 1) Authentication request sent to AP 3) Client connects to network Client attempting to connect Figure B-2: 802.11 open system authentication The following steps occur when two devices use Open System Authentication: The station sends an authentication request to the access point.

  • Page 9: Wep Keys

    User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U The access point sends challenge text to the station. The station uses its configured 64-bit or 128-bit default key to encrypt the challenge text, and sends the encrypted text to the access point.

  • Page 10: How To Use Wep Parameters

    User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U When configured for 128-bit encryption, 802.11 products typically support four WEP Keys but some manufacturers support only one 128-bit key. The 128-bit WEP Key is expressed as 13 sets of two hexadecimal digits (0-9 and A-F).

  • Page 11: 802.1X Port Based Network Access Control

    User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U Note: Some 802.11 access points also support Use WEP for Authentication Only (Shared Key Authentication without data encryption). However, the WG511U does not offer this option.
  • Page 12 User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U IEEE 802.1x offers an effective framework for authenticating and controlling user traffic to a protected network, as well as dynamically varying encryption keys. 802.1x ties a protocol called...

  • Page 13: Wpa Wireless Security

    User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U If the authentication server accepts the client, then the access point will transition the client's port to an authorized state and forward additional traffic. Initial 802.1x communications begin with an unauthenticated supplicant (i.e., client device) attempting to connect with an authenticator (i.e., 802.11 access point).

  • Page 14: How Does Wpa Compare To Wep

    User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U The IEEE introduced the WEP as an optional security measure to secure 802.11 (Wi-Fi) WLANs, but inherent weaknesses in the standard soon became obvious. In response to this situation, the Wi-Fi Alliance announced a new security architecture that remedies the short comings of WEP.

  • Page 15: How Does Wpa Compare To Ieee 802.11I

    User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U For 802.11, WEP encryption is optional. For WPA, encryption using Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) is required. TKIP replaces WEP with a new encryption algorithm that is stronger than the WEP algorithm, but that uses the calculation facilities present on existing wireless devices to perform encryption operations.
  • Page 16 User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U Wireless Network WPA enabled Access Point enabled wireless pre-shared key client with “supplicant” 802.1x/EAP Figure B-5: WPA Overview The strength WPA comes from an integrated sequence of operations that encompass 802.1X/EAP authentication and sophisticated key management and encryption techniques.
  • Page 17 User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U The supplicant in the station uses the authentication and cipher suite information contained in the information elements to decide which authentication method and cipher suite to use. For example, if the access point is using the Pre-shared key method then the supplicant need not authenticate using full-blown 802.1X.
  • Page 18 User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U The AP sends Beacon Frames with WPA information element to the stations in the service set. Information elements include the required authentication method (802.1x or Pre-shared key) and the preferred cipher suite (WEP, TKIP, or AES).

  • Page 19: Wpa Data Encryption Key Management

    User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U Note: For environments with a Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) infrastructure, WPA supports Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP). For environments without a RADIUS infrastructure, WPA supports the use of a preshared key.

  • Page 20: Is Wpa Perfect

    User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U With 802.11 and WEP, data integrity is provided by a 32-bit integrity check value (ICV) that is appended to the 802.11 payload and encrypted with WEP. Although the ICV is encrypted, you can use cryptanalysis to change bits in the encrypted payload and update the encrypted ICV without being detected by the receiver.
  • Page 21 User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U • Wireless network adapters • Wireless client programs Check the NETGEAR web site for WPA-enabled updates to NETGEAR products. For wireless devices in your network from other vendors, check with the vendor regarding WPA support.
  • Page 22 User’s Manual for the NETGEAR Double 108 Mbps Wireless PC Card 32-bit CardBus WG511U B-22 Wireless Networking Basics August 2004...

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