Wi-Fi security settings

Use the Wi-Fi Security Settings page to specify the wireless security settings that the wireless network uses. Multiple security and authentication modes may be chosen depending on the configuration of the access point or wireless network. The wireless device will automatically select and determine the authentication and encryption methods to use while associating to the wireless network. If the wireless network does not use security and uses an Open Network architecture, these settings do not need to be modified.

Note that WPA settings require that the device communicate to Access Points and is not valid when the Connection Method is set to Connect to wireless systems using peer-to-peer (ad‑hoc). Also, WPA pre-shared key (WPA-PSK) security is only valid when you use a specific Network Name or SSID.

• Network Authentication: The authentication method or methods used for wireless communications.
  • Use any available authentication method: Enables all of the methods. The capabilities of the wireless network determines the actual method used.
  • Use the following selected method(s): Selects one or more authentication methods for wireless communications.
  • Open System: Uses IEEE 802.11 open system authentication to establish a connection.
  • Shared Key: Uses IEEE 802.11 shared key authentication to establish a connection. At least one WEP key must be specified in order to use shared key authentication.
  • WEP with 802.1x authentication: Uses IEEE 802.1x authentication (EAP) to establish a connection with an authentication server or access point. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) keys are dynamically generated to encrypt data over the wireless network.
  • WPA with pre-shared key (WPA-PSK): Uses the Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) protocol with a pre-shared key (PSK). The PSK is calculated using a passphrase and the network SSID.
  • WPA with 802.1x authentication: Uses the WPA protocol and IEEE 802.1x authentication (EAP) to establish a connection with an authentication server or access point. Encryption keys are dynamically generated to encrypt data over the wireless link.
  • Cisco LEAP: Uses Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol (LEAP) to establish a connection with an authentication server or access point. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) keys are dynamically generated to encrypt data over the wireless link. A user name and password must be specified to use LEAP.
• Data Encryption: You an select multiple encryption methods.
  • Use any available encryption method: Enables all of the methods. The capabilities of the wireless network determines the actual method used.
  • Use the following selected method(s): Selects one or more encryption methods.
  • Open System: Does not use encryption over the wireless link. Open System encryption is valid only with Open System and Shared Key authentication.
  • WEP: Uses Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption over the wireless link. You can use WEP encryption with any of the above authentication methods.
  • TKIP: Uses Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) encryption over the wireless link. You can use TKIP encryption with WPA-PSK and WPA with 802.1x authentication.
  • CCMP: Uses CCMP (AES) encryption over the wireless link. You can use CCMP WPA-PSK and WPA with 802.1x authentication.
• WEP Keys

  • Transmit Key: Specify the corresponding key of the encryption key used when communicating with wireless networks using WEP security.

    This device allows up to four wireless keys to be set of either 64-bit or 128-bit encryption. These keys allow the wireless network to traverse different wireless networks without having to change the wireless key. Instead, only the transmit key setting has to be changed to specify which wireless key to send.

  • Encryption Keys: Specify 1 to 4 encryption keys to use when communicating with wireless networks using WEP security.

    The encryption keys is a set of 10 (64-bit) or 26 (128-bit) hexadecimal characters. The encryption key only contains the characters A-F, a-f, or 0-9. Optionally, you can use separator characters, such as '-', '_', or '.' to separate the set of characters.

• WPA PSK (Pre-Shared Key) Passphrase/Confirm: The passphrase that the Wi-Fi network uses with WPA pre-shared keys. The pre-shared key is calculated using the passphrase and the SSID. Therefore, a valid network name must have been previously specified. In the Confirm field, reenter the passphrase.
• Username/Password/Confirm: The user name and password combination used to authenticate on the network when using these authentication methods: WEP with 802.1x authentication, WPA with 802.1x authentication, or LEAP. In the Confirm field, reenter the password.