User's Manual Part 1

BETA DRAFT - CISCO CONFIDENTIAL
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Cisco Aironet Wireless LAN Client Adapters Installation and Configuration Guide for Windows
OL-1394-03
Chapter 5 Configuring the Client Adapter
Setting Network Security Parameters
This screen is different from the other Properties screens in that it presents several security features, each
of which involves a number of steps. In addition, the security features themselves are complex and need
to be understood before they are implemented. Therefore, this section provides an overview of the
security features as well as procedures for using them.
However, before you determine the appropriate security settings for your client adapter, you must decide
how to set the Allow Association To Mixed Cells parameter, which appears at the bottom of the
Network Security screen and is not associated to any of the security features. See the “Setting the Allow
Association To Mixed Cells Parameter” section below.
Setting the Allow Association To Mixed Cells Parameter
The Allow Association To Mixed Cells parameter indicates whether the client adapter can associate to
an access point that allows both WEP and non-WEP associations. Follow the steps below to set this
parameter.
Step 1 Perform one of the following:
• Select the Allow Association To Mixed Cells checkbox if the access point with which the client
adapter is to associate has WEP set to Optional (regardless of whether WEP is enabled on the
adapter). Otherwise, the client adapter is unable to establish a connection with the access point.
• Deselect the Allow Association To Mixed Cells checkbox if the access point with which the client
adapter is to associate does not have WEP set to Optional. This is the default setting.
Note For security reasons, Cisco recommends that WEP-enabled and WEP-disabled clients not be
allowed in the same cell because broadcast packets will be sent unencrypted, even to clients
running WEP.
Step 2 Perform one of the following:
• If you do not want to change any other parameters on the Network Security screen, click OK to
return to the Profile Manager screen; then click OK or Apply to save your changes
• If you want to change some of the other parameters on the Network Security screen, go to the next
section.
Overview of Security Features
You can protect your data as it is transmitted through your wireless network by encrypting it through the
use of Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption keys. With WEP encryption, the transmitting device
encrypts each packet with a WEP key, and the receiving device uses that same key to decrypt each
packet.
The WEP keys used to encrypt and decrypt transmitted data can be statically associated with your
adapter or dynamically created as part of the EAP authentication process. The information in the “Static
WEP Keys” and “EAP (with Static or Dynamic WEP Keys)” sections below can help you to decide
which type of WEP keys you want to use. Dynamic WEP keys with EAP offer a higher degree of security
than static WEP keys.