User's Manual

5-27
Cisco Aironet 802.11a/b/g Wireless LAN Client Adapters (CB21AG and PI21AG) Installation and Configuration Guide
OL-4211-05
Chapter 5 Configuring the Client Adapter
Setting Security Parameters
Step 5 Obtain the static WEP key from your system administrator and enter it in the blank field for the key you
are creating. Follow the guidelines below to enter a new static WEP key:
• WEP keys must contain the following number of characters:
– 10 hexadecimal characters or 5 ASCII text characters for 40-bit keys
Example: 5A5A313859 (hexadecimal) or ZZ18Y (ASCII)
– 26 hexadecimal characters or 13 ASCII text characters for 128-bit keys
Example: 5A583135333554595549333534 (hexadecimal) or ZX1535TYUI354 (ASCII)
Note You must enter hexadecimal characters if your client adapter will be used with Cisco Aironet
1200 Series Access Points.
• Your client adapter’s WEP key must match the WEP key used by the access point (in infrastructure
mode) or clients (in ad hoc mode) with which you are planning to communicate.
• When setting more than one WEP key, the keys must be assigned to the same WEP key numbers for
all devices. For example, WEP key 2 must be WEP key number 2 on all devices. When multiple
WEP keys are set, they must be in the same order on all devices.
Note All existing static WEP keys are displayed as bullets for security reasons. If you need to modify
a WEP key, simply click in the WEP key field, delete the bullets, and enter a new key.
Step 6 Click the Transmit Key button to the left of the key you want to use to transmit packets. Only one WEP
key can be selected as the transmit key.
Step 7 Click OK to save your settings and return to the Profile Management (Security) window.
Step 8 Perform one of the following to set the Allow Association to Mixed Cells parameter, which indicates
whether the client adapter can associate to an access point that allows both WEP and non-WEP
associations:
• Check the Allow Association to Mixed Cells check box if the access point to which the client
adapter is to associate (or the VLAN to which the client will be assigned) has WEP set to Optional.
Otherwise, the client is unable to establish a connection with the access point.
• Uncheck the Allow Association to Mixed Cells check box if the access point to which the client
adapter is to associate (or the VLAN to which the client will be assigned) 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 are sent unencrypted, even to clients running
WEP. However, you can enable VLANs on the access point to separate WEP-enabled and
WEP-disabled clients.
Step 9 Click OK to save your settings and return to the Cisco Aironet Desktop Utility (Profile Management) window.