Wireless/Redundant Edge Services xl Module Management and Configuration Guide WS.01.03 or greater

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Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs)
Configuring a WLAN
Encryption
Encryption protects data sent through the wireless medium from interception.
If you do not use authentication on a WLAN, then you can also use an
encryption key as a rudimentary form of authentication.
The WLANs controlled by the Wireless Edge Services xl Module can support
any of these encryption standards, listed from least secure to most secure:
■ Wired Equivalency Protocol (WEP) with a 64-bit or a 128-bit key
■ Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)/WPA2 with Temporal Key Identity Protocol
(TKIP)
■ WPA/WPA2 with TKIP and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) (802.11i
Mixed Mode)
■ WPA2 with AES
Depending on the type of authentication selected, the encryption configura-
tion differs. With 802.1X authentication, you can use any or no encryption
standard. However, you cannot use any form of encryption with Web-Auth. If
your WLAN does not use authentication, then you can use any type of
encryption. However, WPA without 802.1X authentication is not enterprise
standard. (This option is sometimes called personal WPA or WPA with pre-
shared keys.)
Table 3-2. Encryption and Authentication Options
Authentication Encryption Also Called
None WEP (64-bit or 128-bit) Static WEP
WPA/WPA2 TKIP • WPA/WPA2 Personal
mode
• WPA/WPA2 with
Preshared keys
WPA/WPA2 TKIP and AES 802.11i Mixed Mode with
Personal mode
WPA2 AES WPA Personal mode