User Manual
Table Of Contents
- Contents
- Chapter 1 About This Manual
- Chapter 2 Introduction
- About the NETGEAR ProSafe 802.11g Wireless Access Point WG302
- Key Features
- AutoCell-The Self-Organizing Wireless Network
- 802.11g Standards-based Wireless Networking
- Autosensing Ethernet Connections with Auto Uplink
- Compatible and Related NETGEAR Products
- System Requirements
- What’s In the Box?
- Hardware Description
- Front Panel
- Rear Panel
- Chapter 3 Basic Installation and Configuration
- Wireless Equipment Placement and Range Guidelines
- Cabling Requirements
- Default Factory Settings
- Understanding WG302 Wireless Security Options
- Installing the WG302 Wireless Access Point
- Logging in to the WG302 Using Its Default IP Address
- Basic IP Settings
- Wireless Settings
- Security Profiles
- Before You Change the SSID and WEP Settings
- Setting up and Testing Basic Wireless Connectivity
- Configuring the Radius Server Settings
- Configuring Network Authentication
- Entering WEP Data Encryption Keys
- Restricting Wireless Access by MAC Address
- Chapter 4 Management
- Remote Management
- Using the Secure Telnet Interface
- How to Use the CLI via the Console Port
- CLI Commands
- SNMP Remote Management
- Viewing the Activity Log
- Viewing General Information
- Viewing Statistics
- Viewing the Available Wireless Station List
- Upgrading the Wireless Access Point Firmware
- Configuration File Management
- Backing up and Restoring the Configuration
- Erasing the Configuration
- Using the Reset Button to Restore Factory Default Settings
- Changing the Administrator Password
- AutoCell Rogue AP Detection
- AutoCell Rogue Station Detection
- Chapter 5 Advanced Configuration
- Understanding Advanced IP Settings for Wireless Clients
- Configuring Advanced Wireless LAN Settings
- AutoCell Overview
- AutoCell Configuration Options
- Auto RF Management
- Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) Setup
- Hotspot Settings
- Configuring Wireless LAN Parameters
- Wireless Bridging and Repeating
- Point-to-Point Bridge Configuration
- Multi-Point Bridge Configuration
- Repeater with Wireless Client Association
- Configuring NAT
- Configuring QoS Queues
- Setting up Guest Access
- Chapter 6 Troubleshooting
- No lights are lit on the access point.
- The Wireless LAN activity light does not light up.
- The LAN light is not lit.
- I cannot access the Internet or the LAN with a wireless capable computer.
- I cannot connect to the WG302 to configure it.
- When I enter a URL or IP address I get a timeout error.
- Using the Reset Button to Restore Factory Default Settings
- Appendix B Wireless Networking Basics
- Wireless Networking Overview
- Infrastructure Mode
- Ad Hoc Mode (Peer-to-Peer Workgroup)
- Network Name: Extended Service Set Identification (ESSID)
- Authentication and WEP Data Encryption
- 802.11 Authentication
- Open System Authentication
- Shared Key Authentication
- Overview of WEP Parameters
- Key Size
- WEP Configuration Options
- Wireless Channels
- WPA and WPA2 Wireless Security
- How Does WPA Compare to WEP?
- How Does WPA Compare to WPA2 (IEEE 802.11i)?
- What are the Key Features of WPA and WPA2 Security?
- Is WPA/WPA2 Perfect?
- Product Support for WPA/WPA2
- Appendix C Command Line Reference
Reference Manual for the NETGEAR ProSafe 802.11g Wireless Access Point WG302
Wireless Networking Basics B-9
v0.1, December 2005
The Wi-Fi Alliance is now performing interoperability certification testing on Wi-Fi Protected
Access products. Starting August of 2003, all new Wi-Fi certified products have to support WPA.
NETGEAR is implementing WPA and WPA2 on client and access point products. The 802.11i
standard was ratified in 2004.
How Does WPA Compare to WEP?
WEP is a data encryption method and is not intended as a user authentication mechanism. WPA
user authentication is implemented using 802.1x and the Extensible Authentication Protocol
(EAP). Support for 802.1x authentication is required in WPA. In the 802.11 standard, 802.1x
authentication was optional. For details on EAP specifically, refer to IETF RFC 2284.
With 802.11 WEP, all access points and client wireless adapters on a particular wireless LAN must
use the same encryption key. A major problem with the 802.11 standard is that the keys are
cumbersome to change. If you do not update the WEP keys often, an unauthorized person with a
sniffing tool can monitor your network for less than a day and decode the encrypted messages.
Products based on the 802.11 standard alone offer system administrators no effective method to
update the keys.
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. TKIP provides important data encryption enhancements
including a per-packet key mixing function, a message integrity check (MIC) named Michael, an
extended initialization vector (IV) with sequencing rules, and a re-keying mechanism. Through
these enhancements, TKIP addresses all of known WEP vulnerabilities.
How Does WPA Compare to WPA2 (IEEE 802.11i)?
WPA is forward compatible with the WPA2 security specification. WPA is a subset of WPA2 and
used certain pieces of the early 802.11i draft, such as 802.1x and TKIP. The main pieces of WPA2
that are not included in WPA are secure IBSS (Ad-Hoc mode), secure fast handoff (for specialized
802.11 VoIP phones), as well as enhanced encryption protocols, such as AES-CCMP. These
features were either not yet ready for market or required hardware upgrades to implement.
What are the Key Features of WPA and WPA2 Security?
The following security features are included in the WPA and WPA2 standard:
• WPA and WPA2 Authentication
• WPA and WPA2 Encryption Key Management
– Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP)