User Manual

Table Of Contents
Reference Manual for the NETGEAR ProSafe 802.11g Wireless Access Point WG302
Wireless Networking Basics B-11
v0.1, December 2005
Key management. WPA/WPA2 features a robust key generation/management system that
integrates the authentication and data privacy functions. Keys are generated after successful
authentication and through a subsequent 4-way handshake between the station and Access
Point (AP).
Data Privacy (Encryption). Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) is used to wrap WEP in
sophisticated cryptographic and security techniques to overcome most of its weaknesses.
Data integrity. TKIP includes a message integrity code (MIC) at the end of each plaintext
message to ensure messages are not being spoofed.
WPA/WPA2 Authentication: Enterprise-level User
Authentication via 802.1x/EAP and RADIUS
Figure 8-3
IEEE 802.1x offers an effective framework for authenticating and controlling user traffic to a
protected network, as well as providing a vehicle for dynamically varying data encryption keys via
EAP from a RADIUS server, for example. This framework enables using a central authentication
server, which employs mutual authentication so that a rogue wireless user does not join the
network.
Certificate
Authority
(for
example
Win Server,
VeriSig n)
WPA/WPA2
enabled
wireless
client with
“supplicant”
TCP/IP
Ports Closed
Until
Authenticated
RADIUS Server
Wired Network with Optional
802.1x Port Based Network
Access Control
WPA/WPA2
enabled
Access Point
using
pre-shared key
or 802.1x
TCP/IP
Ports Opened
After
Authenticated
Wireless LAN
Login
Authentication