User Manual

Back to Contents Page
Setting Up WEP Encryption and Authentication
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) encryption and shared authentication provides protect for your data on the
network. WEP uses an encryption key to encrypt data before transmitting it. Only computers using the same
encryption key can access the network or decrypt the encrypted data transmitted by other computers.
Authentication provides an additional validation process from the adapter to the access point.
Supported authentication schemes are Open and Shared-Key
authentication:
● Shared-Key authentication is supported using 64-bit and
128-bit WEP encryption keys.
● Open mode does not use an encryption authentication
method to associate to a specific access point.
Encryption Overview
Security in the WLAN can be achieved by enabling data encryption using
WEP (Wireless Encryption Protocol). You can choose a 64 or 128 bit
level encryption. Also, the data can then be encrypted with a key. Another
parameter called the key index is provides the option to create multiple
keys for that profile. However, only one key can be used at a time. You
can also choose to password protect the profile to ensure privacy.
The pass phrase is used to generate a WEP key automatically. You have
the option of either using a pass phrase or entering a WEP key manually.
Using 64-bit encryption, the pass phrase is 5 characters long and you can
choose to enter any arbitrary and easy to remember phrase like Acme1
or enter 10 Hexadecimal numbers for the WEP key corresponding to the
network the user wants to connect to. For 128-bit encryption, the pass
phrase is 13 characters long or you can enter a 26 hexadecimal numbers
for the WEP key to get connected to the appropriate network.
Note: You must use the same encryption type, key index number, and WEP key as other devices on your
wireless network. Also, if 802.1x authentication is being used, WEP encryption must be disabled.