User's Manual

Reference Manual for the 54 Mbps Wall-Plugged Router WGX102
Wireless Networking Basics D-5
July 2004 202-10036-01
• Shared Key Authentication requires that the station and the access point have the same WEP
Key to authenticate. These two authentication procedures are described below.
WEP Open System Authentication
This process is illustrated in below.
Figure D-1: 802.11 open system authentication
The following steps occur when two devices use Open System Authentication:
1. The station sends an authentication request to the access point.
2. The access point authenticates the station.
3. The station associates with the access point and joins the network.