User's Guide

Overview of the HiPath Wireless Controller, Access Points and Convergence Software solution
hwc_intro.fm
HiPath Wireless Controller, Access Points and Convergence Software and your network
9034530-02, March 2010
30 HiPath Wireless Controller, Access Points and Convergence Software V7.11, User Guide
2.3.2.1 Authentication
The HiPath Wireless Controller relies on a RADIUS server, or authentication
server, on the enterprise network to provide the authentication information
(whether the user is to be allowed or denied access to the network). A RADIUS
client is implemented to interact with infrastructure RADIUS servers.
The HiPath Wireless Controller provides authentication using:
• Captive Portal – a browser-based mechanism that forces users to a Web
page
• RADIUS (using IEEE 802.1x)
The 802.1x mechanism is a standard for authentication developed within the
802.11 standard. This mechanism is implemented at the wireless Port, blocking
all data traffic between the wireless device and the network until authentication is
complete. Authentication by 802.1x standard uses Extensible Authentication
Protocol (EAP) for the message exchange between the HiPath Wireless
Controller and the RADIUS server.
When 802.1x is used for authentication, the HiPath Wireless Controller provides
the capability to dynamically assign per-wireless-device WEP keys (called per
session WEP keys in 802.11). In the case of WPA, the HiPath Wireless Controller
is not involved in key assignment. Instead, the controller is involved in the
information exchange between RADIUS server and the user’s wireless device to
negotiate the appropriate set of keys. With WPA2 the material exchange
produces a Pairwise Master Key which is used by the AP and the user to derive
their temporal keys. (The keys change over time.)
In the HiPath Wireless Controller, Access Points and Convergence Software
solution, a RADIUS redundancy feature is provided, where you can define a
failover RADIUS server (up to 2 servers) in the event that the active RADIUS
server becomes unresponsive.
2.3.2.2 Privacy
Privacy is a mechanism that protects data over wireless and wired networks,
usually by encryption techniques.
HiPath Wireless Controller, Access Points and Convergence Software supports
the Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) standard common to conventional access
points.
It also provides Wi-Fi Protected Access version 1 (WPA v.1) encryption, based on
Pairwise Master Key (PMK) and Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP). The
most secure encryption mechanism is WPA version 2, using Advanced
Encryption Standard (AES).