User guide

HWC_Intro.fm
A31003-W1010-A100-1-7619, July 2005
HiPath Wireless Controller, Access Points and Convergence Software V3.0: User Guide
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The Controller, Access Points and Convergence Software solution
Controller, Access Points and Convergence Software and your network
2.2.3 Network security
The Controller, Access Points and Convergence Software system provides features and
functionality to control network access. These are based on standard wireless network security
practices.
Current wireless network security methods provide a degree of protection. These methods
include:
● Shared Key authentication that relies on Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) keys
● Open System that relies on Service Set Identifiers (SSIDs)
● 802.1x that is compliant with Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)
● Captive Portal based on Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol
The Controller, Access Points and Convergence Software system supports these encryption
approaches:
● Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), a security protocol for wireless local area networks
defined in the 802.11b standard
● Wi-Fi Protected Access version 1 (WPA1™) with Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP)
● Wi-Fi Protected Access version 2 (WPA2™) with Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)
and Counter Mode with Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code (CCMP).
2.2.3.1 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).
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 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-station WEP keys in 802.11).