Software Manual

WE865-DUAL Software User Guide

1vv0300788 Rev. 0 08/08/08

8 Appendix

8.1 WPA/WPA2 (IEEE 802.11i)

Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA and WPA2) is a class of systems to secure Wi-Fi networks.

It was created in response to several serious weaknesses researchers had found in the previous

system, Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP).

WPA implements the majority of the IEEE 802.11i standard, and was intended as an intermediate

measure to take the place of WEP while 802.11i was prepared.

WPA2 implements the mandatory elements of 802.11i. In particular, it introduces a new AES-based

algorithm, CCMP, that is considered fully secure.

8.1.1 Personal Mode (PSK)

Personal mode (also known as Pre-shared key mode, PSK) is designed for home and small office

networks that don't require the complexity of an IEEE 802.1X authentication server. Each user must

enter a passphrase to access the network. The passphrase may be from 8 to 63 printable ASCII

characters or 64 hexadecimal digits (256 bits). If you choose to use the ASCII characters, a hash

function reduces it from 504 bits (63 characters * 8 bits/character) to 256 bits (using also the SSID).

The passphrase may be stored on the user's computer at their discretion under most operating

systems to avoid re-entry. The passphrase must remain stored in the Wi-Fi access point.

8.1.2 Enterprise Mode

Enterprise networks may use WPA/WPA2 along with 802.1X, an IEEE standard for port-based

Network Access Control, to make WiFi security stronger.

IEEE 802.1X provides authentication to devices wanting to join a wireless network, establishing a

point-to-point connection or preventing access if authentication fails.

Enterprise wireless LANs usually use RADIUS authentication servers to perform IEEE 802.1X

authentication using EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol) authentication frameworks.

8.2 WPA Supplicant

wpa_supplicant is the IEEE 802.1X/WPA component that is used in the client stations and is designed

to be a "daemon" program that runs in the background and acts as the backend component controlling

the wireless connection. It implements key negotiation with a WPA Authenticator and it controls the

roaming and IEEE 802.11.