Cisco Aironet 1200 Series Security

[GreenMan100]

I have a notebook (windows XP) with a wireless g card and a Cisco Aironet 1200 Series wireless access point g. I would like to setup the most secure connection I can while keeping setup very easy.

1. What is the best encryption to use without getting super complex? How do I setup the encryption?

2. Do I need to purchase any other hardware? Can I setup everything with the two devices I already have?

 

[Enkrypted]

I'm not too familiar with Cisco routers, but let me see if I can be of some assistance. I looked at the data sheet for this router and it gives the following information for the security protocols this router handles:

Wi-Fi Protected Access) A security protocol for wireless 802.11 networks from the Wi-Fi Alliance that was developed to provide a migration from WEP. The WPA logo certifies that devices are compliant with a subset of the IEEE 802.11i protocol. WPA2 certifies full support for 802.11i.

Strong Security

WPA and WPA2 use a sophisticated key hierarchy that generates new encryption keys each time a mobile device establishes itself with an access point. Protocols including 802.1X, EAP and RADIUS are used for strong authentication. Like WEP, keys can still be entered manually (preshared keys); however, using a RADIUS authentication server provides automatic key generation and enterprise-wide authentication.


WPA - 802.11i Subset for Migration Upgrades

WPA's Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) uses the same RC4 algorithm as WEP for encryption, but adds sophisticated key management and effective message integrity checking. TKIP was designed to be efficient enough to work in older WEP devices by updating their firmware to WPA. See WEP.


WPA2 - Full 802.11i

In addition to TKIP, WPA2 supports the AES-CCMP encryption protocol. Based on the very secure AES national standard cipher combined with sophisticated cryptographic techniques, AES-CCMP was specifically designed for wireless networks. AES-CCMP requires more computing power than TKIP, and migration from WEP to WPA2 requires new hardware. Devices running in WPA2 mode are not backward compatible with WEP. See 802.11i, AES-CCMP, 802.1X, EAP and RADIUS.

It seems to me that you should set it up as a WPA or WPA2. It should tell how to setup security in your routers manual. (ie how to get in to the configuration pages.)

Enkrypted
A+

 

[GreenMan100]

Thanks for the info.

I am really looking for a 'how to' document to setup encryption. The cisco documentation is too complex for me since I am not a cisco expert. Is there a step by step document available that will tell me how to setup AES or WPA?