DO
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PRELIMINARY
Chapter
3
Atheros Communications, Inc.
Windows Millennium Edition
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3
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7
COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL
July 2002
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3
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7
Selecting Encryption Types
Atheros supports two encryption types; Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and
Advanced Encryption Security (AES). While WEP is universally supported
and commonly used, AES provides a much higher level of security, that is,
frames encrypted with AES are more difficult to decipher without knowing
the key. To use AES, you must specify a unique key.
Select the encryption type automatically (auto) or manually at both the STA
and AP. See the set cipher command in the AR5001 AP User’s Guide for
information on configuring the encryption type on the AP. By specifying auto,
the STA and AP will negotiate and attempt to use AES before exchanging data
packets. If AES is not supported by the STA or AP, WEP is used. Manual
selection allows you to specify the encryption type. By default, the STA is set
to auto and will first attempt to use AES and will only use WEP if the AP only
supports, or is configured for WEP only.
NOTE:
AES is not supported in ad hoc mode, since ad hoc mode does not support
unique keys.
