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724-746-5500 | blackbox.com
Chapter 8: Basic Configuration Examples
Enable MAC Authentication: (clear)
User profile assigned to users that associate with this SSID: default-profile
The predefined user profile "default-profile" applies the standard SmartPath Quality of Service level through the
predefined QoS policy "def-user-qos" and assigns user traffic to VLAN 1.
SSID Broadcast Band: 2.4 GHz (11n/b/g)
SmartPath APs have two radios: a 2.4-GHz radio, which supports 802.11n/b/g, and a 5-GHz radio, which supports
802.11n/a. On all SmartPath AP models, both radios can function concurrently. This setting broadcasts the SSID on the
wifi0 interface, which is bound to the 2.4-GHz radio. (There is an assumption that your clients support at least one of the
following IEEE standards: 802.11n, 802.11g, or 802.11b.)
As will be seen later in this chapter, one SmartPath AP will be deployed as a mesh point; that is, it will not have an
Ethernet connection but will connect to the wired network over a wireless backhaul link through another SmartPath AP
that does have an Ethernet connection (see Section 8.5). Because of this, the SmartPath APs must use one radio for
wireless backhaul communications and the other radio for client access. By default, both the 2.4-GHz and 5-GHz radios
are in access mode.
In the series of examples in this chapter, you set the 5-GHz radio in backhaul mode, and the 2.4-GHz radio in access
mode. Therefore, you assign the SSID to the 2.4-GHz band.
To see how the different SSID settings determine the way that the SmartPath AP advertises the SSID and how clients form
associations with it, see Figure 8-2.
Beacons
Client
SSID: test1-psk
Key method: WPA-PSK or WPA2-PSK
Encryption: CCMP (AES) or TKIP
Supported rates and capabilities
The SmartPath AP broadcasts beacons advertising
the SSID “test1-psk” and its security and network
capabilities on the 2.4 GHz band.
If the client sends a probe request to discover
available SSIDs, the SmartPath AP responds with
the same information as that in its beacons.
The client sends an authentication request, and
because WPA and WPA2 use open authentication,
the response always accepts the request.
The client sends its capabilities, and the SmartPath AP
replies if these are acceptable or not. If they are, it
creates an association ID and sends it to the client.
The SmartPath AP and client exchange the preshared
key and other information to derive keys to encrypt
unicast traffic. (Later, they derive encryption keys for
multicast and broadcast traffic as well.)
Beacons
Probe Request
Probe Response
Authentication Request
Authentication Response
Association Request
Association Response
Four-Way Handshake
SmartPath AP
Figure 8-2. How a client discovers the SSID and forms a secure association.