3-18
AWK-3131A-M12-RCC
Web Console Configuration
EAP Protocol
Setting
Description
Factory Default
TLS
Specifies Transport Layer Security protocol
TLS
TTLS
Specifies Tunneled Transport Layer Security
PEAP
Specifies Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol, or
Protected EAP
Before choosing the EAP protocol for your WPA/WPA2-Enterpise settings on the client end, please contact the
network administrator to make sure the system supports the protocol on the AP end. Detailed information on
these three popular EAP protocols is presented in the following sections.
EAP-TLS
TLS is the standards-based successor to Secure Socket Layer (SSL). It can establish a trusted communication
channel over a distrusted network. TLS provides mutual authentication through certificate exchange. EAP-TLS
is also secure to use. You are required to submit a digital certificate to the authentication server for validation,
but the authentication server must also supply a certificate.
You can use Basic Wireless Settings
WLAN Certificate Settings to import your WLAN certificate and
enable EAP-TLS on the client end.
You can check the current certificate status in Current Status if it is available.
•
Certificate issued to: Shows the certificate user
•
Certificate issued by: Shows the certificate issuer
•
Certificate expiration date: Indicates when the certificate has expired
EAP-TTLS
It is usually much easier to re-use existing authentication systems, such as a Windows domain or Active
Directory, LDAP directory, or Kerberos realm, rather than creating a parallel authentication system. As a result,
TTLS (Tunneled TLS) and PEAP (Protected EAP) are used to support the use of so-called “legacy authentication
methods.”
TTLS and PEAP work in a similar way. First, they establish a TLS tunnel (EAP-TLS for example), and validate
whether the network is trustworthy with digital certificates on the authentication server. This step establishes
a tunnel that protects the next step (or “inner” authentication), and consequently is sometimes referred to as
“outer” authentication. The TLS tunnel is then used to encrypt an older authentication protocol that
authenticates the user for the network.
As you can see, digital certificates are still needed for outer authentication in a simplified form. Only a small
number of certificates are required, which can be generated by a small certificate authority. Certificate
reduction makes TTLS and PEAP much more popular than EAP-TLS.