Configuration for AP and Clients

I have setup a Spark Lan AP with the following:-

SSID - Wireless
Authentication - Shared Key
WEP - Enabled
WEP Encryption - 128Bit
Keys 1 - 4 - have the same 26 Hex key, default key is 1

On the Sony laptop I have a Planet WL-3560 PCMCIA card with the following,
on Windows XP Pro SP1a:-
SSID - Wireless
Wireless Mode -Infrastructure
Encryption - Enabled
Authentication Mode - Auto
Key - is as per the AP, 26 Hex.

The laptop can see the wireless connection sometime but it will not pick up
an ip address nor do I see any signal strength. Using the site survey it
see's the AP and all the info.

If I change the AP Authentication from Shared to Open the laptop immediately
connections and I get signal strength.

Can someone tell me is it OK to leave the authentication mode to Open. What
is the difference between Open and Shared?

TIA
Dave

The difference between open and shared is how the authentication
process works. Open is actually the more secure method. In open the
client and the access point never send any packets unencrypted., In
shared a client requests authentication unencrypted, the access point
sends a packet unencrypted and asks the client to send it back
encrypted. If the packet comes back encrypted and with the correct key
then the AP will tell the client he is authenticated.

There are some very good papers on the cisco web site that will
explain this much better then I can.





"Dave Taylor" <dt-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:<40b2225f.0@entanet>...
> I have setup a Spark Lan AP with the following:-
>
> SSID - Wireless
> Authentication - Shared Key
> WEP - Enabled
> WEP Encryption - 128Bit
> Keys 1 - 4 - have the same 26 Hex key, default key is 1
>
> On the Sony laptop I have a Planet WL-3560 PCMCIA card with the following,
> on Windows XP Pro SP1a:-
> SSID - Wireless
> Wireless Mode -Infrastructure
> Encryption - Enabled
> Authentication Mode - Auto
> Key - is as per the AP, 26 Hex.
>
> The laptop can see the wireless connection sometime but it will not pick up
> an ip address nor do I see any signal strength. Using the site survey it
> see's the AP and all the info.
>
> If I change the AP Authentication from Shared to Open the laptop immediately
> connections and I get signal strength.
>
> Can someone tell me is it OK to leave the authentication mode to Open. What
> is the difference between Open and Shared?
>
> TIA
> Dave

K Bloch,

Thanks for the information I will have a look.

Dave

"K Bloch" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) om...
> The difference between open and shared is how the authentication
> process works. Open is actually the more secure method. In open the
> client and the access point never send any packets unencrypted., In
> shared a client requests authentication unencrypted, the access point
> sends a packet unencrypted and asks the client to send it back
> encrypted. If the packet comes back encrypted and with the correct key
> then the AP will tell the client he is authenticated.
>
> There are some very good papers on the cisco web site that will
> explain this much better then I can.
>
>
>
>
>
> "Dave Taylor" <dt-(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:<40b2225f.0@entanet>...
> > I have setup a Spark Lan AP with the following:-
> >
> > SSID - Wireless
> > Authentication - Shared Key
> > WEP - Enabled
> > WEP Encryption - 128Bit
> > Keys 1 - 4 - have the same 26 Hex key, default key is 1
> >
> > On the Sony laptop I have a Planet WL-3560 PCMCIA card with the
following,
> > on Windows XP Pro SP1a:-
> > SSID - Wireless
> > Wireless Mode -Infrastructure
> > Encryption - Enabled
> > Authentication Mode - Auto
> > Key - is as per the AP, 26 Hex.
> >
> > The laptop can see the wireless connection sometime but it will not pick
up
> > an ip address nor do I see any signal strength. Using the site survey
it
> > see's the AP and all the info.
> >
> > If I change the AP Authentication from Shared to Open the laptop
immediately
> > connections and I get signal strength.
> >
> > Can someone tell me is it OK to leave the authentication mode to Open.
What
> > is the difference between Open and Shared?
> >
> > TIA
> > Dave