WPA and WEP Compatability

I just bought the Linksys G trio of WRT54G wireless router, PC card and PCI
adapter. They are all 802.11g products. I noticed on the online data sheets
that both the router and PC card provide WPA security; the PCI only uses
WEP.

If WPA is enabled on the router and PC card, will the PCI card still be able
to network with them and access DSL through the router?

Would Linksys conceivably provide a firmware update to the PCI card to
provide WPA? Not sure if WPA happens in hardware or software or both.
Forgive the dumb question as I am a newbie to the 802.11 a/b/g wireless
protocols (I'm still using Open Air for home wireless and decided I'd better
get up-to-date!). Thanks for any help.

Bob

Check out Linksys' website for an updated driver for your PCI card. It
seems strange that the card supports 802.11g, but not WPA. If it does not
support WPA, but does support WEP, then you have no choice except to use
WEP. I prefer WPA, but for home use, WEP is not all bad. For home use, WPA
pre-shared key is the preferred method. Because I have a Windows server
with RADIUS, I went the route of WPA RADIUS using EAP-TLS.

Jeff


"Bob Schmidt" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:8Yk0d.89$(E-Mail Removed)...
>I just bought the Linksys G trio of WRT54G wireless router, PC card and PCI
> adapter. They are all 802.11g products. I noticed on the online data
> sheets
> that both the router and PC card provide WPA security; the PCI only uses
> WEP.
>
> If WPA is enabled on the router and PC card, will the PCI card still be
> able
> to network with them and access DSL through the router?
>
> Would Linksys conceivably provide a firmware update to the PCI card to
> provide WPA? Not sure if WPA happens in hardware or software or both.
> Forgive the dumb question as I am a newbie to the 802.11 a/b/g wireless
> protocols (I'm still using Open Air for home wireless and decided I'd
> better
> get up-to-date!). Thanks for any help.
>
> Bob
>
>
>

Thanks Jeff.

I went to the Linksys website and the PCI adapter they have in the current
product page is the V4 (lower profile, somewhat different looking than (what
I assume is) the V2, which I apparently have, per googling and seeing what
was apparently an older Linksys webpage detailing this adapter that I own.

It looks like the most current driver listed for the V2 on the Linksys
website contains the WPA software--assuming that the latest driver contains
the cumulative updates of all the previous drivers. Again, I googled
"wmp54g" and came up with MY version of it and its associated userguide and
drivers but would have searched in vain on the Linksys site itself trying to
find my V2 adapter.

The reason I thought it didn't have WPA in the first place is that the
online instructions for the current V4 PCI adapter (userguide has a pic of
the V2 on the cover to add to the confusion!) had no reference to WPA.

Anyway, I guess with the change and flux in updating security standards and
hardware versions, you're sort of on your own to sort it all out! Thanks
again.

Bob


"Jeff Durham" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%Bl0d.442$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Check out Linksys' website for an updated driver for your PCI card. It
> seems strange that the card supports 802.11g, but not WPA. If it does not
> support WPA, but does support WEP, then you have no choice except to use
> WEP. I prefer WPA, but for home use, WEP is not all bad. For home use,
WPA
> pre-shared key is the preferred method. Because I have a Windows server
> with RADIUS, I went the route of WPA RADIUS using EAP-TLS.
>
> Jeff
>
>
> "Bob Schmidt" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:8Yk0d.89$(E-Mail Removed)...
> >I just bought the Linksys G trio of WRT54G wireless router, PC card and
PCI
> > adapter. They are all 802.11g products. I noticed on the online data
> > sheets
> > that both the router and PC card provide WPA security; the PCI only uses
> > WEP.
> >
> > If WPA is enabled on the router and PC card, will the PCI card still be
> > able
> > to network with them and access DSL through the router?
> >
> > Would Linksys conceivably provide a firmware update to the PCI card to
> > provide WPA? Not sure if WPA happens in hardware or software or both.
> > Forgive the dumb question as I am a newbie to the 802.11 a/b/g wireless
> > protocols (I'm still using Open Air for home wireless and decided I'd
> > better
> > get up-to-date!). Thanks for any help.
> >
> > Bob
> >
> >
> >
>
>

"Bob Schmidt" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:8Yk0d.89$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Not sure if WPA happens in hardware or software or both.

Three components must support WPA: the access point, the computer's
wireless adapter driver, and the supplicant software. The supplicant may be
part of the Operating System, as it is in a properly patched Windows XP. It
can also be add-on software for W2K such as Funk Software's Odyssey Client.

Ron Bandes, CCNP, CTT+, etc.

In article <8Yk0d.89$(E-Mail Removed)>, "Bob Schmidt" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>I just bought the Linksys G trio of WRT54G wireless router, PC card and PCI
>adapter. They are all 802.11g products. I noticed on the online data sheets
>that both the router and PC card provide WPA security; the PCI only uses
>WEP.
>
>If WPA is enabled on the router and PC card, will the PCI card still be able
>to network with them and access DSL through the router?
>
>Would Linksys conceivably provide a firmware update to the PCI card to
>provide WPA? Not sure if WPA happens in hardware or software or both.
>Forgive the dumb question as I am a newbie to the 802.11 a/b/g wireless
>protocols (I'm still using Open Air for home wireless and decided I'd better
>get up-to-date!). Thanks for any help.
>
>Bob
>
>
>

Don't count on linkys to upgrade drivers for the pci card, they generally
pretend products from the WPA era do not exist anymore. This helps Cisco
generate more sales.

fundamentalism, fundamentally wrong.

In article <%Bl0d.442$(E-Mail Removed)>, "Jeff Durham" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>Check out Linksys' website for an updated driver for your PCI card. It
>seems strange that the card supports 802.11g, but not WPA.

They have a lot of stuff out like that, depends on which side of the buyout
your product was made on. Pre Cisco owners are on their own for new drivers
etc.

> If it does not
>support WPA, but does support WEP, then you have no choice except to use
>WEP. I prefer WPA, but for home use, WEP is not all bad. For home use, WPA
>pre-shared key is the preferred method. Because I have a Windows server
>with RADIUS, I went the route of WPA RADIUS using EAP-TLS.
>
>Jeff
>
>
>"Bob Schmidt" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>news:8Yk0d.89$(E-Mail Removed)...
>>I just bought the Linksys G trio of WRT54G wireless router, PC card and PCI
>> adapter. They are all 802.11g products. I noticed on the online data
>> sheets
>> that both the router and PC card provide WPA security; the PCI only uses
>> WEP.
>>
>> If WPA is enabled on the router and PC card, will the PCI card still be
>> able
>> to network with them and access DSL through the router?
>>
>> Would Linksys conceivably provide a firmware update to the PCI card to
>> provide WPA? Not sure if WPA happens in hardware or software or both.
>> Forgive the dumb question as I am a newbie to the 802.11 a/b/g wireless
>> protocols (I'm still using Open Air for home wireless and decided I'd
>> better
>> get up-to-date!). Thanks for any help.
>>
>> Bob
>>
>>
>>
>
>

fundamentalism, fundamentally wrong.