Wireless Network Configuration and Security Strategies

摘要

Now that I've reviewed some of the theoretical issues related to wireless technologies, I'll move on to examine the practical aspects of setting up a wireless network. Wireless access points and the client computers that connect to them must be properly configured to operate on a TCP/IP network. Unless a network has specifically been configured otherwise, wireless clients receive their TCP/IP configuration details through DHCP (see Chapter I, p. 11). It would be extremely inconvenient for a network administrator to manually assign IP addresses to wireless clients' computers every time they roam into an organization's network. Although there may be authentication credentials that need to be manually entered, most wireless users won't need to manually set their IP addresses, default gateways, subnet masks, or any of the other TCP/IP configuration details (see Chapter Ⅰ, "Network Basics"). One prominent exception to this may be networks on which the system administrator needs tight control of each individual device.