Identifying A Wlan - Dell 2350 User Manual

Identifying a WLAN

An ESSID and BSSID are both Service Set Identifiers (SSID) that identify and control the
wireless client's access to a given WLAN. The SSID is sometimes referred to as the network
name. The SSID indicates what WLAN you are referring to. In most cases, the user interface
displays the SSID.
When installing an access point or wireless adapter in a wireless client, the installation
program asks you to enter the SSID. Dell cannot provide you with this information, as it is
specific to your network; but you may choose to use the default SSID, wireless, for your
Wireless 2350. All wireless clients and access points in a WLAN must use the same network
name.
Encryption
In a WLAN, wireless clients and access points send and receive information through the air.
Without implementing security, it is possible for an unauthorized person to intercept the
information.
A common way of implementing security and protecting information is encryption. Encryption
applies a set of instructions, called an algorithm, to information. The instructions combine the
plain or clear text of information with a sequence of hexadecimal numbers, called an
encryption key.
Before transmitting information over the airwaves, the wireless client or access point encrypts
or scrambles the information. The access point or wireless client receiving the information
uses the same key to decrypt or unscramble the information. The information is only readable
to WLAN devices that have the correct encryption key. The longer the key is, the stronger the
encryption.
The Wireless 2350 supports both Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) and Wi-Fi Protected
Access (WPA).
WEP
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) provides a way of creating an encrypted key that is shared
between a wireless client (such as a notebook with a wireless PC card) and the router. In the
Wireless 2350, WEP is an optional feature that can be enabled or disabled. When WEP
encryption is enabled, you must set the WEP key in the client to match the WEP key used by