The Wireless Access System for the CASE network
Last Updated: Wed Feb 13 15:39:29 EST 2008
This document describes the basic design of the wireless
network currently installed at the University.
System Design
The current wireless data system employed at CWRU
utilizes an IEEE 802.11g standard-based system. The
wireless access points are
Cisco
Aironet 1200 wireless access points.
The access points are configured to be
compatible with IEEE 802.11g and 802.11g compliant wireless client
interface cards.
The Aironet 1200 series access points are capable of using
both 802.11b/802.11g and 802.11a radios, though only 802.11b/802.11g radios
are currently deployed.
In the future, CWRU will deploy access points compatible with
the IEEE 802.11n standard. Technology Infrastructure Services
is also exploring the 802.11a wireless standard where appropriate.
The access points are placed in a private network separate
from the CASE network and the rest of the Internet. Basic
services are provided in the private network including
DHCP, DNS, NTP and VPN. VPN provides the only mechanism for
accessing the University network from the private
network. All wireless clients must install VPN
client software and have a valid CASE Network ID and password
in order to be able to use the VPN service.
Only current CWRU students, faculty and staff are
authorized to use the VPN service. The wireless network itself is
available to all.
The VPN software creates an IPsec encrypted tunnel to
carry traffic between the client and the VPN server.
This prevents sniffing of network traffic between the
client and the VPN server.
An additional security mechanism we are investigating as a
supplement and possible eventual replacement for VPN is
Wi-Fi Protected Access version 2,
or WPA2. WPA2's goal is to correct the well-known flaws in
Wired Equivalent Privacy,
or WEP. The
Wi-Fi Alliance
standardized WPA2 and its predecessor WPA,
in an attempt to expidite the availability of
wireless security, with interoperability as an explicit goal.
The Wi-Fi Alliance's intent is that existing Wi-Fi compliant
hardware can be made to use WPA2 through simple firmware upgrades.
802.11 Planet has a good
summary of WPA2.
More information will come as our work progresses.
Comments and Feedback
We are always interested to hear your comments and feedback regarding
the University network and the Network Engineering and Security group.
Please send your comments and feedback to:
Chet Ramey, Assistant Director, TIS
