Re: A couple of minor issues with NM

[Timothy Murphy <tim birdsnest maths tcd ie>]

On Saturday 23 December 2006 23:47, Matthew Saltzman wrote:

> > What exactly is the different between "shared" and "open"?
> > I just have a key set on my access point,
> > and I give that key on each machine accessing the AP.
> > Is that shared or open?
> >
> > Actually, I tried replying both "shared" and "open",
> > but I didn't see any difference in the response.
>
> Does your access point have a setting for shared vs. open?  That
> determines what the clients are supposed to do.

Thanks for your explanation.
I checked my access point (a Linksys WRT54LG running dd-wrt)
and there is no mention of "shared" or "open" that I can see.
I am asked if I want to use a key, and if so what kind
(WEP, WPA, RADIUS, etc).

>
> In open access there is no authentication:
>
>    1. The station sends an authentication request to the access point.
>    2. The access point authenticates the station.
>    3. The station associates with the access point and joins the network.
>
> In shared-key access there is a key exchange for authentication:
>
>     1. The station sends an authentication request to the access point.
>     2. The access point sends challenge text to the station.
>     3. The station uses its configured 64-bit or 128-bit default key to
> encrypt the challenge text, and it sends the encrypted text to the access
> point.
>     4. The access point decrypts the encrypted text using its configured
> WEP key that corresponds to the station's default key. The access point
> compares the decrypted text with the original challenge text. If the
> decrypted text matches the original challenge text, then the access point
> and the station share the same WEP key, and the access point authenticates
> the station.
>     5. The station connects to the network.
>
> (From
> http://documentation.netgear.com/reference/fra/wireless/.)
>
> Note that authentication is distinct from whether transmissions are
> encrypted, although the sme key may be used for both authentication and
> encryption.

It seems from this that "open" means "no key" and "shared" means "key".

I've found that I can usually force NM to work as I wish
by editing ~/.kde/share/config/knetworkmanagerrc .

However, I don't consider this is very satisfactory.



-- 
Timothy Murphy  
e-mail (<80k only): tim /at/ birdsnest.maths.tcd.ie
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland