WEP group keys

The WEP method uses keys of 40 (WEP64), 104 (WEP128) or 128 bits (WEP152) in length. Each WLAN interface has four WEP keys: A special key for each logical WLAN interface and three common group WEP keys for each physical WLAN interface.

Important: If 802.1X/EAP is in use and the Enable dynamic re-keying option is enabled under Wireless LAN > 802.1X > Interfaces, the group keys from 802.1X/EAP are used and are consequently no longer available for WEP encryption.
Note: As of LCOS 9.00 the system no longer displays WPA and WEP group keys in cleartext on the CLI, but masked (********). As a result, it is no longer possible to read these keys via SNMP, for example.




LANconfig: Wireless LAN > Encryption > WEP group keys

Command line: Setup > Interfaces > WLAN > Group-Encryption-Keys

Rules for entering WEP keys

WEP keys can be entered as ASCII characters or in hexadecimal form. The hexadecimal form begins with the characters '0x'. The keys have a length depending on the WEP method:

Method ASCII HEX
WEP 64 5 character example: 'aR45Z' 10 character example: '0x0A5C1B6D8E'
WEP 128 13 characters 26 characters
WEP 152 16 characters 32 characters

The ASCII character set includes the characters '0' to '9', 'a' to 'z', 'A' to 'Z' and the following special characters: ! ” # $ % & ´ () * + , - ./ : ; < = > ? @ [ \ ] ^ _ ‘ { | } ~

The HEX form uses the numbers '0' to '9' and the letters 'A' to 'F' to display each character as a character pair, which is why twice the number of characters is required to display a HEX key.

Select the length and the format (ASCII or HEX) of the key depending on the best option available in the wireless network cards that register with your WLAN. If the encryption in an AP is set to WEP 152, some clients may not be able to log into the WLAN as their hardware does not support the key length.

www.lancom-systems.com

LANCOM Systems GmbH | A Rohde & Schwarz Company | Adenauerstr. 20/B2 | 52146 Wuerselen | Germany | E‑Mail info@lancom.de

LANCOM Logo