Connectivity and Data Protection
Authentication
Because of the open broadcast nature of wireless LANs, designers need
to implement appropriate levels of security. The 802.11 standard
describes the following two types of authentication services: Open
System authentication and Shared Key authentication.
Open System Authentication
Open system authentication is the default authentication service that
simply announces a station’s desire to authenticate with the access
point. This is a very simple two-step process. First, the station wanting
to authenticate with an access point (or another station in the case of an
IBSS) sends an authentication management frame containing the
sending station's identity. The receiving access point (or station) then
sends back an authentication management frame indicating success or
failure of the authentication, as seen in Figure 3.1.
FIGURE 3.1
Authentication frame
