Wireless Network Access and Authentication, DSC - Graduate Diploma in ICT

Running head: GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN ICT
Graduate Diploma in ICT
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN ICT
Table of Contents
Part 1: Wireless Network Access and Authentication.........................................................2
1.1. Introduction...............................................................................................................2
1.2. Personal/Home wireless Authentication...................................................................2
1.3. Corporate/ Enterprise wireless authentication..........................................................4
1.4. Conclusion................................................................................................................5
Part 2: DSC..........................................................................................................................7
2.1. Introduction...............................................................................................................7
2.2. Desired State Configuration.....................................................................................7
2.3. Importance of DSC for system Administrators........................................................8
2.4. Impact on Administrative Burden and Alternative Technology...............................9
2.5. Conclusion..............................................................................................................10
References..........................................................................................................................11

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GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN ICT
Part 1: Wireless Network Access and Authentication
1.1. Introduction
Wireless network technology is mostly used in modern network. This is mostly because
of its ease of access and the increasing advantages it provides on basis of wired network. A
wireless networking point or device is a networking hardware device that allows a WIFI enabled
device to connect to a wired network. Authentication is wireless network is essential for
improving the security of the wireless devices. Appropriate authentication allows only the trusted
individuals to access a network of wireless devices thus ensuring its secure usage (Vilius, Liu,
Panneerselvam & Stimpson, 2015). Authentication of a network is a security process that
validates the authenticity or identity of a user by making use of a valid username and a password.
The different wireless data security protocols and wireless network authentication process related
to personal network, home and enterprise network are discussed in the following paragraphs.
1.2. Personal/Home wireless Authentication
For home wireless authentication, three wireless authentication protocols can be used,
which are WEP, WPA and WPA2. For home or personal wireless authentication, WPA2 is
mostly used.
WEP or Wired Equivalent privacy is a security algorithm that is generally used for IEEE
802.11 wireless networks (Waliullah, Moniruzzaman & Rahman, 2015). It makes use of a four
step challenge response handshake for authentication and security. It is one of the most primitive
methods of authentication and is hardy used nowadays because of the different security issues
associated with WEP.

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GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN ICT
WPA or WiFi protected access is another wireless authentication protocol that can be
used for solving certain security problems associated with the use of wireless networks. It
provides a more sophisticated data encryption and authentication over WEP (Sari & Karay,
2015). The WPA used for secure home or personal network is also called WPA-PSK or WPA
personal.
WPA 2 or Wifi protected access II is a authentication protocol that is mostly used in
home networks. This authentication protocol is based on IEEE 802.11i technology of standard
encryption. WPA 2 provides an additional layer of security to the wireless network in
comparison to WPA (Khasawneh, Kajman, Alkhudaidy & Althubyani, 2014). WPA2 for
personal use mainly utilize manually configured keys for authentication. The clients in this
method make use of same master key. This standard was finalized in June 2004 and it makes use
of counter mode and CCMP protocol which is based on advanced encryption standard algorithm
for authentication and data encryption. WPA2 is one of most secure authentication protocol and
therefore is widely used for protecting the home and the personal wireless networks.
Appropriate administration of the devices associated with home or personal wireless
network is essential in order to ensure that no data is lost. With the use of appropriate wireless
authentication protocols, the administrative burden could considerably be reduced. WPA2
mainly works on basis of a pre shared key that ensures accurate security of the devices connected
to the home network.
The WPA-PSK or WPA II is generally designed for home users. The configuration
process of the devices includes configuration of the router by making use of a Temporal key