27.3. Wireless Networking

27.3.3.1.2.1. Selecting an Access Point

Most of time it is sufficient to let the system choose an access point using the builtin heuristics. This is the default behaviour when you mark an interface up or otherwise configure an interface by listing it in /etc/rc.conf, e.g.:

ifconfig_ath0="DHCP"

If there are multiple access points and you want to select a specific one, you can select it by its SSID:

ifconfig_ath0="ssid your_ssid_here DHCP"

In an environment where there are multiple access points with the same SSID (often done to simplify roaming) it may be necessary to associate to one specific device. In this case you can also specify the BSSID of the access point (you can also leave off the SSID):

ifconfig_ath0="ssid your_ssid_here bssid xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx DHCP"

There are other ways to constrain the choice of an access point such as limiting the set of frequencies the system will scan on. This may be useful if you have a multi-band wireless card as scanning all the possible channels can be time-consuming. To limit operation to a specific band you can use the mode parameter; e.g.:

ifconfig_ath0="mode 11g ssid your_ssid_here DHCP"

will force the card to operate in 802.11g which is defined only for 2.4GHz frequencies so any 5GHz channels will not be considered. Other ways to do this are the channel parameter, to lock operation to one specific frequency, and the chanlist parameter, to specify a list of channels for scanning. More information about these parameters can be found in the ifconfig(8) manual page.

27.3.3.1.2.2. Authentication

Once you have selected an access point your station needs to authenticate before it can pass data. Authentication can happen in several ways. The most common scheme used is termed open authentication and allows any station to join the network and communicate. This is the authentication you should use for test purpose the first time you set up a wireless network. Other schemes require cryptographic handshakes be completed before data traffic can flow; either using pre-shared keys or secrets, or more complex schemes that involve backend services such as RADIUS. Most users will use open authentication which is the default setting. Next most common setup is WPA-PSK, also known as WPA Personal, which is described below.

27.3.3.1.2.3. Getting an IP Address with DHCP

Once you have selected an access point and set the authentication parameters, you will have to get an IP address to communicate. Most of time you will obtain your wireless IP address via DHCP. To achieve that, simply edit /etc/rc.conf and add DHCP to the configuration for your device as shown in various examples above:

ifconfig_ath0="DHCP"

At this point, you are ready to bring up the wireless interface:

# /etc/rc.d/netif start

Once the interface is running, use ifconfig to see the status of the interface ath0:

# ifconfig ath0
ath0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
        inet6 fe80::211:95ff:fed5:4362%ath0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x1
        inet 192.168.1.100 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.1.255
        ether 00:11:95:d5:43:62
        media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect (OFDM/54Mbps)
        status: associated
        ssid dlinkap channel 6 bssid 00:13:46:49:41:76
        authmode OPEN privacy OFF txpowmax 36 protmode CTS bintval 100

The status: associated means you are connected to the wireless network (to the dlinkap network in our case). The bssid 00:13:46:49:41:76 part is the MAC address of your access point; the authmode line informs you that the communication is not encrypted (OPEN).

27.3.3.1.2.4. Static IP Address

In the case you cannot obtain an IP address from a DHCP server, you can set a fixed IP address. Replace the DHCP keyword shown above with the address information. Be sure to retain any other parameters you have set up for selecting an access point:

ifconfig_ath0="inet 192.168.1.100 netmask 255.255.255.0 ssid your_ssid_here"

27.3.3.1.3.1. WPA-PSK

WPA-PSK also known as WPA-Personal is based on a pre-shared key (PSK) generated from a given password and that will be used as the master key in the wireless network. This means every wireless user will share the same key. WPA-PSK is intended for small networks where the use of an authentication server is not possible or desired.

The first step is the configuration of the /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf file with the SSID and the pre-shared key of your network:

network={
  ssid="freebsdap"
  psk="freebsdmall"
}

Then, in /etc/rc.conf, we indicate that the wireless device configuration will be done with WPA and the IP address will be obtained with DHCP:

ifconfig_ath0="WPA DHCP"

Then, we can bring up the interface:

# /etc/rc.d/netif start
Starting wpa_supplicant.
DHCPDISCOVER on ath0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 5
DHCPDISCOVER on ath0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67 interval 6
DHCPOFFER from 192.168.0.1
DHCPREQUEST on ath0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
DHCPACK from 192.168.0.1
bound to 192.168.0.254 -- renewal in 300 seconds.
ath0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
      inet6 fe80::211:95ff:fed5:4362%ath0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x1
      inet 192.168.0.254 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.0.255
      ether 00:11:95:d5:43:62
      media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect (OFDM/36Mbps)
      status: associated
      ssid freebsdap channel 1 bssid 00:11:95:c3:0d:ac
      authmode WPA privacy ON deftxkey UNDEF TKIP 2:128-bit txpowmax 36
      protmode CTS roaming MANUAL bintval 100

Or you can try to configure it manually using the same /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf above, and run:

# wpa_supplicant -i ath0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
Trying to associate with 00:11:95:c3:0d:ac (SSID='freebsdap' freq=2412 MHz)
Associated with 00:11:95:c3:0d:ac
WPA: Key negotiation completed with 00:11:95:c3:0d:ac [PTK=TKIP GTK=TKIP]

The next operation is the launch of the dhclient command to get the IP address from the DHCP server:

# dhclient ath0
DHCPREQUEST on ath0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
DHCPACK from 192.168.0.1
bound to 192.168.0.254 -- renewal in 300 seconds.
# ifconfig ath0
ath0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
      inet6 fe80::211:95ff:fed5:4362%ath0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x1
      inet 192.168.0.254 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.0.255
      ether 00:11:95:d5:43:62
      media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect (OFDM/48Mbps)
      status: associated
      ssid freebsdap channel 1 bssid 00:11:95:c3:0d:ac
      authmode WPA privacy ON deftxkey UNDEF TKIP 2:128-bit txpowmax 36
      protmode CTS roaming MANUAL bintval 100

In the case where the use of DHCP is not possible, you can set a static IP address after wpa_supplicant has authenticated the station:

# ifconfig ath0 inet 192.168.0.100 netmask 255.255.255.0
# ifconfig ath0
ath0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
      inet6 fe80::211:95ff:fed5:4362%ath0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x1
      inet 192.168.0.100 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.0.255
      ether 00:11:95:d5:43:62
      media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect (OFDM/36Mbps)
      status: associated
      ssid freebsdap channel 1 bssid 00:11:95:c3:0d:ac
      authmode WPA privacy ON deftxkey UNDEF TKIP 2:128-bit txpowmax 36
      protmode CTS roaming MANUAL bintval 100

When DHCP is not used, you also have to manually set up the default gateway and the nameserver:

# route add default your_default_router
# echo "nameserver your_DNS_server" >> /etc/resolv.conf

27.3.3.1.3.2. WPA with EAP-TLS

The second way to use WPA is with an 802.1X backend authentication server, in this case WPA is called WPA-Enterprise to make difference with the less secure WPA-Personal with its pre-shared key. The authentication in WPA-Enterprise is based on EAP (Extensible Authentication Protocol).

EAP does not come with an encryption method, it was decided to embed EAP inside an encrypted tunnel. Many types of EAP authentication methods have been designed, the most common methods are EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS and EAP-PEAP.

EAP-TLS (EAP with Transport Layer Security) is a very well-supported authentication protocol in the wireless world since it was the first EAP method to be certified by the Wi-Fi alliance. EAP-TLS will require three certificates to run: the CA certificate (installed on all machines), the server certificate for your authentication server, and one client certificate for each wireless client. In this EAP method, both authentication server and wireless client authenticate each other in presenting their respective certificates, and they verify that these certificates were signed by your organization's certificate authority (CA).

As previously, the configuration is done via /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf:

network={
  ssid="freebsdap" 
  proto=RSN  
  key_mgmt=WPA-EAP 
  eap=TLS 
  identity="loader" 
  ca_cert="/etc/certs/cacert.pem" 
  client_cert="/etc/certs/clientcert.pem" 
  private_key="/etc/certs/clientkey.pem" 
  private_key_passwd="freebsdmallclient" 
}

Then add the following line to /etc/rc.conf:

ifconfig_ath0="WPA DHCP"

The next step is to bring up the interface with the help of the rc.d facility:

# /etc/rc.d/netif start
Starting wpa_supplicant.
DHCPREQUEST on ath0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
DHCPREQUEST on ath0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
DHCPACK from 192.168.0.20
bound to 192.168.0.254 -- renewal in 300 seconds.
ath0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
      inet6 fe80::211:95ff:fed5:4362%ath0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x1
      inet 192.168.0.254 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.0.255
      ether 00:11:95:d5:43:62
      media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect (DS/11Mbps)
      status: associated
      ssid freebsdap channel 1 bssid 00:11:95:c3:0d:ac
      authmode WPA2/802.11i privacy ON deftxkey UNDEF TKIP 2:128-bit
      txpowmax 36 protmode CTS roaming MANUAL bintval 100

As previously shown, it is also possible to bring up the interface manually with both wpa_supplicant and ifconfig commands.

27.3.3.1.3.3. WPA with EAP-TTLS

With EAP-TLS both the authentication server and the client need a certificate, with EAP-TTLS (EAP-Tunneled Transport Layer Security) a client certificate is optional. This method is close to what some secure web sites do , where the web server can create a secure SSL tunnel even if the visitors do not have client-side certificates. EAP-TTLS will use the encrypted TLS tunnel for safe transport of the authentication data.

The configuration is done via the /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf file:

network={
  ssid="freebsdap"
  proto=RSN
  key_mgmt=WPA-EAP
  eap=TTLS 
  identity="test" 
  password="test" 
  ca_cert="/etc/certs/cacert.pem" 
  phase2="auth=MD5" 
}

You also have to add the following line to /etc/rc.conf:

ifconfig_ath0="WPA DHCP"

The next step is to bring up the interface:

# /etc/rc.d/netif start
Starting wpa_supplicant.
DHCPREQUEST on ath0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
DHCPREQUEST on ath0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
DHCPREQUEST on ath0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
DHCPACK from 192.168.0.20
bound to 192.168.0.254 -- renewal in 300 seconds.
ath0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
      inet6 fe80::211:95ff:fed5:4362%ath0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x1
      inet 192.168.0.254 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.0.255
      ether 00:11:95:d5:43:62
      media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect (DS/11Mbps)
      status: associated
      ssid freebsdap channel 1 bssid 00:11:95:c3:0d:ac
      authmode WPA2/802.11i privacy ON deftxkey UNDEF TKIP 2:128-bit
      txpowmax 36 protmode CTS roaming MANUAL bintval 100

27.3.3.1.3.4. WPA with EAP-PEAP

PEAP (Protected EAP) has been designed as an alternative to EAP-TTLS. There are two types of PEAP methods, the most common one is PEAPv0/EAP-MSCHAPv2. In the rest of this document, we will use the PEAP term to refers to that EAP method. PEAP is the most used EAP standard after EAP-TLS, in other words if you have a network with mixed OSes, PEAP should be the most supported standard after EAP-TLS.

PEAP is similar to EAP-TTLS: it uses a server-side certificate to authenticate clients by creating an encrypted TLS tunnel between the client and the authentication server, which protects the ensuing exchange of authentication information. In term of security the difference between EAP-TTLS and PEAP is that PEAP authentication broadcasts the username in clear, only the password is sent in the encrypted TLS tunnel. EAP-TTLS will use the TLS tunnel for both username and password.

We have to edit the /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf file and add the EAP-PEAP related settings:

network={
  ssid="freebsdap"
  proto=RSN
  key_mgmt=WPA-EAP
  eap=PEAP 
  identity="test" 
  password="test" 
  ca_cert="/etc/certs/cacert.pem" 
  phase1="peaplabel=0" 
  phase2="auth=MSCHAPV2" 
}

The following must be added to /etc/rc.conf:

ifconfig_ath0="WPA DHCP"

Then, we can bring up the interface:

# /etc/rc.d/netif start
Starting wpa_supplicant.
DHCPREQUEST on ath0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
DHCPREQUEST on ath0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
DHCPREQUEST on ath0 to 255.255.255.255 port 67
DHCPACK from 192.168.0.20
bound to 192.168.0.254 -- renewal in 300 seconds.
ath0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
      inet6 fe80::211:95ff:fed5:4362%ath0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x1
      inet 192.168.0.254 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.0.255
      ether 00:11:95:d5:43:62
      media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect (DS/11Mbps)
      status: associated
      ssid freebsdap channel 1 bssid 00:11:95:c3:0d:ac
      authmode WPA2/802.11i privacy ON deftxkey UNDEF TKIP 2:128-bit
      txpowmax 36 protmode CTS roaming MANUAL bintval 100