ZyXEL NWA-3500 User’s Guide
163
C
H A P T E R
14
Certificates
This chapter gives background information about public-key certificates and explains how to
use them.
14.1 Certificates Overview
The ZyXEL Device can use certificates (also called digital IDs) to authenticate users.
Certificates are based on public-private key pairs. A certificate contains the certificate owner’s
identity and public key. Certificates provide a way to exchange public keys for use in
authentication.
A Certification Authority (CA) issues certificates and guarantees the identity of each
certificate owner. There are commercial certification authorities like CyberTrust or VeriSign
and government certification authorities. You can use the ZyXEL Device to generate
certification requests that contain identifying information and public keys and then send the
certification requests to a certification authority.
In public-key encryption and decryption, each host has two keys. One key is public and can be
made openly available; the other key is private and must be kept secure. Public-key encryption
in general works as follows.
1
Tim wants to send a private message to Jenny. Tim generates a public key pair. What is
encrypted with one key can only be decrypted using the other.
2
Tim keeps the private key and makes the public key openly available.
3
Tim uses his private key to encrypt the message and sends it to Jenny.
4
Jenny receives the message and uses Tim’s public key to decrypt it.
5
Additionally, Jenny uses her own private key to encrypt a message and Tim uses Jenny’s
public key to decrypt the message.
The ZyXEL Device uses certificates based on public-key cryptology to authenticate users
attempting to establish a connection, not to encrypt the data that you send after establishing a
connection. The method used to secure the data that you send through an established
connection depends on the type of connection. For example, a VPN tunnel might use the triple
DES encryption algorithm.
The certification authority uses its private key to sign certificates. Anyone can then use the
certification authority’s public key to verify the certificates.
A certification path is the hierarchy of certification authority certificates that validate a
certificate. The ZyXEL Device does not trust a certificate if any certificate on its path has
expired or been revoked.
Summary of Contents for NWA-3500
Page 2: ......
Page 7: ...Safety Warnings ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 7 ...
Page 8: ...Safety Warnings ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 8 ...
Page 10: ...Contents Overview ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 10 ...
Page 20: ...Table of Contents ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 20 ...
Page 26: ...List of Figures ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 26 ...
Page 30: ...List of Tables ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 30 ...
Page 32: ...32 ...
Page 42: ...Chapter 1 Introducing the ZyXEL Device ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 42 ...
Page 50: ...Chapter 3 Status Screens ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 50 ...
Page 78: ...Chapter 4 Tutorial ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 78 ...
Page 80: ...80 ...
Page 102: ...Chapter 6 Wireless Configuration ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 102 ...
Page 118: ...Chapter 7 Wireless Security Configuration ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 118 ...
Page 126: ...Chapter 8 MBSSID and SSID ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 126 ...
Page 140: ...Chapter 10 IP Screen ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 140 ...
Page 156: ...Chapter 12 Remote Management Screens ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 156 ...
Page 180: ...Chapter 14 Certificates ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 180 ...
Page 204: ...Chapter 16 VLAN ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 204 ...
Page 214: ...Chapter 17 Maintenance ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 214 ...
Page 216: ...216 ...
Page 230: ...Chapter 22 System Password ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 230 ...
Page 250: ...Chapter 25 System Maintenance and Information ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 250 ...
Page 256: ...256 ...
Page 260: ...Appendix B Power over Ethernet PoE Specifications ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 260 ...
Page 262: ...Appendix C Power Adaptor Specifications ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 262 ...
Page 274: ...Appendix D Setting up Your Computer s IP Address ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 274 ...
Page 310: ...Appendix H Text File Based Auto Configuration ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 310 ...
Page 314: ...Appendix I Legal Information ZyXEL NWA 3500 User s Guide 314 ...