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Barracuda CloudGen Firewall

This Firmware Version Is End-Of-Support

Documentation for this product is no longer updated. Please see End-of-Support for CloudGen Firewall Firmware for further information on our EoS policy.

How to Configure a Wi-Fi Network

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The CloudGen Firewalls F101, F201, F280, and F301 are equipped with a Wi-Fi network module supporting IEEE 802.11 b/g/n with a maximum transmission rate of 54 Mbps and 108 Mbps in SuperG mode for compatible client devices. By using WPA and WPA2 with a RADIUS authentication server, you can encrypt wireless networks. The CloudGen Firewall F can serve up to three independent Wi-Fi networks with different SSIDs. You can configure each Wi-Fi network with a landing page serving either a confirmation message or a ticketing system for guest network access.

Step 1. Configure the Wi-Fi Interface

To configure basic network settings for the Wi-Fi module:

  1. Go to NETWORK > IP Configuration.
  2. In the Static Interface Configuration section, edit one of the available Wi-Fi interfaces (ath0, ath2, ath3) if you want to change the IP address configuration.
  3. Click Save.

Step 2. Configure the Wi-Fi Settings

When the static Wi-Fi network interface is available, Wi-Fi can be activated. The SSID, wireless security, and authentication can also be adjusted.

  1. Go to NETWORK > IP Configuration.
  2. In the Wi-Fi Link Configuration section, select the Activate Wi-Fi check box to enable Wi-Fi.
  3. From the Location list, select the country that your firewall is located in.
  4. Click Save.
Configure Radio Settings

To configure the radio channel and transmission rate:

  1. Click Configure Radio and edit the radio settings.
    • For more transmission power and a larger range of radio reception, select a higher mW value from the Power list.

      Only F180 chips are capable of transmitting more than 16 dBm.

    • For higher data throughput, select a higher Mbps value from the Bitrate list.
    • To bond two channels for a transmission rate of up to 108 Mbps, set SuperG to Yes. When you enable this setting, verify that all clients connecting to this access point support SuperG mode.
  2. Click Save.
  3. At the top of the page, click the warning message to execute the new network configuration.
  4. Log into the firewall again.
Configure a Wi-Fi Access Point

To edit a Wi-Fi access point:

  1. Click Edit for the access point you want to enable (Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi2, Wi-Fi3).
  2. In the SSID field, enter the Service Set IDentifier (SSID). This name is displayed to Wi-Fi clients that search for available Wi-Fi signals.
  3. From the Security Level list, select one of the following options:
    • High – WPA2 (Recommended).
    • Medium – WPA.
    • None – No encryption.
  4. From the Authentication list, select one of the following options:
    • WPA-PSK – Use this option when key management should be done locally on the firewall. Then define a preshared key.
    • WPA-RADIUS/EAP – Use this option when key management is done by a RADIUS server. Then, enter the RADIUS server information into the RADIUS Configuration section.
  5. Click Save.

Step 3. Enable the DHCP Server

To assign IP addresses to clients that are connected to the Wi-Fi network, enable the DHCP server of the firewall. 

  1. Go to NETWORK > DHCP Server. Clients with an active lease are listed in the Active Leases section.
  2. In the DHCP Server section, set Enable DHCP Server to Yes.
  3. If you change the network configuration of the default Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi2 interfaces, modify the available subnets or create a new one.
  4. Click Save.

Step 4. Configure the Access Rule for Wi-Fi

There is a predefined access rule named  WIFI-2-INTERNET that only applies to the first Wi-Fi network (ath0). To allow other networks, you can either edit a copy of the rule for the other networks or edit the rule directly to include all subnets.

  1. Go to FIREWALL > Access Rules.
  2. To edit a copy of the WIFI-2-INTERNET rule:
    1. Copy the WIFI-2-INTERNET rule. The rule copy is created at the bottom of the ruleset.
    2. Edit the WIFI-2-INTERNET-COPY rule.
    3. Click the Advanced tab and change Interface Group to WIFI or WIFI3.
  3. To directly edit the  WIFI-2-INTERNET rule to include all subnets:
    1. Edit  the WIFI-2-INTERNET rule.
    2. Click the Advanced tab and select Matching from the Interface Group list.
    3. Click the General tab and change Source to specify the Wi-Fi subnets.
  4. At the top of the rule editor window, click Save.

Step 5. Verify the Order of the Access Rules

Because rules are processed from top to bottom in the ruleset, arrange your rules in the correct order. In addition, verify that your rules are placed above the BLOCKALL rule; otherwise, the rules are blocked.

After adjusting the order of rules in the rule set, click Save.

Step 6. (optional) Configure a Landing Page

To forward clients to a landing page that displays a Confirmation Message or serves a Ticketing system, enable the feature. For more information, see How to Configure Guest Access with the Ticketing System and How to Configure Guest Access with a Confirmation Page.

Troubleshooting

If the Wi-Fi interface is not available:

  1. Verify that you completed all the configuration steps.
  2. Make sure that the system is up-to-date with firmware patches.
  3. Try to restart the firewall.

If Wi-Fi still is not enabled, contact Barracuda Networks Technical Support.