Barracuda NextGen F-Series Firewalls with built-in Wi-Fi can configure the Wi-Fi to act as a Wi-Fi client or Access Point. Configuring the Wi-Fi card as a client allows you to use Wi-Fi networks as a WAN connection.
Before you begin
- Go to CONFIGURATION > Configuration Tree > Box > Network and verify that all configured direct attached routes for the Wi-Fi interfaces are removed or disabled in the routing table.
- Go to CONFIGURATION > Configuration Tree > Box > Virtual Servers > your virtual server > Server Properties and verify that no Virtual Server IP Addresses from the preconfigured Wi-Fi networks are configured.
- When configuring several Wi-Fi networks, verify that every Wi-Fi service has its own IP address entered in the Service Properties configuration. This IP address must also exist on the Virtual Server that hosts the Wi-Fi service.
Step 1. Add wireless networks
Add the configuration of the wireless network you want to connect to. You can configure more than one wireless network.
- Go to CONFIGURATION > Configuration Tree > Box > Network.
- Click Lock.
- In the left menu, click Wi-Fi.
- Set Wi-Fi Enabled to yes.
- From the Location drop-down list, select your country.
- From the Wi-Fi Operation Mode drop-down list, select Wireless Client.
- Set Standby Mode to no.
- Select the Network Selection Mode:
- Explicit Network Selection – Use the Selected Network configured below.
- Opportunistic Network Selection – Select the wireless network configured in the Wireless Networks - Client list with the best signal strength.
- Click + to add a wireless network to the Wireless Networks Client list.
- Enter a Name.
- Click OK. The Wireless Networks window opens.
- Enter the Network SSID.
- Select the IP Assignment mode:
- Via DHCP – Use DHCP to receive an IP address.
- Via explicit config – Manually configure routes and IP address for the interface ath1. For more information, see Routing and How to Configure Virtual Servers.
- Configure the Authentication settings to match your wireless network:
- Authentication Mode
- 802.11i Security
- Encryption Mode
- WPA Preshared Key – Enter the passphrase if WPA Preshared Key is selected as Authentication Mode.
- EAP Credentials – Click Set to enter the EAP scheme configuration if a WPA EAP authentication mode is used.
- To use the DNS servers provided by the Access Point, set Use Provider DNS to yes.
- (IP Assignment via DHCP only) Configure Routing through the DHCP interface to configure a default route and the metric.
- Click OK.
- (Explicit Network Selection Mode only) Select one of the wireless networks you configured in step 1.
- Click Send Changes and Activate.
Step 2. Activate the network changes
Activate the network configuration with a Failsafe network activation.
For more information, see How to Activate Network Changes.