Why do users have to manually configure wireless settings to connect to our network?

[shadow]

Ideally we want our students to connect with just their AD credentials without having to manually configure the wireless connection.

I'm looking for any documentation that can help explain why Windows requires users to manually set all the WPA-2, PEAP, etc when trying to connect wirelessly to our network.

I know in a simple environment all a user has to do is pick the SSID, click connect, and then enter the key/passphrase. Does this sort of simple connectivity only work when things like PEAP aren't involved?

 

[TonyH]

Hi,
Once each student would create and save a client profile, then when they want to log in, just click that profile. Is this too much to handle?

 

[stevech]

Ideally we want our students to connect with just their AD credentials without having to manually configure the wireless connection.

I'm looking for any documentation that can help explain why Windows requires users to manually set all the WPA-2, PEAP, etc when trying to connect wirelessly to our network.

I know in a simple environment all a user has to do is pick the SSID, click connect, and then enter the key/passphrase. Does this sort of simple connectivity only work when things like PEAP aren't involved?

What student authentication is needed for wired PCs? Most universities and enterprises have a RADIUS based authentication server to control access to the network - applies to wired and wireless. Some have more strict policies than others. WiFi has encryption on the air link - so that requires another one time step to enter that password/key.

Some enterprises change the WiFi encryption code every day - for guests.

It's all about what policies they have set.

 

[jdabbs]

When a user first attempts to connect, Windows builds an SSID profile with certain assumptions. IIRC, one of these assumptions is "automatically connect with user credentials." These are the credentials used to log into the PC, which in the case of personal devices, are likely not the student AD credentials.

If that's not it, in the case of PEAP, users will have to manually trust the server cert. You could run EAP to get around that, but then you have the issue of people intercepting AD credentials (sent as MSCHAP hashes).