900 Mhz wireless security... is there any?

[ssnapier 0]

I am looking at a few 900 Mhz wireless systems and I am wondering what there is in terms of security on these systems. I know with wi-fi, I can use things like WPA2 Enterprise and my own custom certificates to make it pretty secure. I have also used FIPS validated equipment to add even more security, but the way I understand the 900 meg stuff it is not quite as sophisticated. Am I wrong about that?

[hardwired 0]

The analog stuff in 900 (or 2.4 or 5.8, for that matter) is pretty much garbage, wide channel widths and no security, but if you go IP based, you have a lot more options in the 900 band.

 

Ubiquiti makes a number of IP radio items for the 900 band with WPA2, Radius options (no FIPS, though) I use quite a lot of their gear, especially the 5.8 stuff. Their 2.4 gear will burn through a fair amount of foliage, especially in shorter links. (I have a 2 mile link that goes through some trees that works at full capability).

 

Redline and Alvarion claim NLOS capability for their higher band stuff that has FIPS, but I haven't tried it (pretty pricey stuff).

[ssnapier 0]

I am looking at a FIPS 140-2 (level 2) validated product from AvaLan Wireless out of Alabama. I just got off the phone with one of their people and it seems like they know what they are doing.

[thewireguys 3]

Just be careful with AvaLAN if you need high bandwidth. Their 900MHz outdoor wireless ethernet bridge is rated a smoking "1.54 Mbps data rate"

[ssnapier 0]

Just be careful with AvaLAN if you need high bandwidth. Their 900MHz outdoor wireless ethernet bridge is rated a smoking "1.54 Mbps data rate"

 

 

Yup, he was very up front about that, and I read it on their website. We would be using their stuff to fill single camera gaps in an existing network so it should be fine if that is what we decide to use.

[hardwired 0]

If you don't have to have FIPS, I've been getting ~15-20 Mbps throughput on the Ubiquiti 900 stuff, and 70+ Mbps on 2.4 and 5.8, for a lot less money.

 

Ubiquiti doesn't support certificates, but does support WPA2 (personal and enterprise) Radius, EAP-PEAP, and EAP-TTLS.

[ssnapier 0]

Good info, and I may put it to use on future projects. This particular job is on a military base though and FIPS 140-2 validations is a baseline requirement.