What is 802.11i? - Definition from Whatis.com

802.11i is a standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs) that provides improved encryption for networks that use the popular 802.11a, 802.11b (which includes Wi-Fi) and 802.11g standards. The 802.11i standard

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requires new encryption key protocols, known as Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) and Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). The 802.11i standard was officially ratified by the IEEE in June of 2004, and thereby became part of the 802.11 family of wireless network specifications.

The 802.11i specification offers a level of security sufficient to satisfy most government agencies. However, AES requires a dedicated chip, and this may mean hardware upgrades for most existing Wi-Fi networks. Other features of 802.11i are key caching, which facilitates fast reconnection to the server for users who have temporarily gone offline, and pre-authentication, which allows fast roaming and is ideal for use with advanced applications such as Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

This was last updated in March 2003

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