Windows XP Wireless Policy

To create a new Windows XP wireless policy, in the Group Policy Management Editor snap-in, in the console tree, right-click Wireless Network (IEEE 802.11) Policies, and then click Create A New Windows XP Policy. The properties dialog box of a Windows XP wireless policy consists of a General tab and a Preferred Networks tab.

On the General tab, you can configure a name and description for the policy, specify whether the Wireless Zero Configuration service is enabled, select the types of wireless networks to access (any available, infrastructure, or ad-hoc networks), and specify whether to automatically connect to non-preferred networks.

On the Preferred Networks tab, you can manage the list of preferred wireless networks and their order of preference. To manage a wireless network profile from the Preferred Networks tab of the Windows XP wireless policy properties dialog box, either select an existing profile and click Edit, or click Add and then specify whether the new wireless profile is for an infrastructure or ad-hoc mode wireless network. The properties dialog box of a preferred wireless network consists of a Network Properties tab and an IEEE 802.1X tab.

On the Network Properties tab, you can add a description for the preferred network, specify whether the wireless network is a non-broadcast network (infrastructure), select the authentication and encryption methods, and, for WPA2, set advanced fast roaming settings.

On the IEEE 802.1X tab, you can specify the EAP type and configure its settings, specify when to send the EAPOL-Start message, choose the authentication mode, specify whether to authenticate with computer credentials or as a guest, and set advanced 802.1X settings.