Which set of statements describes the correct order and process of a Company wireless
user client associating with a wireless access point in the Company network?

A.
1. Access point sends probe request .2. Client sends probe response.3. Client initiates
association.4. Access point accepts association.5. Client adds access point MAC address to
association table.

B.
1. Client sends probe request.2. Access point sends probe response.3. Client initiates
association.4. Access point accepts association.5. Access point adds client MAC address to
association table.

C.
1. Client sends probe request.2. Access point sends probe response.3. Access point
initiates association.4. Client accepts association.5. Access point adds client MAC address
to association table.

D.
1. Access point sends probe request .2. Client sends probe response.3. Client initiates
association.4. Access point accepts association.5. Access point adds client MAC address to
association table.

E.
1. Client sends probe request.2. Access point sends probe response.3. Client initiates
association.4. Access point accepts association.5. Client adds access point MAC address to
association table.

F.
None of the other alternatives apply.

Explanation:
Wireless Client Association:
In the client association process, access points send out beacons announcing one or more
SSIDs, data rates, and other information. The client sends out a probe and scans all the
channels and listens for beacons and responses to the probes from the access points. The
client associates to the access point that has the strongest signal. If the signal becomes low,
the client repeats the scan to associate with another access point (this process is called
roaming). During association, the SSID, MAC address, and security settings are sent from
the client to the access point and checked by the access point. The figure below illustrates
the client association process.

A wireless client’s association to a selected access point is actually the second step in a twostep process. First, authentication and then association must occur before an 802.11 client
can pass traffic through the access point to another host on the network. Client
authentication in this initial process is not the same as network authentication (entering
username and password to get access to the network). Client authentication is simply the
first step (followed by association) between the wireless client and access point, and it
establishes communication. The 802.11 standard specifies only two different methods of
authentication: open authentication and shared key authentication. Open authentication is
simply the exchange of four “hello” type packets with no client or access point verification, to

allow ease of connectivity. Shared key authentication uses a statically defined WEP key,
known between the client and access point, for verification. This same key might or might
not be used to encrypt the actual data passing between a wireless client and an access point
based on user configuration.
Reference: http://www.ciscopress.com/articles/article.asp?p=1156068&seqNum=3