With either WPA setting, this option is grayed out. For Open and Shared authentication types, you can choose not to provide the key automatically. Select the data encryption type associated with the authentication method chosen that meets the needs of your organization.

WPA-PSK: Wi-Fi Protected Access - Pre Shared Key.

Shared: authentication key shared automatically.

You can choose from the following network types:

Select the Network Authentication type for the network.

Enter the Network Name (SSID) for the preferred network.

Click the Add button on the Preferred Networks tab.

To add a preferred network, complete the following steps: Right-click the GPO and select edit to configure the settings you need. Once the object is created, there will be no settings defined within the object. Be sure to use a descriptive name for the GPO to make future management a bit easier. Doing this will create the object and link to the OU. Note: Once the GPO is added here, any objects that exist in this OU will have the policies defined by the linked GPOs applied to them.Įnter a name for the GPO you are creating and click OK.

Right-click the OU and select Create and Link a GPO Here.

Locate the Organizational Unit (OU) where you wish to link the GPO.

Expand the Forest node on the left pane of the console.

Open the GPMC from the Administrative Tools menu.

Note: when performing the steps needed to configure these settings, I will be using the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC) - available at Microsoft downloads. This will keep all the wireless settings contained so they can be enabled and disabled easily. To get the ball rolling, I suggest creating a new Group Policy Object (GPO) to configure for Wireless settings. And leveraging the power and centralization of Active Directory when setting up your wireless infrastructure can save time for all parties involved.

Using Wireless Access Points (WAPs) to connect remote users or desktop PCs can be a very simple way to get everything up and running quickly.

Wireless networking in an office environment can supplement the Ethernet network in case of an outage or, in some cases, replace it altogether.

Let windows manage wireless