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I want to make a server and client application. All clients connect to the server via wifi. I want to protect the network with SSL Certificate.

I found 2 alternatives:

  1. By using SSLSocket (javax.net.ssl.SSLSocket).

  2. By using Radius Server.

My question: Are the two alternatives above the same?

koding
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1 Answers1

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While your question is lacking details I assume that with "using SSLSocket" you mean to use TLS implemented at the application level between the client and the server application. With "using Radius Server" you probably mean that clients authenticate against a Radius Server and then use the information from this to create the WiFi connection (i.e. WPA2 Enterprise).

These are completely different options both from the perspective of security and what is required by client and server. WPA2 Enterprise provides security at the network level (i.e. between systems) while TLS provides it at the application level (between applications).

If you just want to protect the communication between a client and server application then TLS is the better and simpler choice. It is also more secure since the encryption is end-to-end between applications running on systems and not only between the systems themselves. Also TLS does not need WiFi, it will work even with different kind of network connectivity (for example mobile network) without any changes to the application and without any loss of protection.

Steffen Ullrich
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