Patent ID: 7580701

Claim:
A method comprising: sending a layer-2 access request from a client to an access server of a closed wireless network that does not broadcast wireless access point service set identifiers (SSIDs), the request sent prior to completion of a boot process of a client device, the client lacking configuration information to enable accessing the wireless network through a wireless access point of the wireless network, wherein the sending is performed by an agent on the client device via an Ethernet port over a wired connection with the access server, the agent having a processor and memory inaccessible to a host operating system of the client, the agent operating outside the context of the host operating system of the client, and wherein the layer-2 access request is a layer-2 authentication request that is compatible with the extensible authentication protocol (EAP); receiving at the client over the wired connection from the access server wireless configuration parameters including a wireless access point SSID; and configuring a wireless interface of the client with the received wireless configuration parameters to connect to the wireless access point to enable obtaining access to the wireless network.