Installation guide

D-47
Secure Beacon Frame Example
With certain applications (such as a hotspot uses guest access), it may be desirable to mask the SSID name
to make it harder for casual eavesdroppers to discover the SSID and connect to a WLAN. It is not
recommended secure beacons be used for real-time applications (such a Voice) requiring fast roaming.
The SSID name is not intended as a password and should not be used as one. If security is required, the
appropriate authentication and encryption should be used. While secure beacon can be used to mask the
SSID in the beacon, the SSID name can still be discovered by monitoring probe response frames.
D.4.1 Configuring a Secure Beacon Deployment
The following sections outline the configuration steps required to enable secure beacon for a WLAN on an
RF Switch:
To view the running configuration on the RFS6000 switch used to create this secure beacon tutorial, refer to
RF Switch Running Configuration on page D-49.
As shown in the illustration below, enabling secure beacon prevents the SSID being advertised in the beacon
frame. WLAN clients scanning for WLAN services display the SSID as blank. Clients wishing to associate
with the WLAN have to specify the correct SSID in their client software before the client associates to the
WLAN.