Manual Part 2

Wireless Array

256 Configuring the Wireless Array

The Extended Service Set (ESS) refers to the group of BSSIDs that are grouped

together to form one ESS. The ESSID (often referred to as SSID or “wireless

network name”) identifies the Extended Service Set. Clients must associate to a

single ESS at any given time. Clients ignore traffic from other Extended Service

Sets that do not have the same SSID.

Legacy access points typically support one SSID per access point. Wireless Arrays

support the ability to define and use multiple SSIDs simultaneously.

Using SSIDs

The creation of different wireless network names allows system administrators to

separate types of users with different requirements. The following policies can be

tied to an SSID:

 The wireless security mode needed to join this SSID.

 The wireless Quality of Service (QoS) desired for this SSID.

 The wired VLAN associated with this SSID.

As an example, one SSID named accounting might require the highest level of

security, while another named guests might have low security requirements.

Another example may define an SSID named voice that supports voice over

Wireless LAN phones with the highest Quality of Service (QoS) definition. This

SSID might also forward traffic to specific VLANs on the wired network.