Understanding SSIDs

The SSID is an alphanumeric string of up to 32 characters that uniquely identifies a wireless local area network. It is also referred to as the network name. By default, the SSID is broadcast by the access point and can appear in the list of available networks on wireless clients.

Multiple virtual access points can have the same SSID. You can also assign each virtual access point a unique SSID. Multiple SSIDs make a single access point appear as multiple access points to other systems on the network.

You have the option of disabling the broadcast of the SSID on each virtual access point. When the SSID broadcast is disabled, the SSID is not displayed in the list of available networks on a wireless client; the client must have the exact name configured to associate with the access point. Disabling the SSID broadcast also causes the virtual access point to suppress responses to client broadcast probes to all SSIDs.

Disabling the SSID broadcast prevents clients from accidentally connecting to your network, but it does not prevent a hacker from connecting or monitoring unencrypted traffic. Disabling the SSID broadcast offers a minimal level of protection on an exposed network such as a guest network, where the goal is to make it easy for clients to connect and where sensitive information is not accessible.

Related Topics

• Example: Configuring a Virtual Access Point for No Security and HTTP Redirect (CLI)
• Example: Configuring a Virtual Access Point for No Security and HTTP Redirect (J-Web)
• Example: Configuring a Virtual Access Point for WPA Enterprise and MAC Filtering (CLI)
• Example: Configuring a Virtual Access Point for WPA Enterprise and MAC Filtering (J-Web)