Re: Wireless Network Question



In article <A0055E9C-C1C3-47B6-A580-3B7225D45F4F@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
JStoner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx says...

So here is my question:

Should setup each Access Point with the same channel and SSID? I'm leaning
towards different SSID but all on the same channel.

Any thoughts or comments are helpful.

You want to do just the opposite: Same SSID but different channels.

The SSID is the wireless network logical equivalent of a workgroup or domain
name in Windows. You want all WAPs which are part of a particular network to
have the same SSID. This will facilitate roaming of wireless clients and
simplify setup if you go the 802.1x/RADIUS route.

The main reason you would use a 2nd SSID is to facilitate "guest" Internet
access. One SSID is secure on your SBS domain, the other one less so and
Internet-only.

FYI, last time I checked Microsoft had something like 6,000+ WAPs throughout
the world and all of them were set to one or the other of only two total SSIDs.

You want the WAPs to have different channels to minimize interference and
maximize throughput. This is optimum when one channel is separated from
another by 5 so most people use channels 1, 6, and 11. However, you might want
to use a tool like NetStumbler to see what channels are actually in use in your
building before making a decision. I worked with a residential client where
there were about 12 different SSIDs on channels 6 and 11. I set up the
client's network to use channel 1.

If you want a step-by-step method of setting all this up with wired-equivalent
802.1x/EAP-TLS authentication and WPA security, take a look at:

http://home.comcast.net/~clearviewtc

-- Owen Williams [SBS MVP]
.



Relevant Pages

  • Re: Two access points in same house
    ... the same SSID, but different WEP or WPA keys. ... but I'll disable it on both the router and the AP temporarily. ... I change the AP to use channel 1 and leave the router on channel 6. ... I don't think the DLINK products like to devices ...
    (alt.internet.wireless)
  • Re: Hiding the SSID ??
    ... I decided to hide my SSID from being broadcast but then when I ... rebooted I could not connect - Vista could not see my router. ... I can then change the channel back to original ... something to be said about using wifi in poured concrete houses. ...
    (uk.telecom.broadband)
  • Re: Wireless router problem
    ... >>Even if you don't have any other networks I have found that channel ... If I suppress the SSID on my ... there's no genuine security gain in trying to hide the ...
    (uk.telecom.broadband)
  • Re: wi-fi problem
    ... ifconfig ral0 ssid name authmode shared channel 13 wemode on \ ... ether 00:14:85:16:d2:11 media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect ... ssid name channel 13 ... then run ifconfig to see if it's at least associated. ...
    (comp.unix.bsd.freebsd.misc)
  • Two access-points in a IAS/radius (windows 2003) setup
    ... Is it possible to have more than one access-points in a IAS (radius) setup? ... Should the AP's have the same SSID but a different channel? ...
    (alt.internet.wireless)

Loading