Wireless/Redundant Edge Services xl Module Management and Configuration Guide WS.02.xx and greater

4-13
Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs)
Configuration Options: Normal Versus Advanced Mode
■ You want your RPs to announce more than four SSIDs.
While a single RP radio can only beacon four SSIDs, it is possible to
customize WLAN assignments so that different RP radios beacon different
SSIDs. That is, you can configure certain WLANs as the primary WLANs
on some of your organization’s RPs, and other WLANs as primary on
others. However, such a configuration would mean that certain WLANs
are beaconed only in certain areas, which may not be ideal.
■ You want more than 16 WLANs in your network.
With advanced mode configuration, you can configure up to 32 WLANs
on the Wireless Edge Services xl Module. However, you cannot assign
every WLAN to every RP radio.
Each RP radio has 4 BSSIDs, and each BSSID supports at most 4 WLANs.
So each RP radio can support up to 16 WLANs. If your network includes
dual-radio RPs, you can expand the number of WLANs on a single RP from
16 to 32: enable half of the WLANs on one radio and half on the other.
To provide coverage for different WLANs in different areas, simply assign
the WLANs to the correct RPs.
Providing coverage for more than 16 WLANs in one area is more compli-
cated. You can enable some WLANs on one RP and some on another, and
then place the RPs close together. (Remember to set the RPs to non-
overlapping channels.) For dual-radio RPs, you can also enable some
WLANs on radios operating in 802.11bg and some WLANs on radios
operating in 802.11a.
However, either method could cause connectivity problems and uneven
support for WLANs throughout your wireless network. For example, if
you use the second method, certain WLANs are supported only by radios
operating in 802.11a mode and others only by radios operating in 802.11bg
mode. Users might well have difficulty connecting to the desired WLAN.
Enabling WLANs Using Advanced Mode Configuration
To activate WLANs with advanced mode configuration, complete these steps:
1. Configure WLANs just as you would in normal mode. (Instructions on this
process are provided in “Configuring a WLAN” on page 4-26.)
2. Enable advanced configuration:
a. Select Network Setup > WLAN Setup.
b. Click the Global Settings button. The Global WLAN Settings screen is
displayed. (See Figure 4-8.)