User Guide
Table Of Contents
- Cisco Wireless ISR and HWIC Access Point Configuration Guide
- Contents
- Preface
- Overview
- Configuring Radio Settings
- Enabling the Radio Interface
- Roles in Radio Network
- Configuring Network or Fallback Role
- Universal Client Mode
- Configuring Universal Client Mode
- Configuring Radio Data Rates
- Configuring Radio Transmit Power
- Configuring Radio Channel Settings
- Enabling and Disabling World Mode
- Enabling and Disabling Short Radio Preambles
- Configuring Transmit and Receive Antennas
- Disabling and Enabling Access Point Extensions
- Configuring the Ethernet Encapsulation Transformation Method
- Enabling and Disabling Reliable Multicast to Workgroup Bridges
- Enabling and Disabling Public Secure Packet Forwarding
- Configuring Beacon Period and DTIM
- Configuring RTS Threshold and Retries
- Configuring Maximum Data Retries
- Configuring Fragmentation Threshold
- Enabling Short Slot Time for 802.11g Radios
- Performing a Carrier Busy Test
- Configuring Multiple SSIDs
- Configuring an Access Point as a Local Authenticator
- Understand Local Authentication
- Configure a Local Authenticator
- Guidelines for Local Authenticators
- Configuration Overview
- Configuring the Local Authenticator Access Point
- Configuring Other Access Points to Use the Local Authenticator
- Configuring EAP-FAST Settings
- Limiting the Local Authenticator to One Authentication Type
- Unblocking Locked Usernames
- Viewing Local Authenticator Statistics
- Using Debug Messages
- Configuring Encryption Types
- Configuring Authentication Types
- Configuring RADIUS Servers
- Configuring and Enabling RADIUS
- Understanding RADIUS
- RADIUS Operation
- Configuring RADIUS
- Default RADIUS Configuration
- Identifying the RADIUS Server Host
- Configuring RADIUS Login Authentication
- Defining AAA Server Groups
- Configuring RADIUS Authorization for User Privileged Access and Network Services
- Starting RADIUS Accounting
- Selecting the CSID Format
- Configuring Settings for All RADIUS Servers
- Configuring the Access Point to Use Vendor-Specific RADIUS Attributes
- Configuring the Access Point for Vendor-Proprietary RADIUS Server Communication
- Configuring WISPr RADIUS Attributes
- Displaying the RADIUS Configuration
- RADIUS Attributes Sent by the Access Point
- Configuring and Enabling RADIUS
- Configuring VLANs
- Configuring QoS
- Channel Settings
- Protocol Filters
- Supported MIBs
- Error and Event Messages
- Glossary
- Index
3-2
Cisco Wireless ISR and HWIC Access Point Configuration Guide
OL-6415-04
Chapter 3 Configuring Multiple SSIDs
Understanding Multiple SSIDs
Understanding Multiple SSIDs
The SSID is a unique identifier that wireless networking devices use to establish and maintain wireless
connectivity. Multiple access points on a network or subnetwork can use the same SSIDs. SSIDs are case
sensitive and can contain up to 32 alphanumeric characters. Do not include spaces in your SSIDs.
You c an c on f i gu re u p to 1 6 SS ID s on y ou r HW IC -A Ps a nd a ss ig n di ffer ent c on fig ura tion s et ti ng s t o e a ch
SSID. All the SSIDs are active at the same time; that is, client devices can associate to the access point
using any of the SSIDs. These are the settings you can assign to each SSID:
• VLAN
• Client authentication method
Note For detailed information on client authentication types, see Chapter 6, “Configuring
Authentication Types.”
• Maximum number of client associations using the SSID
• RADIUS accounting for traffic using the SSID
• Guest mode
• Repeater mode, including authentication username and password
• Redirection of packets received from client devices
If you want the access point to allow associations from client devices that do not specify an SSID in their
configurations, you can set up a guest SSID. The access point includes the guest SSID in its beacon.
If your access point will be a repeater or will be a root access point that acts as a parent for a repeater,
you can set up an SSID for use in repeater mode. You can assign an authentication username and
password to the repeater-mode SSID to allow the repeater to authenticate to your network like a client
device.
If your network uses VLANs, you can assign one SSID to a VLAN, and client devices using the SSID
are grouped in that VLAN.
SSID Configuration Methods Supported by Cisco IOS Releases
Cisco introduced global-mode SSID configuration in a prior Cisco IOS Release to simplify configuration
of SSID parameters under multiple interfaces. Configuration of SSID parameters at the interface level
was supported in some Cisco IOS releases for backward compatibility, but configuration of SSID
parameters at the interface level will be totally disabled in releases after Cisco IOS Release 12.4(15)T.
Cisco IOS Release 12.4(15)T supports configuration of SSID parameters at the interface level on the
CLI, but the SSIDs are stored in global mode. Storing all SSIDs in global mode ensures that the SSID
configuration remains correct when you upgrade to release later than Cisco IOS Release 12.4(15)T.
If you need to upgrade to a release later than 12.4(15)T, you should first upgrade to Cisco IOS Release
12.4(15)T, save the configuration file, upgrade to the target release, and load the saved configuration file.
This process ensures that your interface-level SSID configuration correctly translates to global mode.
If you upgrade directly from 12.4(15)T release or earlier to a 12.4(15)T or later release, your
interface-level SSID configuration is deleted.










