To increase the network capacity, place access points closer together and reduce the value of the transmit power. This
helps reduce overlap and interference among access points. A lower transmit power setting can also keep your network
more secure because weaker wireless signals are less likely to propagate outside the physical location of your network.
Virtual Access Point Configuration Overview
Virtual access points (VAPs) allow different security mechanisms for different clients on the same access point. Each VAP
is identified by a configured service set identifier (SSID) and a unique basic service set identifier (BSSID). The access point
supports multiple VLANs, which can be distributed across VAPs and radios.
You can enable or disable each VAP independently. If you do not configure the VAPs, the radio is turned on if you configured
the radio settings. The radio is off if you do not configure the radio settings or if you turned off the radio using the radio-off
option.
A VAP is configured on a per-radio basis. You can configure up to eight VAPs per radio. You can map up to 16 ESSIDS to
individual VLANs.
Configure the following options for each VAP:
•
Description (maximum length is 64)
•
SSID value for the VAP
The SSID value can include letters, numerals, and the special characters - . _ @ #. The minimum length is 2 characters
and maximum length is 32 characters.
•
VLAN ID for the VAP
The value can be in the range of 1 through 4094.
•
The maximum number of clients that can connect to the VAP
The value can be in the range of 1 through 127.
•
Security for the access point
The access point supports several types of authentication methods that are used by clients to connect to the access
point. Each of these methods and their associated parameters are configurable on a per-VAP basis. By default, no security
is in place on the access point, and therefore any wireless client can associate with it and access your LAN. You configure
secure wireless client access for each VAP.
•
None—The data transferred between clients and the access point is not encrypted. This method allows clients to
associate with the access point without any authentication.
•
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) Enterprise—A Wi-Fi Alliance standard that uses RADIUS server authentication with
AES-CCMP cipher suite. This mode allows the use of high security encryption along with centrally managed user
authentication. Only the WPA2 standard is supported.
•
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) Personal—A Wi-Fi Alliance standard that uses preshared key (PSK) authentication with
AES-CCMP cipher suite. Only the WPA2 standard is supported.
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