Managing a Wireless Local Area
Network
5
Overview of Wireless Networks
Once you have completed the ZoneDirector Setup Wizard, you have a fully functional
wireless network, based on two secure WLANs (if you enabled the optional guest WLAN)
with access for authorized users and guests. The default WLAN provides Zero-IT
connectivity to allow users to automatically provision their client devices with WLAN
settings the first time they connect. The guest WLAN provides visitors to your organization
with a connection to the Internet, but not to your internal corporate network.
There are several scenarios in which you will want to create additional WLANs, in addition
to the default internal and guest WLANs:
• To limit certain WLANs to groups of qualified users, to enhance security and efficiency
(for example, an "Engineering" WLAN with a closed roster of users).
• To configure a specific WLAN with different security settings. For example, you may
need a WLAN that utilizes WEP encryption for wireless devices that only support
WEP-key encryption.
• To create special WLANs with different settings for specific purposes. For example,
a VoIP WLAN for voice traffic with Background Scanning and load balancing disabled,
or a student WLAN that is only available during school hours.
In the first scenario, specific WLANs (esp. regarding authentication and encryption
algorithm) can be set up that support specific groups of users. This requires a two-step
process: (1) create the custom WLAN and link it to qualified user accounts by "roles,"
and (2) assist all qualified users to prepare their client devices for custom WLAN
connection.
As a result, you will have the default WLAN for authorized internal users, a guest WLAN
for visitors and any needed WLANs that fulfill different wireless security or user
segmentation requirements.
The maximum number of WLANs configurable per ZoneDirector controller is as follows:
Table 21: Max WLANs by ZoneDirector model
Max WLANs
Model
512
ZoneDirector 1200
1024
ZoneDirector 3000
2048
ZoneDirector 5000
139
Ruckus Wireless ZoneDirector™ Release 10.0 User Guide
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