ZyXEL Communications NWA-3100, User Manual

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Chapter 1 Introducing the ZyXEL Device
ZyXEL NWA-3100 User’s Guide
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1.2.4 MBSSID
A BSS (Basic Service Set) is the set of devices forming a single wireless network (usually an
access point and one or more wireless clients). An SSID (Service Set IDentifier) is the name of
a BSS. In MBSSID (Multiple BSS) mode, the ZyXEL Device provides multiple virtual APs,
each forming its own BSS and using its own individual SSID profile.
You can configure up to sixteen SSID profiles, and have up to eight active at any one time.
You can assign different wireless and security settings to each SSID profile. This allows you to
compartmentalize groups of users, set varying access privileges, and prioritize network traffic
to and from certain BSSs.
To the wireless clients in the network, each SSID appears to be a different access point. As in
any wireless network, clients can associate only with the SSIDs for which they have the
correct security settings.
For example, you might want to set up a wireless network in your office where Internet
telephony (Voice over IP, or VoIP) users have priority. You also want a regular wireless
network for standard users, as well as a ‘guest’ wireless network for visitors. In the following
figure,
VoIP_SSID users have Quality of Service (QoS) priority, SSID03 is the wireless
network for standard users, and Guest_SSID is the wireless network for guest users. In this
example, the guest user is forbidden access to the wired LAN behind the AP and can access
only the Internet.
Figure 5 Multiple BSSs