ZyXEL Communications NWA1123-ACv2, User Manual

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NWA1123-ACv2 User’s Guide
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Introduction
1.1 Overview
Your NWA is an IPv6 wireless AP (Access Point). It extends the range of your existing wired network
without additional wiring, providing easy network access to mobile users.
It can serve as a normal AP, as an RF monitor to search for rouge APs to help eliminate network
threats, or even as a root AP or a wireless repeater to establish wireless links with other APs in a
WDS (Wireless Distribution System). A WDS is a wireless connection between two or more APs.
Your NWA’s business-class reliability, SMB features, and centralized wireless management make it
ideally suited for advanced service delivery in mission-critical networks. It uses Multiple BSSID and
VLAN to provide simultaneous independent virtual APs. Additionally, innovations in roaming
technology and QoS features eliminate voice call disruptions.
The NWA controls network access with Media Access Control (MAC) address filtering, and rogue
Access Point (AP) detection. It also provides a high level of network traffic security, supporting IEEE
802.1x, Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 and Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) data encryption.
Your NWA is easy to install, configure and use. The embedded Web-based configurator enables
simple, straightforward management and maintenance. See the Quick Start Guide for how to make
hardware connections.
1.1.1 MBSSID
A Basic Service Set (BSS) is the set of devices forming a single wireless network (usually an access
point and one or more wireless clients). The Service Set IDentifier (SSID) is the name of a BSS. In
Multiple BSS (MBSSID) mode, the NWA provides multiple virtual APs, each forming its own BSS and
using its own individual SSID profile.
You can configure multiple SSID profiles, and have all of them 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
(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 QoS priority,
SSID01 is the wireless network for standard users, and Guest_SSID is the wireless network for