Appendix A Wireless LANs
WAP6906 User’s Guide
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Figure 42
Basic Service Set
ESS
An Extended Service Set (ESS) consists of a series of overlapping BSSs, each containing an access point,
with each access point connected together by a wired network. This wired connection between APs is
called a Distribution System (DS).
This type of wireless LAN topology is called an Infrastructure WLAN. The Access Points not only provide
communication with the wired network but also mediate wireless network traffic in the immediate
neighborhood.
An ESSID (ESS IDentification) uniquely identifies each ESS. All access points and their associated wireless
clients within the same ESS must have the same ESSID in order to communicate.