Cisco Systems OL-29225-01 Configuring Multiple Basic SSIDs

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Cisco IOS Software Configuration Guide for Cisco Aironet Access Points

OL-30644-01

Chapter7 Configuring Multiple SSIDs

Configuring Multiple Basic SSIDs

(attribute 26). Vendor-specific attributes (VSAs) allow vendors to support their own extended attributes

not suitable for general use. The Cisco RADIUS implementation supports one vendor-specific option by

using the format recommended in the specification. The Cisco vendor-ID is 9, and the supported option

has vendor-type 1, which is named cisco-avpair. The Radius server is allowed to have zero or more SSID

VSAs per client.

In this example, the following AV pair adds the SSID batman to the list of allowed SSIDs for a user:

cisco-avpair= ”ssid=batman”

For instructions on configuring the access point to recognize and use VSAs, see the “Configuring the

Access Point for Vendor-Proprietary RADIUS Server Communication” section on page13-17”.

Configuring Multiple Basic SSIDs

Access point 802.11a, 802.11g, 802.11n radios support up to 16 basic SSIDs (BSSIDs). For 1130, 1240,

1300 series APs only up to 8 BSSIDs are supported. The BSSID is the radio mac address associated to

a given SSID (network name) string.

You use multiple SSIDs to assign a unique DTIM setting for each SSID to broadcast one beacon per

SSID. A large DTIM value increases battery life for power-save client devices that use an SSID, and

broadcasting multiple SSIDs makes your wireless LAN more accessible to guests.

Note Devices on your wireless LAN that are configured to associate to a specific access point based on the

access point MAC address (for example, client devices, repeaters, hot standby units, or workgroup

bridges) might lose their association when you add or delete a multiple BSSID. When you add or delete

a multiple BSSID, check the association status of devices configured to associate to a specific access

point. If necessary, reconfigure the disassociated device to use the new BSSID MAC address.

To configure multiple BSSIDs, your access points must meet these minimum requirements:

•VLANs must be configured

•Access points must run Cisco IOS Release 12.3(4)JA or later

•To determine the number of multiple basic SSIDs supported, enter the show controllers

radio_interface command. The radio supports multiple basic SSIDs if the results include this line:

Number of supported simultaneous BSSID on radio_interface: 16

Keep these guidelines in mind when configuring multiple BSSIDs:

•RADIUS-assigned VLANs are not supported when you enable multiple BSSIDs.

•When you enable BSSIDs, the access point automatically maps a BSSID to each SSID. You cannot

manually map a BSSID to a specific SSID.

•When multiple BSSIDs are enabled on the access point, the optional SSIDL IE does not contain a

list of SSIDs; it contains only extended capabilities.