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Network Configuration
2-4
Infrastructure Wireless LAN for Roaming Wireless PCs
The Basic Service Set (BSS) defines the communications domain
for each access point and its associated wireless clients. The
BSS ID is a 48-bit binary number based on the access point’s
wireless MAC address, and is set automatically and transparently
as clients associate with the access point. The BSS ID is used in
frames sent between the access point and its clients to identify
traffic in the service area.
The BSS ID is only set by the access point, never by its clients.
The clients only need to set the Service Set Identifier (SSID) that
identifies the service set provided by one or more access points.
The SSID can be manually configured by the clients, can be
detected in an access point’s beacon, or can be obtained by
querying for the identity of the nearest access point. For clients
that do not need to roam, set the SSID for the wireless card to
that used by the access point to which you want to connect.
A wireless infrastructure can also support roaming for mobile
workers. More than one access point can be configured to create
an Extended Service Set (ESS). By placing the access points so
that a continuous coverage area is created, wireless users within
this ESS can roam freely. All wireless network card adapters and
wireless access points within a specific ESS must be configured
with the same SSID.