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Cisco Access Point: SSID on Autonomous AP Configuration Example

The SSID is a unique identifier that wireless network devices use to establish and maintain wireless connectivity. AP radios are disabled and no default SSID is assigned. This is done in order to prevent unauthorized users to access a customer's wireless network through an access point that has a default SSID and no security settings. We must create an SSID before you can enable the access point radio interfaces.

Multiple access points on a network or subnetwork can use the same SSIDs. SSIDs are case sensitive and can contain up to 32 alphanumeric characters. Do not include spaces in your SSIDs. Here we will talk about the configuration example of Cisco Access point 1140.

The first character cannot contain any of these characters:
Exclamation point (!)
Pound sign (#)
Semicolon (;)

These characters are also invalid and cannot be used in an SSID:
Plus sign (+)
Right bracket (])
Front slash (/)
Quotation mark (")
Tab
Trailing spaces

Fig 1.1- Cisco Access Points-SSID's
You can configure up to sixteen SSIDs on your Cisco Aironet Access Point and assign different configuration settings to each SSID. On dual-radio wireless devices, the SSIDs that you create are enabled on both radio interfaces.  The client devices can associate to the access point with the use of any of the active SSIDs.

Configuration from Switch Side
!
int Gig 1/1
switchport mode trunk
switchport trunk encapsulation dot1q
switchport trunk native vlan 50
switchport trunk allowed vlan 1,50
!

Configure the SSID on an AP with a CLI
Step1: Configure the SSID and map it to a VLAN
!
dot11 ssid Cisco
Vlan 50
Authentication open
Guest-mode
End
!

Step2: Configure the Dot11 Radio 0 and Gigabit Ethernet interfaces.
!
interface dot11Radio 0
ssid Cisco
Exit
!
Interface dot11Radio 0.50
Encapsulation dot1Q 50 native
Bridge-group 1
Exit
!
Interface Gigabit Ethernet 0
Bridge-group 1
!
Interface Gigabit Ethernet 0.50
Encapsulation dot1Q 50 native
Bridge-group 1
!

Verify
ap# show dot11 associations

802.11 Client Stations on Dot11Radio0
 SSID [Cisco]:
MAC Address        IP address        Device        Name        Parent       State
0811.967e.c384   192.168.50.4   ccx-client     ap              self           Assoc