User's Manual

Wireless Network Overview
Identifying a Wireless Network
Depending on the size and components of a wireless network, there are many ways to identify
a wireless network:
● The Network Name or Service Set Identifier (SSID)—Identifies a wireless network. All wireless
devices on the network must use the same SSID.
● >Extended Service Set Identifier (ESSID)—A special case of SSID used to identify a wireless network
that includes access points.
● Independent Basic Service Set Identifier (IBSSID)—A special case of SSID used to identify a
network of wireless computers configured to communicate directly with one another without using an
access point.
● Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID)—A unique identifier for each wireless device. The BSSID is the
Ethernet MAC address of the device.
● Broadcast SSID—An access point can respond to computers sending probe packets with the
broadcast SSID. If this feature is enabled on the access point, any wireless user can associate with the
access point by using a blank (null) SSID.
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