Virtual AP, is a very useful feature, but for other NICE reasons.
You can give your clients multiple ways to connect, to guarantee compatibilty. For example, The higher cost, manually configured service may connect through Virtual AP1 that MAC authenticates, to support all VPN technologies. Or the Virtual AP2 may allow connectivity via a low cost captive portal that doesn't allow VPN through it as a technical limitation. Or Virtual AP3 could be used for WEP encryption for guaranteed compatibilty, and Virtual AP4 for max protection via WPA-AES encryption, that may not work with everyone.

Virtual AP also allows less down time when reconfiguring an AP configuration model. For example, if all subscribers are on a NON-encrypted AP, and you want to convert to an encrypted AP, add the encrypted Virtual AP, and simultaneously leave the NON-encrypted configuration in place. Access Subscribers via IP and change one by one, reducing downtime to seconds for the conversion of the user, since old and new Virtual APs can co-exist. This can be a big deal when there are lots of Subs to convert configurations for. It also lets you test configurations, without requiring everyone to convert all at once for the testing.

Virtual AP was one of the most engenious features of Mikrotik, which is one of the reasons, we have been installing Mikrotik for our Wifi APs, in the few areas we deployed WiFi. Virtual AP has been a life safer to bypass technical limitations.

Tom DeReggi
RapidDSL & Wireless, Inc
IntAirNet- Fixed Wireless Broadband


----- Original Message ----- From: "John Scrivner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "WISPA General List" <wireless@wispa.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2005 12:27 PM
Subject: Re: [WISPA] Virtual AP


Short of frustrating potential customers I cannot fathom what positive effect this process has. Please enlighten me how this is a good thing to do.
Scriv


Kurt Fankhauser wrote:

I do that too, 3 competitors have towers all within ¼ mile of each other, I put their ssid in my AP but turn the broadcast off, their clients associate to me and I deny all their access so when they try to hook up customers it looks like their connected but they cant figure out why it doesn’t work, keeps them from signing up clients in my area.

Kurt Fankhauser

WAVELINC

114 S. Walnut St.

Bucyrus, OH 44820

419-562-6405

www.wavelinc.com

-----Original Message-----
*From:* [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] *On Behalf Of *Rick Smith
*Sent:* Tuesday, December 27, 2005 8:12 AM
*To:* 'WISPA General List'
*Subject:* RE: [WISPA] Virtual AP

actually, I was kidding about the competitor thing, wanted to see if it'd start a fire. It's something I'd thought of, but you can't route based on Virtual AP SSID

Having an invididual hotspot page per virtual SSID would be cool, on a wholesale level...

------------------------------------------------------------------------

*From:* [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] *On Behalf Of *Scott Reed
*Sent:* Tuesday, December 27, 2005 10:44 AM
*To:* WISPA General List
*Subject:* RE: [WISPA] Virtual AP

What happens when a potential customer sees the competition's name? They call the competitor who says, "We don't do that." Then what, do you get called by the competitor? I guess my question is, how does advertising the competitor's name help you?

I like the wholesale idea though. I may have to pursue that in the future.

Scott Reed
Owner
NewWays
Wireless Networking
Network Design, Installation and Administration
www.nwwnet.net <http://www.nwwnet.net/>

The season is Christmas, not X-mas, not the holiday, but Christmas, because
Christ was born to provide salvation to all who will believe!

*---------- Original Message -----------*
From: Rick Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: "'WISPA General List'" <wireless@wispa.org>
Sent: Tue, 27 Dec 2005 10:15:08 -0500
Subject: RE: [WISPA] Virtual AP

Yep, I create virtual SSIDs for all my competitors names (they only
do DSL) :)

I also wholesale service off one of my towers via 2.4 and 900 mhz to
a local computer guy that likes to see his name "in the air" -
the virtual SSID thing was a natural win...

Not sure about the broadcast thing...haven't seen a performance hit
because of the virtual ssid's ...
R

-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Behalf Of Pete Davis
Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2005 9:57 AM
To: WISPA General List
Subject: [WISPA] Virtual AP

Mikrotik APs have the capability to create a "Virtual AP" with a
secondary SSID, but I haven't found much documentation about it.

Has anyone used this feature much? I could see this being useful
during a transitional period, while you are changing the SSID, so
you can access the CPE with the "old" ssid.
I could also see this being useful for colocating two companies on
the same tower/AP, like if you have an ISP geared toward
residential service, and another company name/marketing scheme for
business customers.
I don't know what kind of performance impact there is when you create
a bunch of APs on one radio.

I had a wierd thought about this, however: If I have 40 clients on an
AP, and set up 40 "virtual AP's" on the network with each
client on his own SSID, do they count as 40 PTP links, allowing me to
kick up the antenna gain like with the CPE?

Does the virtual AP really broadcast a secondary SSID, or does it
switch between the two rapidly, kind of like a poor man's Time
Division Multiplexing.

Pete Davis
NoDial.net
--
WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org

Subscribe/Unsubscribe:
http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless

Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/

--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.7/214 - Release Date:
12/23/2005

--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.7/214 - Release Date:
12/23/2005

--
WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org

Subscribe/Unsubscribe:
http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless

Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
*------- End of Original Message -------*

--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.7/214 - Release Date: 12/23/2005


--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.371 / Virus Database: 267.14.7/214 - Release Date: 12/23/2005

--
WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org

Subscribe/Unsubscribe:
http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless

Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/

--
WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org

Subscribe/Unsubscribe:
http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless

Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/

Reply via email to