Configure the SSID for a Standard Wireless Network

A network policy can include one or more wireless networks, commonly referred to as SSIDs. A wireless network SSID is an alphanumeric string that identifies a wireless network, including the set of authentication and encryption services that wireless clients and access point devices use to communicate with each other over the network.

This task is part of the network policy configuration workflow. Use this task to configure an SSID for a a standard wireless network.

  1. Go to Configure > Network Policies.
  2. Select an existing network policy, and then select Edit, or select Add.
  3. Select 2 Wireless.
  4. Optional: Select Assign SSIDs using Classification Rules.
    1. To add a classification rule, select Add a classification rule.
    2. To specify an existing classification rule, select Select a classification rule.

    For more information, see Configure Classification Rules

    Note

    Note

    If you have more than 16 SSIDs, the check box appears dimmed. To enable the check box, reduce the number of SSIDs to fewer than 16.

  5. Select an existing SSID from the Select menu, or select Add.
  6. Type a Name for the wireless network SSID.

    ExtremeCloud IQ and IQ Engine use this name to group all the settings related to this wireless network, such as required and optional data rates, DoS policies, MAC filters, and the broadcast SSID.

  7. Type a Broadcast Name for this wireless network, or accept the one automatically derived from the SSID name.

    Clients discover this broadcast name from beacons and probe responses.

  8. Select SSID radio broadcast bands:
    • Wi-Fi 0 Radio (2.4 GHz or 5 GHz): Broadcast the SSID based on the configuration of the Wi-Fi 0 radio.
    • Wi-Fi 1 Radio (5 GHz only): Broadcast the SSID on the Wi-Fi 1 radio operating in the 5 GHz band. Most Extreme Networks devices have two radios: radio 1 is bound to Wi-Fi 0 and radio 2 is bound to Wi-Fi 1. Radio 1 generally operates in the 2.4 GHz band but can also operate in the 5 GHz band on some models. Radio 2 operates in the 5 GHz band.
      Note

      Note

      Mapping an SSID to both radio types is a good approach if the devices need to work with some wireless clients that only support 802.11n/b/g, and others that only support 802.11ac/n/a/ac/x. In this case, both Wi-Fi 0 and Wi-Fi 1 must be in access mode or dual mode. If hive members need to support wireless backhaul communications with each other and you want both interfaces to provide client access, then one of the wireless interfaces must be able to provide both access and backhaul links.
    • Wi-Fi 2 Radio (6 GHz only): This option currently supports only Enterprise WPA3, Personal WPA3, and Open Enhanced. After you select this check box, a message reminds you that WiFi2 supports only 6Ghz band for client access. The configuration menu shows only options applicable to 6Ghz.
  9. Select an SSID Authentication method and configure the settings.
    • Select Enterprise WPA/WPA2/WPA3 to require users to authenticate by entering a user name and password, and validating against a RADIUS server. Only WPA3 is supported for 6 GHz devices. See Configure Enterprise SSID Authentication.
    • Select Personal WPA/WPA2/WPA3 to require users to enter a shared PPSK to authenticate. Only Personal WPA3 is supported for 6 GHz devices. See Configure Personal SSID Authentication.
    • Select Private Pre-Shared Key to require users to authenticate by entering a PPSK unique to each user (not available for 6 GHz). See Configure Private Pre-Shared Key SSID Authentication.
    • Select Open (not available for 6 GHz) or Enhanced Open so users do not use any form of authentication, but can be directed to a captive web portal before they can access other network resources.
    • Select Enhanced Open (available only for 6 GHz devices) to provide improved data privacy in open Wi-Fi networks, such as Wifi hotspots and guest WLANs.
    Note

    Note

    The WEP protocol is no longer effective for securing wireless networks. For security reasons, WEP configuration is no longer available in the UI. If you require WEP for business continuity purposes, you can enable it via Supplemental CLI.
  10. If you intend to use MAC Authentication, see Configure MAC Authentication.
  11. To create a captive web portal for open authentication, see:
  12. If you intend to authenticate via RADIUS servers, either select an existing Default RADIUS Server Group from the current list or select the plus sign to add a new group.

    See Configure RADIUS Server Settings to add a wireless network (SSID)-specific RADIUS object. See Configure an External RADIUS Server to add an external RADIUS common object.

    To use classification, select Apply RADIUS server groups to devices via classification.

  13. If you intend to authenticate via user groups (Enterprise only), turn on Authentication with ExtremeCloud IQ Authentication Service.
  14. Either select an existing User group from the current list or select to Add a User Group.
  15. Use the existing Default User Profile, select a profile from the list, or select to Add a User Profile.
  16. Optional: Under User Access Settings, select the Apply a different user profile to various clients and user groups check box.

    See Apply Different User Profiles to Clients and User Groups.

  17. To customize the SSID Availability Schedule, select the Restrict the availability of this SSID to selected schedules check box to enable SSID schedules.
  18. Select Customize.

    To create a new schedule, see Configure an Availability Schedule.

  19. To customize Advanced Access Security Controls, see Customize Advanced Access Security Settings.
  20. To customize Optional Settings (not available for 6 GHz), see Customize Wireless Network Optional Settings.
  21. Toggle Client Monitor ON (default) to enable a device to detect client issues, and report client connection activities and problems to ExtremeCloud IQ.
  22. Select SAVE.

Continue configuring the network policy.

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