Each ESS profile in your wireless network should map onto a unique VLAN. This allows you to keep the traffic from clients in each SSID secure and separate from clients in other SSIDs.

Click on the title of this step, or go to Detailed / WLAN Management / VLAN Configuration and click on Add to add a new VLAN to your network.

Pick a name that is representative of the traffic that this VLAN will carry. You'll also need to assign a unique IP address and subnet mask to the VLAN. That's because the wireless clients in that VLAN will need to have an IP address within the subnet the VLAN is on, for your network to work properly. Also, if you want to use DHCP for this VLAN, this is the place to enter the IP address of the VLAN's DHCP server.

Click on OK on the popup window to move to the next step, when done.

Create a new Security Profile

Now you should create a security profile for this ESS. Security profiles define your security requirements for each ESS profile.

For guest networks, you might want to retain the default profile, which provides non-encrypted traffic (Clear setting).

To create a secure network, you should enable one of the security protocols that Meru provides including, in the order of most to least secure, WPA with TKIP, WPA-PSK, 802.1X, and static WEP keys.

The configuration steps for WPA and 802.1X are outside of the scope of this Quick Configuration, but can be found in the Meru Wireless LAN System Configuration Guide or via the online Help in the Security Profile - Add page.

To continue with WPA-PSK or WEP, click on the title of this step; otherwise, click Detailed/Security/Radius Profile/Security Profiles and click the Add button in each area.

Click on OK on the popup window to move to the next step, when done.

Finally, you can name the ESS profile and assign the Security Profile and VLAN that you just created.

Click on the title of this step, or go to Detailed / WLAN Management / ESS Profile and click on Add to add a new SSID to your network.

Here, you should select the new Security Profile and VLAN that you created in Steps 1 and 2. For the rest of the values, you may leave them as the defaults. The defaults will ensure that the ESS profile you have created will become operational on all of the APs in your network, and the system will take the best advantage of your wireless resources.

Click on OK on the popup window to finish all of the steps and automatically activate the ESS profile on your network.