GLOSSARY: SSID

In order to connect to a wi-fi network, a station needs to know the name of the network.

This is also known as the service set identifier (or SSID) of the wireless LAN.

The ‘service set’ referred to here is the set of wireless devices to be served by a particular wireless LAN.

The SSID allows the nodes on a wireless LAN to distinguish themselves from nodes on other wireless LANs that may be operating in the same physical space.

For example, in many airports mobile phone companies provide free wireless LAN services to their customers and use the SSID to ensure that customers connect to the appropriate wi-fi network.

When you are trying to connect to an available network, you will see a list of SSIDs that are reachable from your device, some of these will have padlocks against them.