SSID schedule

ivant66
ivant66 Posts: 5  Freshman Member
First Comment First Anniversary
edited November 2023 in Nebula

Hello, I have set all my SSID as hidden.

"SSID schedule" meas actually turning off the radio signal of WiFi, which is what I would like ?

Accepted Solution

  • Zyxel_Judy
    Zyxel_Judy Posts: 1,667  Zyxel Employee
    Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 2 - Nebula Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 2 - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 2 - Security Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 1 - Nebula
    Answer ✓

    Hi @ivant66 ,

    When you disable all SSIDs on a specific time schedule, the AP indeed stops broadcasting any configured SSID beacon frames. This means that there will be no radio waves for those SSIDs, effectively reducing electromagnetic pollution during that period.

    As for power consumption, it's true that the AP still needs power for its basic functions even when the SSIDs are turned off. However, there is a reduction in power usage compared to when the SSID is active. We are in the process of researching the long-term implications of this feature on power consumption.

    So, to sum it up, disabling SSIDs does have benefits in terms of reducing electromagnetic pollution and saving some power, although the impact on power consumption may not be significant at this time of this writing.

    Judy

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  • Zyxel_Kay
    Zyxel_Kay Posts: 1,237  Zyxel Employee
    Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 2 - Nebula Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 2 - WLAN Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 2 - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 2 - Security

    Hi @ivant66

    If you would like to set your SSID to be hidden, you can follow these steps:

    1. Navigate to Site-wide > Configure > Access points > SSID availability.
    2. Choose the SSID that you would like to hide.
    3. Set the Visibility to “Hide this SSID”.
    image.png

    By doing this, the WiFi client cannot see the SSID, and the only way to connect to it is by manually entering the SSID name in your WiFi connection setup screens.

    Regarding the SSID schedule feature, it's designed to enable or disable the SSID at specified times. This can be helpful if you want to restrict access to the network during certain periods. For a more detailed guide on configuring the SSID schedule, please refer to this article:

    https://community.zyxel.com/en/discussion/9930/nebula-how-to-configure-ssid-schedule

    Kay

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  • ivant66
    ivant66 Posts: 5  Freshman Member
    First Comment First Anniversary

    Thanks Kay,

    I already know how to set hidden SSIDs o schedule them, but my question was tottaly different.

    When I schedule SSID in off, this meas to turn off the radio waves, in other words, as if I turned the device off?

    best regards

  • Zyxel_Kay
    Zyxel_Kay Posts: 1,237  Zyxel Employee
    Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 2 - Nebula Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 2 - WLAN Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 2 - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 2 - Security

    Hi @ivant66

    When you schedule an SSID, it restricts the SSID from broadcasting during a specified time frame. This action does not turn off the access point itself.

    For example, if you've configured an access point to broadcast multiple SSIDs and you want to limit the broadcasting of a specific SSID during weekdays, let's refer to it as "SSID_Weekday". In this setup, "SSID_Weekday" will only be active on weekdays, while the other SSIDs will remain active at all times.

    To configure this, navigate to Site-wide > Configure > Access points > SSID availability, where you can select the SSID you'd like to configure.

    image.png

    Kay

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  • ivant66
    ivant66 Posts: 5  Freshman Member
    First Comment First Anniversary

    Hi Klay,
    thank you for your reply.
    Could you please clarify what the sentence "it restricts the SSID from broadcasting during a specified time frame" means?
    Does it mean that in that time frame, the wifi signal is off? (So the
    are no wifi radio waves and, as a consequence, I will be minimally
    reducing the electromagnetic pollution and the power cosuption at the same time ?)
    Could you please delve into more specific and technical details?
    Thanks in advance and regards
    Ivan

  • Zyxel_Kay
    Zyxel_Kay Posts: 1,237  Zyxel Employee
    Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 2 - Nebula Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 2 - WLAN Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 2 - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 2 - Security

    Hi @ivant66 ,

    The logic of the SSID schedule is to disable the SSID and make the VAP (Virtual Access Point) inactive. So, if all SSIDs are configured with the same schedule, the AP (Access Point) won't broadcast any configured SSID beacon frames (which you referred to as the "Wi-Fi signal") during the schedule-off period.

    However, this behavior doesn't have a significant impact on power consumption. If your goal is to reduce power usage, you might want to consider turning off your AP using a PoE switch and configuring a PoE schedule. Alternatively, you can install a timer on your power supply to achieve this.

    Kay

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  • ivant66
    ivant66 Posts: 5  Freshman Member
    First Comment First Anniversary

    Hi Kay,
    are you sure that the device does not have problems interrupting the power every day?

    That said, I'm sorry Kay
    but I don't agree with your vision, especially after the European Union approved the new regulation for network standby mode.
    First of all there is not only energy saving but also electromagnetic pollution and secondly even if the saving is minimal this must be multiplied by the millions of devices.

    Best regards

  • Zyxel_Judy
    Zyxel_Judy Posts: 1,667  Zyxel Employee
    Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 2 - Nebula Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 2 - Switch Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 2 - Security Zyxel Certified Network Engineer Level 1 - Nebula
    Answer ✓

    Hi @ivant66 ,

    When you disable all SSIDs on a specific time schedule, the AP indeed stops broadcasting any configured SSID beacon frames. This means that there will be no radio waves for those SSIDs, effectively reducing electromagnetic pollution during that period.

    As for power consumption, it's true that the AP still needs power for its basic functions even when the SSIDs are turned off. However, there is a reduction in power usage compared to when the SSID is active. We are in the process of researching the long-term implications of this feature on power consumption.

    So, to sum it up, disabling SSIDs does have benefits in terms of reducing electromagnetic pollution and saving some power, although the impact on power consumption may not be significant at this time of this writing.

    Judy

    Untitled Image

    See how you've made an impact in Zyxel Community this year! https://bit.ly/Your2024Moments_Community

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