Configuring two nearby WLANs: should I use the same ssid?
- by Rory
I'm configuring a home network for basic internet use (ie don't really need connectivity between workstations on the network). My brick walls mean a single wireless router doesn't provide good coverage throughout the house, so I have purchased two powerline adapters and now have the incoming modem/wireless router at one end of the house plugged into a powerline adapter, and at the other end of the house the other powerline adapter plugged into another wireless router. Currently the two wireless networks have different ssids. (The powerline adapters only do power-Ethernet; they're not wireless access points themselves.)
This works well, except when I move between rooms and would ideally like my devices (iPad, phones, laptops) to switch from the weak to the strong signal. Sometimes there's enough signal that they hold on to the weak connects instead of switching to the strong one.
Should I name the two networks the same ssid, and if so what is the actual effect? Do the signals get confused, is the bandwidth affected, will this help my devices seamlessly move from one to the other, or is the ssid just a cosmetic thing that actually doesn't have any impact on this situation? Are there any other settings that I should configure to make my setup optimal?
