Question: What does the knob "Advertise AP Name" in the SSID profile do?
Product and Software: This article applies to all Aruba controllers that run ArubaOS 6.1.4.1 and later.
When the knob "Advertise AP Name" is enabled in the SSID profile, an AP can broadcast the AP name among other data in 802.11 beacon frame. This option is disabled by default.
This option is useful for a wireless administrator to determine the coverage area of an AP. The administrator can move away from an AP slowly and keep sniffing the beacons to find out if he can still hear from the AP.
Using the WebUI
(Left Pane)
The following screenshot shows a beacon frame, captured using Wireshark, that shows the AP name. First look into the "show ap active" output to see the AP name on the controller.
Tag interpretation says "Not interpreted" because Wireshark cannot interpret further details from the capture.