Hack the Route Start free Open app Wireless and network types
Access point and controller
The bridge between the air and the wired network, and the box that manages many of them.
An access point announces a network name (SSID) and bridges its wireless clients onto a wired network, like a switch port shared through the air; each radio has its own hardware address (BSSID). A home router is a router, switch and access point in one box; a phone hotspot is the same idea over a mobile line (tethering). Offices run many APs managed by a controller, which pushes one configuration, plans channels and lets a laptop roam from AP to AP without losing its address. Anyone can announce any SSID: a name proves nothing about who runs the network.