Relationship between essid & rainbow tables?

[Mackstart]

I have tried using the search function to no avail. Could somebody please take the time to explain the theory behind why inclusion of the essid into a database makes rainbow tables more efficient in cracking wpa than standard dictionary files?

Rdgs,

Mack

[imported_hatake_kakashi]

In general rainbow tables are faster because they are usuallly pre-generated and saves a lot of hashing work. Read here for general information about rainbow tables vs dictionaries:
Coding Horror: Rainbow Hash Cracking

In theory, ESSID inclusion does not make cracking WPA faster than using dictionary. Rainbow tables on WPA specifically requires a matching table on the target because the hash is composed of both the ESSID and the password itself.

With the use of dictionary itself, the computer still needs to generate the keys for each of the possible combinations specified by the dictionary in according to the ESSID on the target.

I'd suggest you to read more on WPA.

[Mackstart]

My sincere thanks for the detailed response. Already on it

Rdgs,

Mack