Frequently Asked Question

GlOSSARY

Ad-hoc
An ad-hoc network is a local area network or other small network, such as wireless, in which some of the network devices are part of the network only for the duration of a communications session. In the case of mobile and portable devices, they can be a part of the network when in close proximity to the rest of the network.

Cell
The radio coverage area for a wireless device to communicate with an Access Point base station. The size of the cell can depend on the antenna, the speed of transmission, and the physical area.

Channel
Each channel refers to a different frequency level allowing for multiple communication paths through one device, much the same way a radio operates.

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)
A protocol that centrally assigns IP addresses (often local IP addresses) to a device in a TCP/IP network. Under TCP/IP, each device that can connect to the Internet requires a unique IP address. Rather than having to set it manually to each machine on the network, a DHCP server can automatically distribute IP addresses from a central point. When a new computer is plugged into a different place on the network, it is automatically given a new IP address. DHCP is particularly useful for a company network where there are more computers than available IP addresses.

DMZ
Abbreviation for Demilitarized Zone. It is an area between a computer’s private network and its outside public network. DMZ prevents the external users from accessing the internal private network directly.

DNS (Domain Name System)
The system in which an Internet domain name are located and translated into an IP address. Domain names are basically an easy to remember handle for an Internet address.

Domain Name
A name that identifies one or more IP addresses. For example, the domain name "microsoft.com" represents many IP addresses. Domain names are used in URLs to identify particular Web pages. For example, in the URL http://www.xsense.com, the domain name is xsense.com.

ESS
One of three IEEE 802.11 basic topology schemes. ESS WLAN configurations consist of multiple BSS cells that can be linked by either wired or wireless backbones. IEEE 802.11 supports ESS configurations in which multiple cells use the same channel, and configurations in which multiple cells use different channels to boost aggregate throughput.

Dynamic IP address
A dynamic IP address is an IP address that is given out automatically from a DHCP Server to client computers or routers on a LAN or WAN.

Firewall
A device that protects information in the internal private network from the outside network.

Firmware
A program code that is inserted into a programmable read-only memory to become a computing device. It is created and tested like a software.

Gateway
An entrance to a network. It associates with both router and switch whereas the router gives direction as data arrives at the gateway and the switch, on the other hand, furnishes its actual path in and out of the gateway.

IEEE
Abbreviation of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Founded in 1884, the IEEE is an organization composed of engineers, scientists, and students. The IEEE is best known for developing standards for the computer and electronics industry. In particular, the IEEE 802 standards for local area networks are widely adopted.

IEEE 802.11 Standard
In wireless LAN technology, 802.11 refers to standards set by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. There are three specifications in the family, 802.11, 802.11a and 802.11b. 802.11 and 802.11b refer to wireless Ethernet LANs and operate at frequencies around the 2.4 GHz range. 802.11 generally have data speeds of 1 or 2 Mbps while 802.11b can have speeds of 5.5 or 11 Mbps. 802.11b can also realize speeds up to 20 Mbps. 802.11a refers to wireless ATM systems and operates at frequencies between 5 to 6 G Hz.

Infrastructure
This type of network is a wireless or other type of small network where the wireless network devices are made a part of the network through the use of an Access Point. The Access Point connects the device to the rest of the network.

Internet
A global network connecting millions computers. As of 1998, the Internet has more than 100 million users worldwide, and that number is still growing rapidly. More than 100 countries are linked to the exchanges of data, news and opinions.

IP
Internet Protocol is meant by sending data from one computer (host) to another on the Internet. Each of the host has at least one IP Address, which identifies its IP from other computers on the Internet. When sending or receiving messages, the messages are divided into different packets that contain addresses of the senders and the receivers.

IP Address
An identifier for a computer or device on a TCP/IP network. Networks using the TCP/IP protocol route messages base on the IP address of the destination. The format of an IP address is a 32-bit numeric address written as four numbers separated by periods. Each ranges from 0 to 255. For example, 157.124.10.1 could be a valid IP address.

IPSec (Internet Protocol Security)
A developing standard for security at the network or packet processing layer of network communication. IPSec will be especially useful for implementing a Virtual Private Network or for remote user access to private networks through a dial-up connection. The main advantage of IPSec is that security arrangements can be handled without requiring changes to individual user computers.

Local Area Network (LAN)
A computer network that spans a relatively small area. Most LANs are confined to a single building or a group of buildings. However, one LAN can be connected to other LANs over any distance via telephone lines and radio waves. A system of LANs connected this way is called a wide-area network (WAN)

MAC Address (Media Access Control Address)
MAC Addresses- (Media Access Control) On a network, it is a unique 48-bit number used in Ethernet data packets to uniquely identify an Ethernet device, such as an Ethernet adapter.

NAT
This is an abbreviation for Network Address Translation, or translation of one IP address in a network (inside) to a different IP address in another network (outside). It is included in a router and the firewall of a company

Optional WEP40
A variation of WEP 40 that allows for the receipt and transmission of both WEP 40 encrypted packets and non-encrypted packets.

PPPoE (Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet)
Used by DSL providers for connecting a computer to the ISPs network, similar to how a dial-up connection works.

PPTP|
(Point to Point Tunneling Protocol) PPTP is a protocol that allows Corporations to extend their own corporate network through private “tunnels” over the public Internet. A corporation would be able to use a wide-area network as a single large local-area network.

Protocol
A set of rules that end points in a telecommunication use as they communicate. These end points must recognize and observe the protocol in the communication.

RIP (Routing Information Protocol)
A widely used protocol for managing routing information within a self contained network. Using RIP, a gateway host send its entire routing table to it’s nearest neighbor host every 30 seconds. Then this neighbor host will send it to the next neighbor host and so on until all hosts on the network have the same knowledge of routing paths. This is known as network convergence.

Roaming
The ability to use a wireless device and move from one access point’s range to another access point without a drop or loss of connection.

Shared Key Alqorithm
In encryption, both the sender and the recipient use the same secret key to both encode and decode a message.

Static IP address
A static IP address is an IP address that does not change and is manually set in client computer or router in a LAN or WAN.

Static Routing
Table mappings established by a network administrator prior to the beginning of routing. These mappings do not change unless a network administrator alters them, such as the IP address.

Subnet Mask
It defines which bits in the host portion of the IP address can be used to define a subnet.

TCP/IP
Acronym for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, the basic protocol of the Internet, which can be used as a communications protocol in a private network. Every computer that has direct access to the Internet has a copy of the TCP/IP program. TCP/IP uses the client/server model in which the user is the client that requests and is provided service by another computer, which is the server on a network. HTTP, FTP, Telnet, SMTP and other protocols are often packaged with TCP/IP as a “suite” in order to get to the Internet.

TFTP
TFTP stands for Trivial File Transfer Protocol. It is an internet file transfer protocol that operates similar to FTP with few resources to run. It uses UDP and requires no login procedures.

UDP
UDP stands for User Datagram Protocol. It's an user interface between applications and the IP in a network. It has the ability to address a particular application process running on a host via a port number without setting up a connection session. When using UDP, the entire transmission can be sent in one or two UDP datagrams.

Virtual Server
A server at someone else's location shared by many web site owners. Users with virtual servers can have their own domain names and IP addresses, administer file directories, add email accounts, manage their own logs and statistic analysis, assign multiple domain names, and maintain passwords.

URL
A URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is the address of a file (resource) accessible on the Internet. The URL contains the name of the protocol required to access the resource, a domain name that identifies a specific computer on the Internet, and a hierarchical description of a file location on the computer.

WLAN
A wireless LAN in which a user can connect to a network using a wireless connection. IEEE 802.11 specifies the technology for wireless LANs, as well as the Wired Equivalent Privacy algorithm encryption method.

WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)
A data privacy encryption method based on a 64-bit shared key algorithm.

WEP Key
A form of security and encryption used for WEP. It is a special sequence of characters used to restrict access to a wireless network.

WEP40
A 40-bit encryption method that secures data packets over an insecure path, such as the Internet, whereby the recipient must use a matching 40-bit key to decrypt the data.

Supporting Information