3Com 3CRWE52196 manual Glossary

GLOSSARY

802.11b The IEEE standard to which the 3Com OfficeConnect Wireless Cable/DSL Gateway conforms. This standard provides for 1,2,5 and 11 Mbps data rates and a set of fundamental signaling methods and other services (see WECA).

10BASE-TThe IEEE specification for 10 Mbps Ethernet over Category 3, 4 or 5 twisted pair cable.

100BASE-TXThe IEEE specification for 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet over Category 5 twisted-pair cable.

Access Point An Access Point is a device through which wireless clients connect to other wireless clients and which acts as a bridge between wireless clients and a wired network, such as Ethernet. Wireless clients can be moved anywhere within the coverage area of the access point and still connect with each other. If connected to an Ethernet network, the access point monitors Ethernet traffic and forwards appropriate Ethernet messages to the wireless network, while also monitoring wireless client radio traffic and forwarding wireless client messages to the Ethernet LAN.

Ad Hoc mode Ad Hoc mode is a configuration supported by most wireless clients. It is used to connect a peer to peer network together without the use of an access point. It offers lower performance than infra-structure mode, which is the mode the gateway uses. (see also Infra-structure mode.)

Auto-negotiationSome devices in the OfficeConnect range support auto-negotiation. Auto-negotiation is where two devices sharing a link, automatically configure to use the best common speed. The order of preference (best first) is: 100BASE-TX full duplex, 100BASE-TX half duplex, 10BASE-T full duplex, and 10BASE-T half duplex. Auto-negotiation is defined in the IEEE