Glossary | AT&T 6550G specs

Glossary

Access Point

Access points are the contact points (wireless routers and transmitters) in a wireless LAN that are connected to an Ethernet hub or server. Users can roam within the range of access points and their wireless device connections are passed from one access point to the next.

Administrator

The network administrator is the person who manages the LAN. The administrator's tasks include ensuring network security, keeping soft- ware, hardware, and firmware up-to-date, and keeping track of network activity. Your router Administrator is the person in control of access to your router. The system starts out with all users as administrators.

Authentication

Authentication refers to the verification of a transmitted message's integrity.

Beacon Interval

Refers to the interval between packets sent by routers for the purposes of synchronizing wireless LANs.

Broadband

Usually refers to Internet connections that provide faster data transfer than standard dial-up connections (cable modem, DSL, T-1, etc.)

DDNS

Dynamic DNS (Domain Name System).

DHCP

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) soft- ware automatically assigns IP addresses to client stations logging onto a TCP/IP network, which eliminates the need to manually assign permanent IP addresses.

DHCP Client

The DHCP client list shows all of the computers attached to your local network. The list shows the host name of the computer.

DMZ

DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) is a part of an network that is located between a secure LAN and an insecure WAN. DMZs provide a way for some clients to have unrestricted access to the Internet.

DNS

DNS stands for Domain Name System. DNS converts domain names to the IP addresses that all machines on the Internet have. It translates from name to address and from address to name.

Domain Name

The domain name is the "readable" version of an Internet site address. A typical domain name has the form "www.somedomainname.com" or "www.somedomainname.org", etc.

DTIM

DTIM (Delivery Traffic Indication Message) pro- vides client stations with information on the next opportunity to monitor for broadcast or multicast messages.

Filter

Filters only allow specified data to be transmitted or received. For example, the router can filter specific IP addresses so that users cannot con- nect to those addresses.

Firewall

Firewalls are methods used to keep networks secure from intruders and unauthorized access. Firewalls use filters to prevent unwanted data from being transmitted to and/or from a local net- work. Firewalls are typically used to prevent out- siders from accessing your private data resources and for controlling what outside (WAN) resources your users can access.

Firmware

Firmware refers to memory chips that retain their content without electrical power (for example, BIOS ROM). The router firmware stores all of the router administration settings.

Fragmentation

Refers to the breaking up of data packets during transmission.

FTP

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is used to transfer files over a TCP/IP network, and is typically used for transferring large files or uploading the HTML pages for a web site to the web server.

AT&T Plug&Share™ Wireless PCI Adapter 108 Mbps 6550G