SmartBridges sB3415-01 Appendix a Some useful terms and definitions, Acronyms and Abbreviations

i n t e l l i g e n t w i r e l e s s p l a t f o r m

Appendix A – Some useful terms and definitions

	Acronyms and Abbreviations
MAC	Media Access Control
RSSI	Receive Signal Sensitivity Indication
SSID	Service Set Identifier
DHCP	Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
ACL	Access Control List
SNMP	Simple Network Management Protocol
SNTP	Simple Network Time Protocol
STP	Spanning Tree Protocol
TCP	Transmission Control Protocol
IP	Internet Protocol
WDS	Wireless Distribution System

SSID

Each ESS has a Service Set Identifier (SSID) used to identify the Radio that belongs to the ESS. Radios can be configured with the SSID of the ESS to which they should associate. By default, radios broadcast their SSID to advertise their presence.

WDS

Wireless Distribution System (WDS) is a system that provides a means to extend the range of Wireless Local Area Network. It allows the creation of large wireless networks by linking several wireless stations with WDS links. To create a WDS link, peer MAC addresses need to be exchanged (as can be done through the Wireless Settings page for 3415-03 Bridge Mode). All stations in WDS should be configured to use the same radio channel and share the same WEP keys, if they are used. smartBridges radios functions as a transparent bridge while operating as WDS links.

WEP

According to the IEEE 802.11 standard, Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is intended to provide “confidentiality that is subjectively equivalent to the confidentiality of a wired local area network medium and that does not employ cryptographic techniques to enhance privacy.”

WEP relies on a secret key that is shared between a mobile station and an access point. WEP uses the RC4 stream cipher invented by RSA Data Security. RC4 is a symmetric stream cipher that uses the same variable length key for encryption and decryption. With WEP enabled, the sender encrypts the data frame payload and replaces the original payload with the encrypted payload. The sender then forwards the encrypted frame to its destination. The encrypted data frames are sent with the MAC header WEP bit set. Thus, the receiver knows to use the shared WEP key to decrypt the payload and recover the original frame. The new frame, with an unencrypted payload can then be passed to an upper layer protocol.

WEP keys can be either statically configured or dynamically generated. In either case, WEP has been found to be easily broken.

WPA

Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is a replacement security standard for WEP. It is a subset of the IEEE 802.11i standard being developed. WPA makes use of TKIP to deliver security superior to WEP. 802.1X access control is still employed. The Authentication Server provides the material for creating the keys.

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