Glossary D-1
Glossary
This appendix explains the technical terms used in this manual.
Access Point A networking device that transparently bridges wireless computers and laptops to a
wired local network.
Ad-hoc mode A small Peer-to-Peer network mode in which the wireless clients are connected to
one another directly without using a Wireless Access Point. Some of the wireless
clients are part of the network only for a limited duration while in some close
proximity of the rest of the network. In IEEE 802.11b specification, the ad-hoc mode
is referred to as the independent basic service set.
Antenna A device that intercepts radio frequency waves from the atmosphere and converts
them to corresponding voltage signals.
Bandwidth A measure of the maximum rate of data transfer. Greater bandwidth allows the
transfer of more information in a given period of time. For digital services, the
bandwidth is usually expressed in bits or bytes per second.
Basic Service Set (BSS) A group of Wireless Stations and an Access Point using the same ID (Service Set
Identifier or SSID).
Binary A number system that has only two digits 0 and 1.
Bridge A hardware device that links two or more physical networks and manages the
transfer of data between these networks. The two networks being connected can be
alike or dissimilar.