Green House WGA54G manual Appendix B Glossary

Instant Wireless® Series

Appendix B: Glossary

802.11b - One of the IEEE standards for wireless networking hardware. Products that adhere to a specific IEEE standard will work with each other, even if they are manufactured by different companies. The 802.11b standard specifies a maximum data transfer rate of 11Mbps, an operating frequency of 2.4GHz, and WEP encryption for security. 802.11b networks are also referred to as Wi-Fi networks.

802.11g - A proposed, but as yet unratified extension of the IEEE 802.11 stan- dard for wireless networking hardware. The draft 802.11g specifications used by Linksys specify a maximum data transfer rate of 54Mbps using OFDM modulation, an operating frequency of 2.4GHz, backward compatibility with IEEE 802.11b devices, and WEP encryption for security.

Adapter - This is a device that adds network functionality to your PC, game console, etc.

Ad-hoc Network - An ad-hoc network is a group of computers, each with a wireless adapter, connected as an independent 802.11 wireless LAN. Ad-hoc wireless computers operate on a peer-to-peer basis, communicating directly with each other without the use of an access point. Ad-hoc mode is also referred to as an Independent Basic Service Set or as peer-to-peer mode, and is useful at a departmental scale.

Bit - A binary digit. The value - 0 or 1-used in the binary numbering system. Also, the smallest form of data.

Broadband - A data-transmission scheme in which multiple signals share the bandwidth of a medium. This allows the transmission of voice, data and video signals over a single medium. Cable television uses broadband techniques to deliver dozens of channels over one cable.

Browser - A browser is an application program that provides a way to look at and interact with all the information on the World Wide Web or PC. The word "browser" seems to have originated prior to the Web as a generic term for user interfaces that let you browse text files online.

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) - A protocol that lets network administrators manage centrally and automate the assignment of Internet

Wireless-G Ethernet Bridge

Protocol (IP) addresses in an organization's network. Using the Internet's set of protocol, each machine that can connect to the Internet needs a unique IP address. When an organization sets up its computer users with a connection to the Internet, an IP address must be assigned to each machine. Without DHCP, the IP address must be entered manually at each computer and, if computers move to another location in another part of the network, a new IP address must be entered. DHCP lets a network administrator supervise and distribute IP addresses from a central point and automatically sends a new IP address when a computer is plugged into a different place in the network.

DHCP uses the concept of a "lease" or amount of time that a given IP address will be valid for a computer. The lease time can vary depending on how long a user is likely to require the Internet connection at a particular location. It's espe- cially useful in education and other environments where users change fre- quently. Using very short leases, DHCP can dynamically reconfigure networks in which there are more computers than there are available IP addresses.

DHCP supports static addresses for computers containing Web servers that need a permanent IP address.

Download - To receive a file transmitted over a network. In a communications session, download means receive, upload means transmit.

Driver - A software module that provides an interface between a network inter- face card and the upper-layer protocol software running in the computer; it is designed for a specific device, and is installed during the initial installation of a network-compatible client or server operating system.

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) - A technology that dramatically increases the digital capacity of ordinary telephone lines into the home or office and, by employing unused bandwidth, still allows for normal phone usage. DSL pro- vides "always-on" operation, eliminating the need to dial in to the service.

Encryption - A security method that applies a specific algorithm to data in order to alter the data's appearance and prevent other devices from reading the information.

Ethernet - IEEE standard network protocol that specifies how data is placed on and retrieved from a common transmission medium.

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