A Glossary

●Wireless LAN terms and concepts

●Network printing terms and concepts

Wireless LAN terms and concepts

Access point

An access point is a device that typically serves as a bridge or gateway between wireless devices and the devices on a cabled network. An access point must be able to receive and forward network traffic between wireless and cabled network devices. Multiple access points can act as repeaters to extend the range of a wireless network.

Connecting via an access point is called infrastructure mode. On Apple networks, this is called AirPort network mode.

Peer-to-peer mode

Peer-to-peer mode is a wireless network topology where wireless devices communicate with each other directly. An access point is not used. On Apple networks, this method is called computer-to-computer mode.

NOTE: HP recommends that you use infrastructure mode if you plan to use six or more devices.

When set in this mode, the HP Jetdirect print server receives print jobs directly from wireless computers.

Channels

IEEE standards for 802.11 wireless LANs specify a spectrum of radio waves for wireless communications. The allowed spectrum is divided into channels. 802.11b uses 22 MHz channels, 802.11g uses 20 MHz channels, and 802.11n can use either 20 MHz or 40 MHz channels (because

12 Appendix A Glossary

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