34 | InFocus LiteShow User’s Guide |
|
|
IEEE: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, New York, (www.ieee.org)
Infrastructure Mode: an 802.11 networking framework where devices communicate with eachother by first going through an Access Point (AP). In this mode, wireless devices can communicate with each other or with a wired net- work.
IP Address: The address of a computer attached to a TCP/IP network. Every client and server station must have a unique IP address. It can be provided by the user, network administrator, or obtained automatically.
LAN: Local Area Network. A computer network that exists over a small area. LANs are generally found in a single building or group of buildings. LANs can be connected to other LANs over any distance by telephone lines and radio waves. A system of LANs connected in this way is called a
MAC address: (also called an Ethernet address) is a number which uniquely identifies a computer that has an Ethernet interface.
Open Key: A means of client authentication between the wireless NIC and the AP. Open key authentication involves supplying the correct Service Set Identifier (SSID).
Shared Key: A means of client authentication between the wireless network interface card (NIC) and the AP. With shared key authentication, the AP sends the client device a text packet that the client must then encrypt with the cor- rect WEP key and return to the AP.
USB wireless adapter: a wireless device that attaches to a PC computer through a USB port.
WEP: Short for Wired Equivalent Privacy, a security protocol for WLANs. WEP is designed to provide the same level of security as that of a wired LAN by encrypting data so it is protected as it is transmitted.
Wireless Adapter: a wireless PCMCIA card, integrated adapter, or USB wireless adapter that inserts into a PC laptop computer.
WLAN: A wireless LAN that transmits over the air, typically in an unlicensed frequency such as the 2.4GHz band.
