Linksys BEFW11S4 manual Instant Wireless Series, Hop - The link between two network nodes

Instant Wireless® Series

Hardware - Hardware is the physical aspect of computers, telecommunica- tions, and other information technology devices. The term arose as a way to dis- tinguish the "box" and the electronic circuitry and components of a computer from the program you put in it to make it do things. The program came to be known as the software.

Hop - The link between two network nodes.

HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol) - The communications protocol used to connect to servers on the World Wide Web. Its primary function is to estab- lish a connection with a Web server and transmit HTML pages to the client browser.

Hub - The device that serves as the central location for attaching wires from workstations. Can be passive, where there is no amplification of the signals; or active, where the hubs are used like repeaters to provide an extension of the cable that connects to a workstation.

ICQ - A conferencing program for the Internet that provides interactive chat, e-mail and file transfer and can alert you when someone on your predefined list has also come online.

IEEE (The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) - The IEEE describes itself as "the world's largest technical professional society, promoting the development and application of electrotechnology and allied sciences for the benefit of humanity, the advancement of the profession, and the well-being of our members."

The IEEE fosters the development of standards that often become national and international standards. The organization publishes a number of journals, has many local chapters, and several large societies in special areas, such as the IEEE Computer Society.

Infrastructure Network - An infrastructure network is a group of computers or other devices, each with a wireless adapter, connected as an 802.11 wireless LAN. In infrastructure mode, the wireless devices communicate with each other and to a wired network by first going through an access point. An infra- structure wireless network connected to a wired network is referred to as a Basic Service Set (BSS). A set of two or more BSS in a single network is referred to as an Extended Service Set (ESS). Infrastructure mode is useful at a corporation scale, or when it is necessary to connect the wired and wireless networks.

Wireless Access Point Router with 4-Port Switch

IP Address - In the most widely installed level of the Internet Protocol (Internet Protocol) today, an IP address is a 32-binary digit number that identi- fies each sender or receiver of information that is sent in packet across the Internet. When you request an HTML page or send e-mail, the Internet Protocol part of TCP/IP includes your IP address in the message (actually, in each of the packets if more than one is required) and sends it to the IP address that is obtained by looking up the domain name in the Uniform Resource Locator you requested or in the e-mail address you're sending a note to. At the other end, the recipient can see the IP address of the Web page requestor or the e-mail sender and can respond by sending another message using the IP address it received.

IPCONFIG - A Windows NT or 2000 utility that provides for querying, defin- ing and managing IP addresses within a network. A commonly used utility for configuring networks with static IP addresses.

IPSec (Internet Protocol Security) - A suite of protocols used to implement secure exchange of packets at the IP layer. IPSec supports two basic modes: Transport and Tunnel. Transport encrypts the payload of each packet, leaving the header untouched, while Tunnel mode encrypts both the header and the pay- load and is therefore more secure. IPSec must be supported on both transmit- ter and receiver and must share a public key. Tunnel mode is widely deployed in VPNs (Virtual Private Networks).

IPX (Internetwork Packet EXchange) - A NetWare communications protocol used to route messages from one node to another. IPX packets include network addresses and can be routed from one network to another.

ISM band - The FCC and their counterparts outside of the U.S. have set aside bandwidth for unlicensed use in the ISM (Industrial, Scientific and Medical) band. Spectrum in the vicinity of 2.4 GHz, in particular, is being made avail- able worldwide. This presents a truly revolutionary opportunity to place con- venient high-speed wireless capabilities in the hands of users around the globe.

ISP - An ISP (Internet service provider) is a company that provides individuals and companies access to the Internet and other related services such as Web site building and virtual hosting.

LAN - A local area network (LAN) is a group of computers and associated devices that share a common communications line and typically share the resources of a single processor or server within a small geographic area (for example, within an office building).

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