Appendix F:Glossary 809
Nortel WLAN—Security Switch 2300 Series Configuration Guide
AES Advanced Encryption Standard. One of the Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS). The
AES, documented in FIPS Publication 197, specifies a symmetric encryption algorithm for use by
organizations to protect sensitive information. See 802.11i; CCMP.
AP See Access Point (AP).
association The process defined in IEEE 802.11 by which an authenticated mobile (wireless) station
establishes a relationship with a wireless AP to gain full network access. The access point assigns the mobile
station an association identifier (AID), which the wireless LAN (WLAN) uses to track the mobile station as it
roams. After associating with an AP in a Nortel WLAN 2300 system, a mobile station can send and receive
traffic through any AP within the same Mobility Domain™ group.
attribute In authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA), a property used to identify (authenticate)
a user or to configure (authorize) or record (account for) a user’s administrative or network session. A user’s
AAA attributes are stored in a user profile in the local database on a WLAN—Security Switch (WSS), or on a
RADIUS server. Attribute names are case-sensitive. See also RADIUS; VSA.
authenticated identity In a Nortel WLAN 2300 system, the correspondence established between a
user and his or her authentication attributes. User authentication attributes are linked to the user, rather than to
a physical port or device, regardless of the user’s location or type of network connection. Because the
authenticated identity follows the user, he or she requires no reauthentication when roaming.
authentication, authorization, and accounting See AAA.
authentication mobility The ability of a user (client) authenticated via Extensible Authentication
Protocol (EAP)—plus an appropriate subprotocol and back-end authentication, authorization, and accounting
(AAA) service—to roam to different APs without reauthentication.
authentication server An entity that provides an authentication service to an authenticator. From the
credentials provided by a client (or supplicant), the authentication service determines whether the supplicant is
authorized to access the services of the authenticator. In a Nortel WLAN 2300 system, one or more RADIUS
servers can act as authentication servers.
authenticator A device that authenticates a client. In a Nortel WLAN 2300 system, the authenticator is a
WLAN—Security Switch (WSS).
baseline association rate A value set in Nortel WLAN Management Software to help plan Access
Point (AP) coverage in a network. The baseline association rate is the average data transmission rate at which
you want typical mobile clients in the coverage area to associate with the access point(s).
basic service set See BSS.
basic service set identifier See BSSID.
bias The priority of one WLAN—Security Switch (WSS) over other WSSs for booting, configuring, and
providing data transfer for a Access Point (AP). Bias can be set to either low or high on each WSS and is high
by default. Bias applies only to WSSs that are indirectly attached to the AP through an intermediate Layer 2 or
Layer 3 network. An AP always attempts to boot on AP port 1 first, and if the AP is directly attached to a WSS
on AP port 1, the AP uses the directly attached WSS to boot from regardless of the bias settings. See also
dual-homed connection.
BSS Basic service set. A set of wireless stations that communicate with one another through an AP.