826 Appendix F:Glossary
NN47250-500 (Version 03.01)
WEP Wired-Equivalent Privacy protocol. A security protocol, specified in the IEEE 802.11 standard, that
attempts to provide a wireless LAN (WLAN) with a minimal level of security and privacy comparable to a
typical wired LAN. WEP encrypts data transmitted over the WLAN to protect the vulnerable wireless
connection between users (clients) and APs. Although appropriate for most home use, WEP is weak and
fundamentally flawed for enterprise use. Compare AES; CCMP; TKIP.
Wi-Fi Alliance An organization formed by leading wireless equipment and software providers, for
certifying all IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN (WLAN) products for interoperability and promoting the term Wi-Fi
as their global brand name. Only products that pass Wi-Fi Alliance testing can be certified. Certified products
are required to carry an identifying seal on their packaging stating that the product is Wi-Fi certified and
indicating the radio frequency band used (2.4 GHz for 802.11b and 5 GHz for 802.11a, for example). The
Wi-Fi Alliance was formerly known as the Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA).
Wi-Fi Protected Access See WPA.
wildcard See MAC address wildcard; user wildcard; VLAN wildcard.
wildcard mask A 32-bit quantity used with an IP address to determine which bits in the address to
ignore in a comparison with another IP address. When setting up security access control lists (ACLs), you
specify source and destination IP addresses and corresponding wildcard masks by which the WSS determines
whether to forward or filter packets. The security ACL checks the bits in IP addresses that correspond to any 0s
(zeros) in the mask, but does not check the bits that correspond to 1s (ones) in the mask.
wired authentication port An Ethernet port that has 802.1X authentication enabled for access
control.
Wired-Equivalent Privacy protocol See WEP.
Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance See Wi-Fi Alliance.
wireless Internet service provider See WISP.
wireless LAN See WLAN.
WISP Wireless Internet service provider. A company that provides public wireless LAN (WLAN) services.
WLAN Wireless LAN. A LAN to which mobile users (clients) can connect and communicate by means of
high-frequency radio waves rather than wires. WLANs are defined in the IEEE 802.11 standard.
WLAN Security Switch 2300 Series (WSS Software) The Nortel operating system,
accessible through a command-line interface (CLI) or the WLAN Management Software tool suite, that
enables Nortel WLAN 2300 system products to operate as a single system. WLAN Security Switch 2300
Series (WSS Software) performs authentication, authorization, and accounting (AAA) functions; manages
WLAN—Security Switches (WSSs) and Access Points (APs); and maintains the wireless LAN (WLAN) by
means of such network structures as Mobility Domain™ groups, virtual LANs (VLANs), tunnels, spanning
trees, and link aggregation.
WLAN—Security Switch (WSS) A switch in a Nortel WLAN 2300 system. A WSS provides
forwarding, queuing, tunneling, and some security services for the information it receives from its directly
attached Access Point (APs). In addition, the WSS coordinates, provides power to, and manages the
configuration of each attached AP, by means of the Nortel Access Point Access (NAPA) protocol.