RF-Link Technology WRT55AG manual 108 109

Instant Wireless® Series

Packet - A unit of data routed between an origin and a destination in a network.

Passphrase - Used much like a password, a passphrase simplifies the WEP encryption process by automatically generating the WEP encryption keys for Linksys products.

Ping (Packet INternet Groper) - An Internet utility used to determine whether a particular IP address is online. It is used to test and debug a network by send- ing out a packet and waiting for a response.

POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3) - A standard mail server commonly used on the Internet. It provides a message store that holds incoming e-mail until users log on and download it. POP3 is a simple system with little selectivity. All pending messages and attachments are downloaded at the same time. POP3 uses the SMTP messaging protocol.

Port - A pathway into and out of the computer or a network device such as a switch or router. For example, the serial and parallel ports on a personal com- puter are external sockets for plugging in communications lines, modems and printers.

PPPoE (Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet) - PPPoE is a method for the encapsulation of PPP packets over Ethernet frames from the user to the ISP over the Internet. One reason PPPoE is preferred by ISPs is because it provides authentication (username and password) in addition to data transport. A PPPoE session can be initiated by either a client application residing on a PC, or by client firmware residing on a modem or router.

PPTP (Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol) - A protocol which allows the Point to Point Protocol (PPP) to be tunneled through an IP network. PPTP does not specify any changes to the PPP protocol but rather describes a "tunneling serv- ice" for carrying PPP (a tunneling service is any network service enabled by tunneling protocols such as PPTP, L2F, L2TP, and IPSEC tunnel mode). One example of a tunneling service is secure access from a remote small office net- work to a headquarters corporate intranet via a Virtual Private Network (VPN) that traverses the Internet. However, tunneling services are not restricted to cor- porate environments and may also be used for personal (i.e., non-business) applications.

RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service) - A protocol used to control network access. RADIUS enables servers to authenticate users, so only legitimate users are granted network access. RADIUS servers are frequently

Dual-Band Wireless A+G Broadband Router

used in 802.1x implementations; however, they are not specified by the 802.1x standard.

RJ-45(Registered Jack-45) - A connector similar to a telephone connector that holds up to eight wires, used for connecting Ethernet devices.

RMON (Remote MONitoring) - RMON provides comprehensive network monitoring capabilities. It eliminates the polling required in standard SNMP, and can set alarms on a variety of traffic conditions, including specific error types.

Roaming - In an infrastructure mode wireless network, this refers to the abili- ty to move out of one access point's range and into another and transparently reassociate and reauthenticate to the new access point. This reassociation and reauthentication should occur without user intervention and ideally without interruption to network connectivity. A typical scenario would be a location with multiple access points, where users can physically relocate from one area to another and easily maintain connectivity.

Router - Protocol-dependent device that connects subnetworks together. Routers are useful in breaking down a very large network into smaller subnet- works; they introduce longer delays and typically have much lower throughput rates than bridges.

RTS (Request To Send) - An RS-232 signal sent from the transmitting station to the receiving station requesting permission to transmit.

Server - Any computer whose function in a network is to provide user access to files, printing, communications, and other services.

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) - The standard e-mail protocol on the Internet. It is a TCP/IP protocol that defines the message format and the mes- sage transfer agent (MTA), which stores and forwards the mail.

SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) - A widely used network monitoring and control protocol. Data is passed from SNMP agents, which are hardware and/or software processes reporting activity in each network device (hub, router, bridge, etc.) to the workstation console used to oversee the net- work. The agents return information contained in a MIB (Management Information Base), which is a data structure that defines what is obtainable from the device and what can be controlled (turned off, on, etc.).

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