Glossary
A
Access Control List
ACL. This is a database of network devices that are allowed to access resources on the network.
Access Point
AP. Device that allows wireless clients to connect to it and access the network
Address Resolution Protocol
ARP. Used to map MAC addresses to IP addresses so that conversions can be made in both directions.
Advanced Encryption Standard AES. Government encryption standard
Alphanumeric Characters
Antenna
Used to transmit and receive RF signals.
ASCII
American Standard Code for Information Interchange. This system of characters is most commonly used for text files
Attenuation
The loss in strength of digital and analog signals. The loss is greater when the signal is being transmitted over long distances.
Authentication
To provide credentials, like a Password, in order to verify that the person or device is really who they are claiming to be
Automatic Private IP Addressing
APIPA. An IP address that that a Windows computer will assign itself when it is configured to obtain an IP address automatically but no DHCP server is available on the network
B
Backward Compatible
The ability for new devices to communicate and interact with older legacy devices to guarantee interoperability
Bandwidth
The maximum amount of bytes or bits per second that can be transmitted to and from a network device
Beacon
A data frame by which one of the stations in a
Bit rate
The amount of bits that pass in given amount of time
Bit/sec
Bits per second
BOOTP
Bootstrap Protocol. Allows for computers to be booted up and given an IP address with no user intervention
Broadcast
Transmitting data in all directions at once
Browser
A program that allows you to access resources on the web and provides them to you graphically
C
CAT 5
Category 5. Used for 10/100 Mbps or 1Gbps Ethernet connections
Client
A program or user that requests data from a server
Collision
When do two devices on the same Ethernet network try and transmit data at the exact same time.
Cookie
Information that is stored on the hard drive of your computer that holds your preferences to the site that gave your computer the cookie
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