Glossary of Wireless Networking Terms
Glossary Of Terms
Wireless
Networking
access points
—These are centrally located devices that transmit data to computers in a
network. In an 802.11 WLAN (wireless local-area network), an access
point is the hub
through which different devices using the network communicate.
gateway—A complex
internetworking device that converts data from one protocol to another. In
addition, gateways transfer data among networks that use different
communications protocols.
The gateway actually deconstructs the information from one service and
restructures it in the other network's protocol format.
Gateways include
all hardware and software used to link dissimilar NOSes (network operating
systems) or to link LANs (local-area networks) to mainframes
or WANs
(wide-area networks). Gateways also appear in email systems to convert messages
among services using different email protocols.
hotspot—Hotspots
are locations that provide wireless Internet service via a wireless access
point. Hotspots are usually in populated public areas, such
as a town square
or downtown area, as well as at hotels and airports. In some instances, users
may have to pay for access, whereas there are other hotspots
that provide free
access.
hub—A device that
connects two or more network devices so they can communicate. In other words,
it's a point on the network where multiple devices connect
to each other.
IEEE (Institute
of Electrical and Electronic Engineers)—An association of engineers, scientists,
and students founded in 1963. The IEEE has added developments
to the computer
and electronics industry, most notably the IEEE 802 standards for LANs
(local-area networks).
router—The part
of a communications network that receives transmissions (information) and
forwards them to their destinations using the shortest route available.
Data may travel
through multiple routers on the way to its destination. Keep in mind that a
router is a more complex and slightly slower mechanism than
a switch; not
only does it govern the flow of signals within a network, but it also requires
much more knowledge about the network in order to effectively
determine the
best route.
server—The
control computer on a LAN (local-area network). The server controls software,
access to printers, and other parts of the network. The server
is usually
accompanied by workstations that share the main system's resources. A network
may have more than one server. In addition, a server may be dedicated,
meaning its sole
purpose is to be the server, or nondedicated so you can use it for basic
computing tasks, as well as setting it up to act as the server.
SSID (Service Set
Identifier)—A unique identifier that refers to a specific WLAN (wireless
local-area network). No device can communicate on a WLAN unless
it can provide
the proper SSID. An SSID is added to the beginning of every packet sent over a
wireless network, but because an SSID is easily detected,
it doesn't really
provide a lot of security so much as it provides a method of keeping traffic
confined to a specific WLAN.
switch—A deeply
embedded piece of physical circuitry that governs signal flow within a network.
When the switch is open, it lets the signal flow through;
if the switch is
closed, the flow stops, and the connection to the circuit is broken. On a
network, the switch is a device that forwards and filters packets
of information
between LAN (local-area network) segments, or nodes. When traffic backs up or
jams on a network, it's because data is being forced to wander
around the entire
network looking for its ultimate destination. In fact, it's the switch (when
one is installed) that helps a network stay on task when
it receives a lot
of traffic. In that sense, a switch corrects traffic problems within a network
and streamlines data so it transmits directly from its
origin to its
destination. A switch can accomplish this partly by remembering the addresses
of each of the nodes on the network and anticipating the data's
destination. By
having the nodes on a network connected to a switch, it's possible to see an
immediate increase in overall performance. On bigger networks,
there is often
more than one switch to connect different portions of the system.
WEP (Wired
Equivalent Privacy)—WEP is a security algorithm in the 802.11 wireless standard
that's specifically designed for wireless networking. WEP uses RSA Data
Security's RC4 stream cipher to encrypt a transmission with either a 40-bit or
128-bit key.