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Primary Response Air Cover Glossary

The following terms and definitions may be useful when reading literature on wireless technology and Primary Response Air Cover:

Abbreviation Description
AP Access Point
DNS Domain Name System (or Service or Server)
IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
IP Internet Protocol
LAN Local Area Network
MAC Media Access Control
SSID Service Set Identifier
WEP Wired Equivalent Privacy
WLAN Wireless Local Area Network
WPA Wi-Fi Protected Access

Term Description
802.11 An IEEE wireless LAN specification for over-the-air interface between a wireless Client and a base station or between two wireless Clients.

Examples of 802.11 Standards
802.11 Spec Release Date Op Frequency Data Rate (typ) Data Rate (max) Range (Indoor)
A 1999 5 GHz 25 Mbit/s 54 Mbit/s ~30 meters
(~100 feet)
B 1999 2.4 GHz 6.5 Mbit/s 11 Mbit/s ~30 meters
(~100 feet)
G 2003 2.4 GHz 25 Mbit/s 54 Mbit/s ~30 meters
(~100 feet)
N 2008 2.4 or 5.0 GHz 200 Mbit/s 540 Mbit/s ~50 meters
(~160 feet)

Access Point Access Point also referred to, as an AP is a station* that provides distribution services. It is the hub used by wireless Clients for communicating with each other and connecting to the WLAN.

* A station is the component that connects to the wireless medium
Ad hoc Network A network formed by peer-to-peer connections between wireless Clients. It is difficult to enforce tight security policy controls on ad hoc connections. Therefore, ad hoc connections create security vulnerability.
Client A laptop, a handheld device, or any other system that uses the wireless medium (802.11 standard) for communication.
DNS Domain Name Service, an Internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses.
IP Address Internet Protocol Address, a 32-bit numeric identifier for a computer or a device on the network.
MAC Address Media Access Control Address, a unique 6-byte (48 bit) address burnt into the network adapter by the manufacturer and is often transparent to a user; a networked device has a MAC address corresponding to each network interface.
Security Settings An IEEE 802.11 defined MAC–level privacy mechanism that protects the contents of data frames from eavesdropping using encryption.
SSID A unique token identifying an 802.11 WLAN; all wireless devices on a WLAN must employ the same SSID to communicate with each other.
WEP Wired Equivalent Privacy, an IEEE 802.11 defined MAC–level privacy mechanism that protects the contents of data frames from eavesdropping using encryption.
WLAN Wireless Local Area Network that uses high frequency radio waves, rather than wires to communicate between nodes.
WPA Wi-Fi Protected Access offers a higher level of security than WEP and implements a majority of the 802.11i standard.

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