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WLANs use RF technology to send and receive data wirelessly in a certain area. This lets users in a small
zone send data and share resources such as printers without using cables to physically connect each
computer.
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA )
A subset of the IEEE 802.11i standard. WPA applies IEEE 802.1x and Extensible Authentication Protocol
(EAP) to authenticate wireless clients using an external RADIUS database. WPA uses Temporal Key
Integrity Protocol (TKIP), Message Integrity Check (MIC), and IEEE 802.1x to encrypt data. See also WPA-
PSK (WPA -Pre-Shared Key).
Wi-Fi MultiMedia (WMM)
Part of the IEEE 802.11e QoS enhancement to the Wi-Fi standard that ensures quality of service for
multimedia applications in WLANs.
Wireless Client Supplicants
Software that runs on an operating system, instructing the wireless client how to use WPA.
WPA -Pre-Shared Key (WPA-PSK)
WPA-PSK requires a single (identical) password entered into each Access Point, wireless gateway, and
wireless client. A client is granted access to a WLAN if the passwords match.
WPA2
A wireless security standard that defines stronger encryption, authentication, and key management than
WPA. It includes two data encryption algorithms, Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) and Advanced
Encryption Standard (AES), in the Counter mode with Cipher block chaining Message authentication
Code Protocol (CCMP).
Wireless Distribution System (WDS)
A technology that lets Access Points communicate with one another to extend the range of a WLAN.
