Appendix B: Glossary
802.11b - The 802.11b standard specifies a wireless networking at 11 Mbps using
direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) technology and operating in the unlicensed radio
spectrum at 2.4GHz, and WEP encryption for security. 802.11b networks are also referred to
as Wi-Fi networks.
802.11g - specification for wireless networking at 54 Mbps using direct-sequence
spread-spectrum (DSSS) technology, using OFDM modulation and operating in the
unlicensed radio spectrum at 2.4GHz, and backward compatibility with IEEE 802.11b devices,
and WEP encryption for security.
802.11n - 802.11n builds upon previous 802.11 standards by adding MIMO (multiple-input
multiple-output). MIMO uses multiple transmitter and receiver antennas to allow for increased
data throughput via spatial multiplexing and increased range by exploiting the spatial diversity,
perhaps through coding schemes like Alamouti coding. The Enhanced Wireless Consortium
(EWC) was formed to help accelerate the IEEE 802.11n development process and promote a
technology specification for interoperability of next-generation wireless local area networking
(WLAN) products.
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) - A protocol that automatically configure the
TCP/IP parameters for the all the PC(s) that are connected to a DHCP server
DNS (Domain Name System) – An Internet Service that translates the names of websites into
IP addresses.
Domain Name - A descriptive name for an address or group of addresses on the Internet.
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) - A technology that allows data to be sent or received over
existing traditional phone lines.
ISP (Internet Service Provider) - A company that provides access to the Internet.
MTU (Maximum Transmission Unit) - The size in bytes of the largest packet that can be
transmitted.
NAT (Network Address Translation) - NAT technology translates IP addresses of a local area
network to a different IP address for the Internet.
PPPoE (Point to Point Protocol over Ethernet) - PPPoE is a protocol for connecting remote
hosts to the Internet over an always-on connection by simulating a dial-up connection.
SSID - A Service Set Identification is a thirty-two character (maximum) alphanumeric key
identifying a wireless local area network. For the wireless devices in a network to
communicate with each other, all devices must be configured with the same SSID. This is
typically the configuration parameter for a wireless PC card. It corresponds to the ESSID in
the wireless Access Point and to the wireless network name.
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) - A data privacy mechanism based on a 64-bit or 128-bit or
152-bit shared key algorithm, as described in the IEEE 802.11 standard.
Wi-Fi - A trade name for the 802.11b wireless networking standard, given by the Wireless
Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA, see http://www.wi-fi.net), an industry standards group
