Wireless networking defined:

Thealphabet of wireless networking specifications and standards, listed by industrypopularity.

IEEE802.11b (also known as WiFi) � The first industry standardspecification for wireless networks operating in the 2.4 GHz frequency spectrum,enabling devices to link to a network at speeds of up to 11Mbper second.

IEEE 802.11a �The latest specification accepted as an industry standard for wireless networksoperating in the 5 GHz frequency spectrum, enabling devices to link to a networkat speeds of up to 54Mb per second.

IEEE 802.11g �A recently developed specification for wireless networks operating in the 2.4GHz frequency spectrum, enabling devices to link to a network at speeds ofup to 54Mb per second.  Backward compatible with 802.11b.

IEEE 802.1X- this specification is designed to enhance the security of wireless localarea networks that follow the IEEE 80211 standard.  802.1X provides anauthentication framework for wireless networks, allowing a user to beauthenticated by a central authority such as a Radius server.

Definitionsto help you understand wireless and other technologies:

AccessPoint (AP) - A wireless LAN transceiver that acts as acenter-point and bridges between wireless and wirednetworks.

Authentication- The process of identifying an individualthrough the use of a username and password combination.

BIOS - Basic Input/Output System - is built-insoftware that determines what a computer can do without accessing programs froma disk.  It is the basic code to recognize the keyboard, display, diskdrives, etc.

Bluetooth� A wireless technology based on short-range (50 feet) radiotransmission in the 2.45 GHz frequency spectrum. It is used to connect PCs,PDAs, to printers, etc.

Bridge - A device that connects two LANs,or two segments of the same LAN. A bridge can connect dissimilar LANs, such asEthernet with Token-ring.

Ethernet - A Local Area Network (LAN) protocoldeveloped by Xerox and DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation) that allows datatransfer rates of 10Mb; often called 10Base-T, 10Base-2 or 10Base-5.

Fast Ethernet - A newer version ofEthernet, also called 100Base-T supports data transfer rates of 100 Mbps. And the newest version, Gigagit Ethernet supports data rates of 1gigabit (1,000megabits) per second.

Firewall - A system designed to preventunauthorized access to or from a private network.   Firewalls can beimplemented in both hardware or software or a combination of both.  Throughthe use of filters, firewalls act as a barrier and are the first line of defensein preventing unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networksconnected to the Internet.

gateway - A networking device that links twonetworks.

host - A computer system that is accessedby a user or client computer.

HTML - Hyper Text Markup Language - theauthoring used to create documents on the Web.

HTTP - Hyper Text Transfer Protocol - theprotocol by which messages are formatted and transmitted over the Web.

hub - A device used as acommon connection point in a network. 

HiperLAN2� A European standard for wireless LAN, operating in the 5GHzfrequency spectrum.

IEEE802.11a � The latest specification accepted as an industrystandard for wireless LANs operating in the 5GHz frequency spectrum, enablingdevices to link to a network at speeds of up to 54Mb per second.

IEEE802.11b � The first industry wide standard specification forwireless LAN operating in the 2.4GHz frequency spectrum, enabling devices tolink to a network at speeds of up to 11Mb per second.  Yes, the"b" specification came before the "a".

IEEE802.11g � Another emerging specification "not yet anindustry standard" for wireless LAN operating in the 2.4GHz frequencyspectrum, enabling devices to link to a network at speeds of up to 54Mb persecond.

IEEE802.1X- this specification is designed to enhance the security of wireless localarea networks that follow the IEEE 80211 standard.  802.1X provides anauthentication framework for wireless networks, allowing a user to beauthenticated by a central authority such as a Radius server.

IP address - Internet Protocoladdress - a numerical representation of a machine on a network. Each machine hasa unique IP address.

ISP - Internet Service Provider - acommercial enterprise that offers connections to the internet.

LAN - LocalArea Network - a computer network that usually spans a small area or department.

MAC or MAC address -Media Access Control - a hardware address that uniquely identifies each node ona network.

MBR or Master Boot Record - resides onthe first sector of the hard disk and is accessed every time the computer bootsup.  The MBR is the record of where the operating system exists on the harddrive. Without the MBR, a computer cannot boot up.

Node -a processing location within a network.  A node can be a computer or someother device, such as a printer.  Every node has a unique network address.

PCI (PeripheralComponent Interconnect) - developed by Intel and is an expansion slot found onthe motherboard in most modern desktops.

PCcard or PCMCIA- A computer device packaged in a small card similar to the size of a creditcard.  Mainly used in the PCcard slots found in laptops.

Protocol - An agreed-upon formatfor transmitting data between two devices. The protocol determines how the datais compressed, the type of error checking used and other send / receiveinformation.  TCP/IP is the most popular since it is used for internettransmissions.

Router - A device that connects two or moresubnets or networks together. Routers have tables with MAC addresses in themthat point to the location of a particular node on the network. They act asinformation centers where computers can go to find out where another computer islocated.

Subnet - A portion of a network that shares acommon address component. On TCPIP networks, subnets are defined as all deviceswhose IP addresses have the same prefix. For example, all devices with IPaddresses that start with 100.100.100. would be part of the same subnet.Dividing a network into subnets is useful for both security and performancereasons. IP networks are divided using a subnet mask.

T1- Typically the standard for businesses, T1 utilizes both four-wire copperlines. Downloaded and uploaded information travels on completely separatechannels allowing the data to travel both upstream and downstream simultaneouslywithout impacting performance.

TCP/ IP - Transmission Control Protocol/InternetProtocol - a standard protocol used for transmitting data over networks such asthe internet.

VPN - Virtual Private Network - a secureconnection between nodes that uses encryption and other security mechanisms to ensure that only authorized users can access a network and thedata cannot be intercepted.

WAN - Wide Area Network - a computernetwork that spans a relatively large geographical area.  Typically a WANconsists of two or more local area networks (LANs).

WLAN- Wireless Local Area Network - a local area network whose cabling hasbeen replaced by radio waves.

WiFi Alliance - Formerly known as WECA- Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance - an organization made up of leadingwireless equipment and software providers with the mission of certifying theinteroperability of all 802.11 based products.

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