Linksys Instant Wireless Series User Manual page 21

MAC Address - The MAC (Media Access Control) address is a unique num-
ber assigned by the manufacturer to any Ethernet networking device, such as a
network adapter, that allows the network to identify it at the hardware level.
mIRC - mIRC runs under Windows and provides a graphical interface for log-
ging onto IRC servers and listing, joining, and leaving channels.
Network Mask - Also known as the "Subnet Mask."
PCMCIA - The PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International
Association) is an industry group organized in 1989 to promote standards for a
credit card-size memory or I/O device that would fit into a personal computer,
usually a notebook or laptop computer.
Ping (Packet INternet Groper) - An Internet utility used to determine whether
a particular IP address is online. It is used to test and debug a network by send-
ing out a packet and waiting for a response.
RJ-45 - A connector similar to a telephone connector that holds up to eight
wires, used for connecting Ethernet devices.
Roaming - In an infrastructure mode wireless network, this refers to the abili-
ty to move out of one access point's range and into another and transparently
reassociate and reauthenticate to the new access point. This reassociation and
reauthentication should occur without user intervention and ideally without
interruption to network connectivity. A typical scenario would be a location
with multiple access points, where users can physically relocate from one area
to another and easily maintain connectivity.
SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) - Refers to any small office or home
office environment.
Static IP Address - A permanent IP address that is assigned to a node in a
TCP/IP network.
Subnet Mask - The method used for splitting IP networks into a series of sub-
groups, or subnets. The mask is a binary pattern that is matched up with the IP
address to turn part of the host ID address field into a field for subnets.
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Instant Wireless Series
TM
Wireless Ethernet Bridge
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) - A method (protocol) used along with
the IP (Internet Protocol) to send data in the form of message units (datagram)
between network devices over a LAN or WAN. While IP takes care of handling
the actual delivery of the data (routing), TCP takes care of keeping track of the
individual units of data (called packets) that a message is divided into for effi-
cient delivery over the network. TCP is known as a "connection oriented" pro-
tocol due to requiring the receiver of a packet to return an acknowledgment of
receipt to the sender of the packet resulting in transmission control.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) - The basic com-
munication language or set of protocols for communications over a network
(developed specifically for the Internet). TCP/IP defines a suite or group of
protocols and not only TCP and IP.
UDP (User Datagram Protocol) - A method (protocol) used along with the IP
(Internet Protocol) to send data in the form of message units (datagram)
between network devices over a LAN or WAN. While IP takes care of handling
the actual delivery of the data (routing), UDP takes care of keeping track of the
individual units of data (called packets) that a message is divided into for effi-
cient delivery over the network. UDP is known as a "connection-less" protocol
due to NOT requiring the receiver of a packet to return an acknowledgment of
receipt to the sender of the packet (as opposed to TCP).
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) - A data privacy mechanism based on a 64-
bit shared key algorithm, as described in the IEEE 802.11 standard.
WINIPCFG - Configuration utility based on the Win32 API for querying,
defining, and managing IP addresses within a network. A commonly used util-
ity, under Windows 95, 98, and Millennium, for configuring networks with
static IP addresses.
WLAN - A group of computers and associated devices that communicate with
each other wirelessly. If set to infrastructure mode, the WLAN can communi-
cate with a wired network through a wireless network access point.
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