Question | Answer |
Ad hoc | A type of wireless LAN in which stations communicate directly with each other (rather than using an access point) |
Infrastructure | A type of WLAN in which stations communicate with an access point and not directly with each other |
Access Point | A device used on wireless LANs that transmits and receives wireless signals and from multiple nodes and restransmits them to the rest of the network segment. |
Service Set Identifier (SSID) | A unique character string used to identify an access point on an 802.11 network. |
Association | In the context of wireless networking, the communication that occurs between a station and an access point to enable the station to connect tot he network via that access point. |
Reassociation | In the context of wireless networking, the process of a station establishing a connection (or associating) with a different access point. |
Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision CSMA/CD | A network access method specified for use by IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet) networks. In CSMA/CD, each node waits its turn before transmitting data to avoid interferring with other nodes' transmissions. |
Directional Antenna | A type of of antenna that issues wireless signals along a single direction, or path |
Omnidirectional Antenna | A type of antenna tht issues and receives wireless signals with equal strength and clarity in all directions. |
Geosynchronous orbit or geostationary orbit (GEO) | The term used to refer to a satallite that maintains a constant distance from a point on the equator at every point in its orbit. |
Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) | A type of satellite that orbits the Earth with an altitude between 100 and 900 miles, closer to the Earth's poles than the orbits of either GEO or MEO satellites. |
Medium Earth Orbiting (MEO) | A type of satellite that orbits the Earth rougly 6000 to 12000 miles above its surface, positioned between the equator and the poles. |
Hot Spots | An area covered by a wireless access point that provides visitors with wireless services, including Internet access |
Line of sight (LOS) | A wireless signal or path that travels directly in a straight line from its transmitter to its intended receiver. |
War Driving | The act of driving while running a laptop configured to detect and capture wireless data transmissions |
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) | A key encryption technique for wireless networks that uses keys both to authenticate network clients and to encrypt data in transit |
Wi-fi Protected Access (WPA) | A wireless security method endorsed by the Wi-Fi Alliance that is considered a subset of the 802.11 standard. |
WPA2 | the name given to the 802.11 security standard by the Wi-fi Alliance. |
Wi-Max | 802.16. An IEEE standard for wireless MANs. |
Wireless Broadband | the term used to describe the recently release standards for high throughput, long-distance digital data exchange over wireless connections. |
Wifi | 802.11. The IEEE standard for a wireless network technique that uses multiple frequency bands in the 5-ghz frequency range and provides a theoretical maximum throughput of 54 mbps. |