9. Wireless Network Glossary
AirLive AirMax5N User’s Manual
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802.1x
802.1x is a security standard for wired and wireless LANs. In the 802.1x parlance, there are
usually supplicants (client), authenticator (switch or AP), and authentication server (radius
server) in the network. When a supplicants request a service, the authenticator will pass the
request and wait for the authentication server to grant access and register accounting. The
802.1x is the most widely used method of authentication by WISP.
Adhoc
A Peer-to-Peer wireless network. An Adhoc wireless network do not use wireless AP or
router as the central hub of the network. Instead, wireless client are connected directly to
each other. The disadvantage of Adhoc network is the lack of wired interface to Internet
connections. It is not recommended for network more than 2 nodes.
Access Point (AP)
The central hub of a wireless LAN network. Access Points have one or more Ethernet ports
that can connect devices (such as Internet connection) for sharing. Multi-function Access
Point can also function as an Ethernet client, wireless bridge, or repeat signals from other
AP. Access Points typically have more wireless functions comparing to wireless routers.
ACK Timeout
Acknowledgement Timeout Windows. When a packet is sent out from one wireless station
to the other, it will waits for an Acknowledgement frame from the remote station. The station
will only wait for a certain amount of time, this time is called the ACK timeout. If the ACK is
NOT received within that timeout period then the packet will be re-transmitted resulting in
reduced throughput. If the ACK setting is too high then throughput will be lost due to waiting
for the Ack Window to timeout on lost packets. If the ACK setting is too low then the ACK
window will have expired and the returning packet will be dropped, greatly lowering
throughput. By having the ability to adjust the ACK setting we can effectively optimize the
throughput over long distance links. This is especially true for 802.11a and 802.11g
networks. Setting the correct ACK timeout value need to consider 3 factors: distance, AP
response time, and interference. The AirMax5N provide ACK adjustment capability in form
of either distance or direct input. When you enter the distance parameter, the AirMax5N will
automatically calculate the correct ACK timeout value.
