18. Wireless Network Glossary
AirLive WLA-9000AP User’s Manual
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integrates NAT, firewall, bandwidth management, and other security functions.
Hotspot
A place where you can access Wi-Fi service. The term hotspot has two meanings in
wireless deployment. One is the wireless infrastructure deployment, the other is the
Internet access billing system. In a hotspot system, a service provider typically need an
authentication and account system for billing purposes, and a wireless AP network to
provide access for customers.
IGMP Snooping
Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is a Layer 3 protocol to report IP multicast
memberships to neighboring multicast switches and routers. IGMP snooping is a feature
that allows an Ethernet switch to "listen in" on the IGMP conversation between hosts and
routers. A switch support IGMP snooping has the possibility to avoid multicast traffic being
treated as broadcast traffic; therefore, reducing the overall traffic on the network.
Infrastructure Mode
A wireless network that is built around one or more access points to provide wireless clients
access to wired LAN / Internet service. The opposite of Infrastructure mode is Adhoc
mode.
IP address
IP (Internet Protocol) is a layer-3 network protocol that is the basis of all Internet
communication. An IP address is 32-bit number that identifies each sender or receiver of
information that is sent across the Internet. An IP address has two parts: an identifier of a
particular network on the Internet and an identifier of the particular device (which can be a
server or a workstation) within that network. The new IPv6 specification supports 128-bit
IP address format.
IPsec
IP Security. A set of protocols developed by the IETF to support secure exchange of
packets at the IP layer. IPsec has been deployed widely to implement Virtual Private
Networks (VPNs). IPsec supports two encryption modes: Transport and Tunnel.
Transport mode encrypts only the data of each packet, but leaves the header untouched.
The more secure Tunnel mode encrypts both the header and the payload. On the receiving
side, an IPSec-compliant device decrypts each packet.