Terminology
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Backbone
The core infrastructure of a network. The portion of the network
that transports information from one central location to another
central location where it is unloaded onto a local system.
Base Station
In mobile telecommunications, a base station is the central radio
transmitter/receiver that maintains communications with the mobile
radiotelephone sets within its range. In cellular and personal
communications applications, each cell or micro-cell has its own
base station; each base station in turn is interconnected with
other cells' bases.
BSS
BSS stands for "Basic Service Set". It is an Access Point and
all the LAN PCs that are associated with it.
CSMA/CA
(Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance)
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)
This protocol automatically configures the TCP/IP settings
of every computer on your home network.
DNS
DNS stands for Domain Name System, which allows Internet host
computers to have a domain name (such as www.smc.com) and
one or more IP addresses (such as 192.34.45.8). A DNS server
keeps a database of host computers and their respective domain
names and IP addresses, so that when a domain name is requested
(as in typing " www.smc.com" into your Internet browser), the
user is sent to the proper IP address. The DNS server address
used by the computers on your home network is the location of
the DNS server your ISP has assigned.