Wireless N450 Home Router
71
Appendix
4
Glossary
Channel
A
communication
channel,
also
known
as
channel,
refers
either
to
a
physical
transmission
medium
such
as
a
wire
or
to
a
logical
connection
over
a
multiplexed
medium
such
as
a
radio
channel.
It
is
used
to
transfer
an
information
signal,
such
as
a
digital
bit
stream,
from
one
or
more
transmitters
to
one
or
more
receivers.
If
there
is
only
one
AP
in
the
range,
select
any
channel
you
like.
The
default
is
Auto
.
If
there
are
several
APs
coexisting
in
the
same
area,
it
is
advisable
that
you
select
a
different
channel
for
each
AP
to
operate
on,
minimizing
the
interference
between
neighboring
APs.
For
example,
if
3
American
‐
standard
APs
coexist
in
one
area,
you
can
set
their
channels
respectively
to
1,
6
and
11
to
avoid
mutual
interference.
SSID
Service
set
identifier
(SSID)
is
used
to
identify
a
particular
802.11
wireless
LAN.
It
is
the
name
of
a
specific
wireless
network.
To
let
your
wireless
network
adapter
roam
among
different
APs,
you
must
set
all
APs’
SSID
to
the
same
name.
WPA/WPA2
The
WPA
protocol
implements
the
majority
of
the
IEEE
802.11i
standard.
It
enhances
data
encryption
through
the
Temporal
Key
Integrity
Protocol
(TKIP)
which
is
a
128
‐
bit
per
‐
packet
key,
meaning
that
it
dynamically
generates
a
new
key
for
each
packet.
WPA
also
includes
a
message
integrity
check
feature
to
prevent
data
packets
from
being
hampered
with.
Only
authorized
network
users
can
access
the
wireless
network.
The
later
WPA2
protocol
features
compliance
with
the
full
IEEE
802.11i
standard
and
uses
Advanced
Encryption
Standard
(AES)
in
addition
to
TKIP
encryption
protocol
to
guarantee
better
security
than
that
provided
by
WEP
or
WPA.
Currently,
WPA
is
supported
by
Windows
XP
SP1.
IEEE
802.1X
Authentication
IEEE
802.1X
Authentication
is
an
IEEE
Standard
for
port
‐
based
Network
Access
Control
(PNAC).
It
is
part
of
the
IEEE
802.1
group
of
networking
protocols.
It
provides
an
authentication
mechanism
to
devices
wishing
to
attach
to
a
LAN
or
WLAN.IEEE
802.1X
defines
the
encapsulation
of
EAP
over
LAN
or
EAPOL.
802.1X
authentication
involves
three
parties:
a
supplicant,
an
authenticator,
and
an
authentication
server.
The
supplicant
is
a
client
device
(such
as
a
laptop)
that
wishes
to
attach
to
the
LAN/WLAN
‐
though
the
term
'supplicant'
is
also
used
interchangeably
to
refer
to
the
software
running
on
the
client
that
provides
credentials
to
the
authenticator.
The
authenticator
is
a
network
device,
such
as
an
Ethernet
switch
or
wireless
access
point;
and
the
authentication
server
is
typically
a
host
running
software
supporting
the
RADIUS
and
EAP
protocols.
The
authenticator
acts
like
a
security
guard
to
a
protected
network.
The
supplicant
(i.e.
client
device)
is
not
allowed
access
through
the
authenticator
to
the
protected
side
of
the
network
until
the
supplicant’s
identity
has
been
validated
and
authorized.
With
802.1X
port
‐
based
authentication,
the
supplicant
provides
credentials,
such
as
user
name
/
password
or
digital
certificate,
to
the
authenticator,
and
the
authenticator
forwards
the
credentials
to
the
authentication
server
for
verification.
If
the
authentication
server
determines
the
credentials
are
valid,
the
supplicant
(client
device)
is
allowed
to
access
resources
located
on
the
protected
side
of
the
network.
PPPOE
The
Point
‐
to
‐
Point
Protocol
over
Ethernet
(PPPoE)
is
a
network
protocol
for
encapsulating
PPP
frames
inside
Ethernet
frames.
Integrated
PPP
protocol
implements
authentication,
encryption,
and
compression
functions
that
traditional
Ethernet
cannot
provide
and
can
also
be
used
in
the
cable
modem
and
digital
subscriber
line
(DSL)
and
Ethernet
that
provide
access
service
to
the
users.
Essentially,
it
is
a
protocol
that
allows
to
establish
a
point
‐
to
‐
point
tunnel
between
two
Ethernet
interfaces
within
an
Ethernet
broadcast
domain.
