Appendix B - Glossary
11N Wireless USB Adapter 37
are two main alternatives, Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) and Frequency
Hopping Spread Spectrum (FHSS).
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SSID -
A
S
ervice
S
et
Id
entification is a thirty-two character (maximum) alphanumeric key
identifying a wireless local area network. For the wireless devices in a network to
communicate with each other, all devices must be configured with the same SSID. This is
typically the configuration parameter for a wireless PC card. It corresponds to the ESSID in
the wireless Access Point and to the wireless network name.
See also
Wireless Network
Name and ESSID.
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WEP -
(
W
ired
E
quivalent
P
rivacy)
-
A data privacy mechanism based on a 64-bit or 128-bit or
152-bit shared key algorithm, as described in the IEEE 802.11 standard. To gain access to a
WEP network, you must know the key. The key is a string of characters that you create. When
using WEP, you must determine the level of encryption. The type of encryption determines
the key length. 128-bit encryption requires a longer key than 64-bit encryption. Keys are
defined by entering in a string in HEX (hexadecimal - using characters 0-9, A-F) or ASCII
(American Standard Code for Information Interchange – alphanumeric characters) format.
ASCII format is provided so you can enter a string that is easier to remember. The ASCII
string is converted to HEX for use over the network. Four keys can be defined so that you can
change keys easily.
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Wi-Fi -
A trade name for the 802.11b wireless networking standard, given by the Wireless
Ethernet Compatibility Alliance (WECA, see http://www.wi-fi.net), an industry standards group
promoting interoperability among 802.11b devices.
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WLAN -
(
W
ireless
L
ocal
A
rea
N
etwork) - A group of computers and associated devices
communicate with each other wirelessly, which network serving users are limited in a local
area.
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WPA -
(
W
i-Fi
P
rotected
A
ccess)
-
A wireless security protocol use TKIP (Temporal Key
Integrity Protocol) encryption, which can be used in conjunction with a RADIUS server.
