Product Info

PEAP Protected Extensible Authentication Protocol (PEAP) is an Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF) draft protocol sponsored by Microsoft, Cisco, and RSA Security. PEAP creates an
encrypted tunnel similar to the tunnel used in secure web pages (SSL). Inside the encrypted
tunnel, a number of other EAP authentication methods can be used to perform client
authentication. PEAP requires a TLS certificate on the RADIUS server, but unlike EAP-TLS
there is no requirement to have a certificate on the client. PEAP has not been ratified by the
IETF. The IETF is currently comparing PEAP and TTLS (Tunneled TLS) to determine an
authentication standard for 802.1X authentication in 802.11 wireless systems. PEAP is an
authentication type designed to take advantage of server-side EAP-Transport Layer Security
(EAP-TLS) and to support various authentication methods, including user passwords and
one-time passwords, and Generic Token Cards.
Peer-to-Peer
mode
A wireless network structure that allows wireless clients to communicate directly with each
other without using an access point.
Power save
mode
The state in which the radio is periodically powered down to conserve power. When the
portable computer is in Power Save mode, received packets are stored in the access point
until the wireless adapter wakes up.
Preferred
network
One of the networks that has been configured. Such networks are listed under Preferred
networks on the Wireless Networks tab of the Wireless Network Connection Properties
(Windows* XP environment).
RADIUS
(Remote
Authentication
Dial-In User
Service)
RADIUS is an authentication and accounting system that verifies user's credentials and
grants access to requested resources.
RF (Radio
Frequency)
The international unit for measuring frequency is Hertz (Hz), which is equivalent to the older
unit of cycles per second. One MegaHertz (MHz) is one million Hertz. One GigaHertz (GHz) is
one billion Hertz. For reference: the standard US electrical power frequency is 60 Hz, the AM
broadcast radio frequency band is 0.55 -1.6 MHz, the FM broadcast radio frequency band is
88-108 MHz, and microwave ovens typically operate at 2.45 GHz.
Roaming Movement of a wireless node between two micro cells. Roaming usually occurs in
infrastructure networks built around multiple access points. Current wireless network
roaming is only supported in the same subnet of a network.
RTS threshold The number of frames in the data packet at or above which an RTS/CTS (request to
send/clear to send) handshake is turned on before the packet is sent. The default value is
2347.
Shared key An encryption key known only to the receiver and sender of data. This is also referred to as
a pre-shared key.
SIM (Subscriber
Identity
Module)
A SIM card is used to validate credentials with the network. A SIM card is a special smart
card used by GSM-based digital cellular networks.
Silent mode Silent Mode Access Points or Wireless Routers have been configured to not broadcast the
SSID for the wireless network. This makes it necessary to know the SSID in order to
configure the wireless profile to connect to the access point or wireless router.
Single Sign On Single Sign On feature set allows the 802.1X credentials to match your Windows log on user
name and password credentials for wireless network connections.
SSID (Service
Set Identifier)
SSID or network name is a value that controls access to a wireless network. The SSID for
your wireless network card must match the SSID for any access point that you want to
connect with. If the value does not match, you are not granted access to the network. Each
SSID may be up to 32 alphanumeric characters long and is case-sensitive.
stealth A stealth access point is one that has the capability and is configured to not broadcast its
SSID. This is the WiFi network name that appears when a DMU (Device Management Utility,
such as Intel® PROSet/Wireless WiFi Connection Utility) scans for available wireless
networks. Although this can enhance wireless network security, it is commonly considered a
weak security feature. To connect to a stealth access point, a user must specifically know the
SSID and configure their DMU accordingly. The feature is not a part of the 802.11