User's Manual

MDS 05-6302A01, Rev. A MDS Mercury 16E Technical Manual 59
APPENDIX-B
Glossary of Terms & Abbreviations
If you are new to wireless IP/Ethernet systems, some of the terms used
in this guide may be unfamiliar. The following glossary explains many
of these terms and will prove helpful in understanding the operation of
your radio network. While not all of these terms apply to every use of
the transceiver, they are provided to give a more complete under-
standing of common wireless concepts.
Antenna System Gain—A figure, normally expressed in dB, repre-
senting the power increase resulting from the use of a gain-type antenna.
System losses (from the feedline and coaxial connectors, for example)
are subtracted from this figure to calculate the total antenna system gain.
BS—See Base Station.
Association—Condition in which the Subscriber is synchronized with
the Base Station and is ready to pass traffic.
Authorization Key—Alphanumeric string (code) that is used to enable
additional capabilities in the transceiver.
Base Station (BS)—The radio in a point-to-multipoint network that acts
as the center or “hub” station. It communicates with Subscriber Unit
(SU) stations.
Bit—The smallest unit of digital data, often represented by a one or a
zero. Eight bits (plus start, stop, and parity bits) usually comprise a byte.
Bits-per-second—See BPS.
BPDU—Bridge Protocol Data Units.
BPS—Bits-per-second (bps). A measure of the information transfer rate
of digital data across a communication channel.
Byte—A string of digital data usually made up of eight data bits and
start, stop and parity bits.
CSMA/CA—Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance.
CSMA/CD—Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection.