User's Manual Part 2

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Appendix D: Glossary
Wireless-G PCI Adapter
Appendix D: Glossary
802.11b - An IEEE wireless netw orking standard that specifies a maximum data transfer rate of 11Mbps and an
operating frequency of 2.4GHz.
802.11g - An IEEE wireless netw orking standard that specifies a maximum data transfer rate of 54Mbps, an
operating frequency of 2.4GHz, and backward compatibility with 802.11b devices.
Access Point - A device that allow s wireless-equipped computers and other devices to communicate with a
wired network. Also used to expand the range of a wireless network.
Adapter - A device that adds network functionality to your PC.
Ad-hoc - A group of wireless devices communicating directly with each other (peer-to-peer) without the use of
an access point.
AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) - A method that uses up to 256-bit key encryption to secure data.
Backbone - The part of a network that connects most of the systems and netw orks together, and handles the
most data.
Bandw idth - The transmission capacity of a given device or network.
Bit - A binary digit.
Byte - A unit of data that is usually eight bits long.
CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance) - A method of data transfer that is used to prevent
data collisions.
CTS (Clear To Send) - A signal sent by a w ireless device, signifying that it is ready to receive data.
Default Gateway - A device that forwards Internet traffic from your local area network.
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) - A networking protocol that allows administrators to assign
temporary IP addresses to network computers by " leasing" an IP address to a user for a limited amount of time,
instead of assigning permanent IP addresses.
DNS (Domain Name Server) - The IP address of your ISP's server, w hich translates the names of websites into IP
addresses.