User's Manual

Wireless Array
494 Glossary of Terms
authentication
The process that a station, device, or user employs to announce its identify to
the network which validates it. IEEE 802.11 specifies two forms of authentication,
open system and shared key.
bandwidth
Specifies the amount of the frequency spectrum that is usable for data transfer. In
other words, it identifies the maximum data rate a signal can attain on
the medium without encountering significant attenuation (loss of power).
beacon interval
When a device in a wireless network sends a beacon, it includes with it a beacon
interval, which specifies the period of time before it will send the beacon again.
The interval tells receiving devices on the network how long they can wait in low
power mode before waking up to handle the beacon. Network administrators can
adjust the beacon interval — usually measured in milliseconds (ms) or its
equivalent, kilo-microseconds (Kmsec).
bit rate
The transmission rate of binary symbols ('0' and '1'), equal to the total number of
bits transmitted in one second.
BSS
(Basic Service Set) When a WLAN is operating in infrastructure mode, each access
point and its connected devices are called the Basic Service Set.
BSSID
The unique identifier for an access point in a BSS network. See also, SSID.
CDP
(Cisco Discovery Protocol) CDP is a layer 2 network protocol which runs on most
Cisco equipment and some other network equipment. It is used to share
information with other directly connected network devices. Information such as
the model, network capabilities, and IP address is shared. Wireless Arrays can
both advertise their presence by sending CDP announcements, and gather and
display information sent by neighbors.