User's Manual

Glossary
Installation and User Guide: Airgo Wireless LAN Client Adapter 49
or router to accomplish the same thing. Network management software of some
sort is used to configure and manage the VLANs on a given network.
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)
Security mode
for wireless networks that improves on the authentication and
encryption features of WEP.
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
Security protocol for wireless local area networks (WLANs) defined in the
802.11b standard. Uses dynamically or manually assigned keys for encryption and
authentication, as dictated by the capabilities of the client station. The WEP
algorithms are vulnerable to compromise; therefore, WEP security is only
recommended for legacy clients that do not support the newer generation security
standards.
Windows Internet Name Server (WINS)
The Windows implementation of DNS, which maps IP addresses to computer
names (NetBIOS names). This allows users to access resources by computer name
instead of by IP address.
Wi-Fi
A play on the term “HiFi,” Wi-Fi stands for Wireless Fidelity, which is a term for
wireless networking technologies.
Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)
An acronym for wireless local area network, employing radio frequencies to
transmit data (usually encrypted for), much like LANs transmit data over wires and
fiber optic cables.