User's Manual

147
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Shared Key
A shared key is used in conventional encryption where one key is used both for encryption
and decryption. It is also called secret-key or symmetric-key encryption.
Also see
Public Key.
SNMP
The Simple Network Management Protocol (
SNMP) was developed to manage and monitor
nodes on a network. It is part of the TCP/IP protocol suite.
SNMP consists of managed devices and their agents, and a management system. The agents
store data about their devices in Management Information Bases (MIBs) and return this data
to the SNMP management system when requested.
SSID
The Service Set Identifier (SSID) is a thirty-two character alphanumeric key that uniquely
identifies a wireless local area network. It is also referred to as the Network Name. There
are no restrictions on the characters that may be used in an SSID.
Static IP Address
See
IP Address.
STP
The Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) an IEEE 802.1x standard protocol for
MAC bridges that
manages path redundancy and prevents undesirable loops in the network created by
multiple active paths between client stations. Loops occur when there multiple routes
between access points. STP creates a tree that spans all of the switches in an extended
network, forcing redundant paths into a standby, or blocked, state. STP allows only one
active path at a time between any two network devices (this prevents the loops) but
establishes the redundant links as a backup if the initial link should fail. If STP costs change,
or if one network segment in the STP becomes unreachable, the spanning tree algorithm
reconfigures the spanning tree topology and reestablishes the link by activating the
standby path. Without spanning tree in place, it is possible that both connections may
be simultaneously live, which could result in an endless loop of traffic on the LAN
Subnet Mask
A Subnet Mask is a number that defines which part of an IP address is the network address
and which part is a host address on the network. It is shown in dotted-decimal notation
(for example, a 24-bit mask is shown as 255.255.255.0) or as a number appended to the
IP address (for example, 192.168.2.0/24).
The subnet mask lets a router quickly determine if an IP address is local or needs to be
forwarded by performing a bitwise AND operation on the mask and the IP address. For
example, if an IP address is 192.168.2.128 and the net mask is 255.255.255.0, the resulting
Network address is 192.168.2.0.