User's Manual

15
ISM Bands (Industrial, Scientific, and Medicine Bands)
Radio frequency bands that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) authorized for
wireless LANs. The ISM bands are located at 902 MHz, 2.400 GHz, and 5.7 GHz.
ISP (Internet Service Provider)
An organization that provides access to the Internet. Small ISPs provide service via modem and
ISDN while the larger ones also offer private line hookups (T1, fractional T1, etc.).
LAN (Local Area Network)
A communications network that serves users within a defined geographical area. The benefits
include the sharing of Internet access, files and equipment like printers and storage devices. Special
network cabling (10 BaseT) is often used to connect the PCs together.
NIC (Network Interface Card)
A network adapter inserted into a computer so that the computer can be connected to a network. It
is responsible for converting data from stored in the computer to the form transmitted or received.
PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association)
The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA), develops standards for
PC cards, formerly known as PCMCIA cards. These cards are available in three types, and are of
about the same length and width as credit cards. However, the different width of the cards ranges
in thickness from 3.3 mm (Type I) to 5.0 mm (Type II) to 10.5 mm (Type III). These cards can be
used for various functions, including memory storage, landline modems and wireless modems.
Radio Frequency (RF) Terms: GHz, MHz, Hz
The international unit for measuring frequency is Hertz (Hz), equivalent to the older unit of cycles
per second. One megahertz (MHz) is one million-Hertz. One gigahertz (GHz) is one billion-Hertz.
The standard US electrical power frequency is 60 Hz, the AM broadcast radio frequency band is
0.55-1.6 MHz, the FM broadcast radio frequency band is 88-108 MHz, and wireless 802.11 LANs
operate at 2.4 GHz.
SSID (Service Set ID)
SSID is a group name shared by every member of a wireless network. Only client PCs with the
same SSID are allowed to establish a connection.
Station
Any device contains 802.11 conformant wireless medium access ability.
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)
The standard transport level protocol that provides the full duplex, stream service on which many
applications protocols depends. TCP allows a process or one machine to send a stream of data to a
process on another. Software implementing TCP usually resides in the operating system and uses
the IP to transmit information across the network.