Specifications

Glossary-5
Glossary
omni-directional antenna
An antenna that radiates RF signals in all directions. An omni-directional antenna typically
has a lower gain and covers less distance than a directional antenna. A 7 dBi omni-directional
antenna is available as an option for the RoamAbout AP.
PC card
A network card that installs in an AP or wireless client to provide wireless connectivity in a
LAN environment. Also known as a PCMCIA card, a PC card is a credit-card sized,
removable module for portable computers standardized by PCMCIA. PC Cards are 16-bit
devices that are used to attach modems, network adapters, sound cards, radio transceivers,
solid state disks and hard disks to a portable computer. The PC Card is a "plug and play"
device. All PC Cards are 85.6 mm long by 54 mm wide (3.37" x 2.126") and use a 68-pin
connector. Type II cards (5.0 mm thick) are commonly used for memory, modems and LAN
adapters in laptops. The RoamAbout PC card is a type II PC/PCMCIA card.
PCI
Peripheral Component Interconnect. A peripheral bus commonly used in PCs, Macintoshes
and workstations. PCI provides a high-speed data path between the CPU and peripheral
devices (video, disk, network, etc.). It can also accept a wireless radio card (via a PCI carrier).
There are typically three or four PCI slots on the motherboard. In a Pentium PC, there is
generally a mix of PCI and ISA slots or PCI and EISA slots. Early on, the PCI bus was known
as a "local bus."
PCI adapter
An option for the RoamAbout PC card for computers that do not have a PCMCIA slot. The
PCI adapter installs into a computer and provides a PCMCIA slot for the PC card.
PCMCIA
The Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA) is the standards
body for the type of PC Card used with the RoamAbout products.
peer-to-peer network
See ad-hoc network.
R2 wireless access platform
An expandable wireless access platform designed to support existing, and future, radio
technologies and networking requirements.