User's Manual

K
Kerberos: An authentication system enabling protected communication over an open network using a unique
key called a ticket.
M
Media Access Control (MAC) Address: A hardwired address applied at the factory. It uniquely identifies
network hardware, such as a wireless PC Card, on a LAN or WAN.
Microcell: A bounded physical space in which a number of wireless devices can communicate. Because it is
possible to have overlapping cells as well as isolated cells, the boundaries of the cell are established by some
rule or convention.
Microwave: Technically, the term describes any frequency above 1.0 GHz. Unfortunately the advertising
industry has contorted this meaning considerably. In our discussion we will stick to the technical definition.
Multipath: The signal variation caused when radio signals take multiple paths from transmitter to receiver.
O
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM): A modulation technique for transmitting large
amounts of digital data over radio waves. 802.11a uses OFDM, as will 802.11g.
P
Peer-to-Peer Mode: A wireless network structure that allows wireless clients to communicate with each other
without using an access point.
Personal Area Network (PAN):
Peripheral Connect Interface (PCI):
Preamble: A preliminary signal transmitted over a WLAN to control signal detection and clock synchronization.
R
Radio Frequency (RF) Terms (GHz, MHz, Hz): The international unit for measuring frequency is Hertz (Hz),
which is equivalent to the older unit of cycles per second. One Mega-Hertz (MHz) is one million Hertz. One
Giga-Hertz (GHz) is one billion Hertz. For reference: 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 microwave ovens typically operate at 2.45 GHz.
Range: The distance over which a given system can communicate. This subject is discussed in detail below.