User's Manual
Table Of Contents
32
such as roaming and provides a network connection to a variety
of clients, but it does not allocate bandwidth. A switch is a hub
that has extra intelligence: It can read the address of a packet
and send it to the appropriate computer station. A wireless gate-
way is an access point that provides additional capabilities such
as NAT routing, DHCP, firewalls, security, etc.
AES (Advanced Encryption Standard)
A chip-based security, has been developed to ensure the
highest degree of security and authenticity for digital information,
wherever and however communicated or stored, while making
more efficient use of hardware and/or software than previous
encryption standards. It is also included in IEEE 802.11i standard.
Compared with AES, TKIP is a temporary protocol for replacing
WEP security until manufacturers implement AES at the hard-
ware level.
DHCP
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. This protocol automati-
cally configures the TCP/IP settings of every computer on your
home network.
Encryption key
An alphanumeric (letters and/or numbers) series that enables
data to be encrypted and then decrypted so it can be safely
shared among members of a network. WEP uses an encryption
key that automatically encrypts outgoing wireless data. On the
receiving side, the same encryption key enables the computer to
automatically decrypt the information so it can be read.
Ethernet
A standard for computer networks. Ethernet networks are con-