Technical data

© 2012 Meru Networks, Inc. Glossary 327
are eliminated and all access points on a network can share a single radio channel. It also
load balances traffic across channels when using Channel Layering, ensuring that each
channel
ATS
Access Transaction Station. Alternative term for access point.
attenuation
The reduction of RF signal strength due to the presence of an obstacle, such as a wall or
person. The amount of attenuation caused by a particular object will vary depending upon
its composition.
authentication
The process of identifying a user, usually based on a username and password, but can also
be a MAC address.
authorization
The process of granting or denying a user access to network resources once the user has
been authenticated through the username and password.
B
backbone
The central part of a large network that links two or more subnetworks and is the primary
path for data transmission for a large business or corporation. A network can have a wired
backbone or a wireless backbone.
bandwidth
The amount of transmission capacity that is available on a network at any point in time.
Available bandwidth depends on several variables such as the rate of data transmission
speed between networked devices, network overhead, number of users, and the type of
device used to connect PCs to a network. It is similar to a pipeline in that capacity is deter-
mined by size: the wider the pipe, the more water can flow through it; the more bandwidth
a network provides, the more data can flow through it. Standard 802.11b provides a band-
width of 11 Mbps; 802.11a and 802.11g provide a bandwidth of 54 Mbps. These are the raw
capabilities of the network. Many things conspire to reduce these values, including
protocol overhead, collisions, and implementation inefficiencies.
base station
A term in cellular networking that refers to a radio transmitter/receiver that maintains
communications with mobile radiotelephone sets within a given range (typically a cell
site).
bps
bits per second. A measure of data transmission speed over communication lines based on
the number of bits that can be sent or received per second. Bits per second-bps-is often
confused with bytes per second-Bps. 8 bits make a byte, so if a wireless network is oper-
ating at a bandwidth of 11 megabits per second (11 Mbps or 11 Mbits/sec), it is sending
data at 1.375 megabytes per second (1.375 MBps).
bridge
A product that connects a local area network (LAN) to another local area network that uses
the same protocol (for example, wireless, Ethernet or token ring). Wireless bridges are
commonly used to link buildings in campuses.
BSC
Base Station Controller. Manages radio resources and controls handoff between cells. May
also contain the transcoder for compressing/uncompressing voice between cellular
network and the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
BSSID
Basic Service Set Identifier is a means of uniquely identifying an access point, usually
intended for machine use rather than human use. A 48-bit Ethernet MAC address is used to
identify an 802.11 wireless service. In a Virtual Cell, all same-channel APs may appear to