Specifications

134 MDS entraNET 900 System Guide MDS 05-4055A01, Rev. A
dBm—Decibels referenced to one milliwatt. An absolute unit used to
measure signal power, as in transmitter power output, or received signal
strength.
DCE—Data Circuit-terminating Equipment (or Data Communications
Equipment). In data communications terminology, this is the “modem”
side of a computer-to-modem connection.
COM1 and COM2 Port of the
transceivers are set as DCE.
Decibel (dB)—A measure of the ratio between two signal levels. Fre-
quently used to express the gain (or loss) of a system.
Device Mode—The operating mode/role of a transceiver (Access Point
or Remote) in a wireless network.
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)—An Internet stan-
dard that allows a client (i.e. any computer or network device) to obtain
an IP address from a server on the network. This allows network admin-
istrators to avoid the tedious process of manually configuring and man-
aging IP addresses for a large number of users and devices.
When a network device powers on, if it is configured to use DHCP, it
will contact a DHCP server on the network and request an IP address.
The DHCP server will provide an address from a pool of addresses allo-
cated by the network administrator. The network device may use this
address on a “time lease” basis or indefinitely depending on the policy
set by the network administrator.
Digital Signal Processing—See DSP.
DSP—Digital Signal Processing. DSP circuitry is responsible for the
most critical real-time tasks; primarily modulation, demodulation, and
servicing of the data port.
DTE—Data Terminal Equipment. A device that provides data in the
form of digital signals at its output. Connects to the DCE device.
Encapsulation—Process in by which, a complete data packet, such as
Modbus frame or any other polled asynchronous protocol frame, is
placed in the data portion of another protocol frame (for example, IP) to
be transported over a network. Typically this action is done at the receiv-
ing end, before being sent as an IP packet to a network. A similar re-
versed process is applied at the other end of the network extracting the
data from the IP envelope, resulting in the original packet in the original
protocol.
Endpoint—Data equipment connected to the ports of the radio.
Fade Margin—The greatest tolerable reduction in average received
signal strength that will be anticipated under most conditions. Provides
an allowance for reduced signal strength due to multipath, slight antenna