User guide

AirMagnet Laptop Analyzer User Guide
Appendix B: Glossary 149
Glossary
Appendix B:
2.4 GHz Band
An option in the Band drop-down list menu, if selected, allows the application to display data
captured over the 2.402 GHz ~ 2.482 GHz radio frequency range which covers Channels 1
through 13.
802.1x
A standard designed to enhance 802.11 WLAN security. It provides an authentication
framework for WLANs so that users can be authenticated by a central authority. Because the
actual algorithm used to determine whether a user is authentic is left open, multiple
algorithms are possible.
In a WLAN with 802.1x, when a user requests access to an AP, the AP will force the user (i.e.,
the client application) into an unauthorized state in which the client can only send an EAP
(Extensible Authentication Protocol) start message. The AP, upon receiving the start message,
returns an EAP message requesting the user's identity. The client returns the identity, which is
then forwarded by the AP to the authentication server. The server uses an algorithm to
authenticate the user and then returns either an accept or reject message to the AP. If an accept
message was received, the AP then changes the client's state to authorized and normal
network traffic starts.
802.11
An IEEE local area network specification that defines the wireless network access link layer. It
includes the 802.11 media access control (MAC) sublayer of the Data Link Layer and two
sublayers of the Physical (PHY) layer—a frequency-hopping spread-spectrum (FHSS)
physical layer and a direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS) link layer. See 802.11a, 802.11b,
802.11e, 802.11g, and 802.11i.
802.11a
A supplement to the IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN (WLAN) specification which defines
transmission through the PHY layer based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing
(OFDM), at a frequency of 5 GHz and data rates up to 54 Mbps.
802.11b
A supplement to the IEEE 802.11 WLAN specification which defines transmission through the
PHY layer based on direct-sequence spread-spectrum (DSSS), at a frequency of 2.4 GHz and
data rates of up to 11 Mbps.
802.11g
A supplement to the IEEE 802.11 WLAN specification that defines transmission through the
PHY layer based on orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM), at a frequency of 2.4
GHz and data rates of up to 54 Mbps.
802.11n