Technology

Glossary of terms used

AES
Advanced Encryption Standard
A standards based encryption block cipher becoming more widely used in areas such as wireless security suites (WPA2) and VPN.

CSMA/CA
Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance
Medium access mechanism for 802.11 based Wireless networks

DSSS
Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum
Radio modulation type used in 802.11 wireless networks; uses a 2.4 GHz band and supports up to 54Mb

DTIM
Delivery Traffic Indication Message
Used in 802.11 wireless networks; Informs power-save client devices that a packet is waiting for them.

EAP
Extensible Authentication Protocol
An authentication framework which supports multiple authentication methods. EAP typically runs directly over data link layers such as Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) or IEEE 802, without requiring IP.

FHSS
Frequency Hopping Spread Spectrum
Radio modulation type used in 802.11 wireless networks; uses a 2.4 GHz band and supports 1, 2 & 3Mbps speeds.

Protected Access Credentials
Shared secret keys used by EAP-FAST, an 802.1x authentication mechanism mainly used in 802.11 based Wireless networks.

Service Set IDentifier
A 32 character string used to identify and differentiate between wireless networks. Located in the header of packets and often broadcast by access points.

WPA
WiFi Protected Access.
Wireless encryption and authentication protocol, a subset of 802.11i.

OFDM
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
Radios that have very high spectral efficiency and can create a wireless link even where no clear line of sight between antennas exists.

Fresnel Zone
A ‘tunnel’ of uncluttered space around the line of sight between two antennas, required for ‘clear line of sight’ radio operation.