Linksys WMP11 User Guide - Page 20

Instant Wireless® Series ture of scrambling. On the software side, WLAN offers the encryption function (WEP) to enhance security and access control. Can Instant Wireless products support printer sharing? Instant Wireless products perform the same function as LAN products. Therefore, Instant Wireless products can work with NetWare, Windows NT/2000, or other network operating systems to support printer or file sharing. What is WEP? WEP is Wired Equivalent Privacy, a data privacy mechanism based on a 40/104 bit shared key algorithm, as described in the IEEE 802.11 standard. 32 Wireless-B PCI Adapter Appendix B: Glossary 802.11b - One of the IEEE standards for wireless networking hardware. Products that adhere to a specific IEEE standard will work with each other, even if they are manufactured by different companies. The 802.11b standard specifies a maximum data transfer rate of 11Mbps, an operating frequency of 2.4GHz, and WEP encryption for security. 802.11b networks are also referred to as Wi-Fi networks. Ad-hoc Network - An ad-hoc network is a group of computers, each with a wireless adapter, connected as an independent 802.11 wireless LAN. Ad-hoc wireless computers operate on a peer-to-peer basis, communicating directly with each other without the use of an access point. Ad-hoc mode is also referred to as an Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS) or as peer-to-peer mode, and is useful at a departmental scale or SOHO operation. CTS (Clear To Send) - An RS-232 signal sent from the receiving station to the transmitting station that indicates it is ready to accept data. Default Gateway - The router used to forward all traffic that is not addressed to a station within the local subnet. DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) - A protocol that lets network administrators manage centrally and automate the assignment of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in an organization's network. Using the Internet's set of protocol (TCP/IP), each machine that can connect to the Internet needs a unique IP address. When an organization sets up its computer users with a connection to the Internet, an IP address must be assigned to each machine. Without DHCP, the IP address must be entered manually at each computer and, if computers move to another location in another part of the network, a new IP address must be entered. DHCP lets a network administrator supervise and distribute IP addresses from a central point and automatically sends a new IP address when a computer is plugged into a different place in the network. DHCP uses the concept of a "lease" or amount of time that a given IP address will be valid for a computer. The lease time can vary depending on how long a user is likely to require the Internet connection at a particular location. It's especially useful in education and other environments where users change frequently. Using very short leases, DHCP can dynamically reconfigure networks in which there are more computers than there are available IP addresses. 33