The growth and development
of wireless communication has opened up new avenues of ICT for development.
However, with this development also comes plethora of terminologies. You may
be regularly following or using different technology standards, devices,
networks, etc., but may not know exactly what it means. It may well be
necessary to develop a dictionary of ICT terminology. Even though it is not
necessary for most users to learn the various jargons, it becomes very
useful to understand some of these terms. We invite our readers to share
their views on this section, as well as to enquire about terms that baffle
them. The editorial term will try to provide you the explanations or
definitions in the forthcoming issues. It may be other way also. You might
know few terms, which are not listed here. We welcome you to share your
valuable knowledge in this area with us and our other readers.
Wi-Fi: Wireless
Fidelity. Wi-Fi originally referred to the 802.11b specification for
wireless LANs, but it is now used to describe any of the 802.11 wireless
networking specifications.
Hot
spot: In wireless networking, a hot spot is a specific part of an access
point’s range in which the general public can walk up and use the network.
The service may be available only for a fee, and the hot spot’s range is
usually short to control the physical proximity of the user. In some parts
of the world, it is called a cool spot.
OFDM:
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing. A wireless transmission
technique that splits a signal into smaller signals that are then
transmitted at different frequencies simultaneously. It’s the method
employed for wireless transmissions that use the IEEE 802.11a and 802.11g
specifications.
Omnidirectional
antenna: This is like a dipole antenna because it radiates its signal
360 degrees horizontally; however, its signal is flatter than a dipole’s,
allowing for higher gain.
Router:
As the name indicates, this piece of hardware routes data from one
local-area network to another or to a phone line’s long-distance line.
Routers also act as traffic cops, allowing only authorized machines to
transmit data into the local network so that private information can remain
secure. In addition, routers handle errors, keep network usage statistics,
and handle security issues.
WAP:
Wireless Application Protocol is the de facto worldwide standard for
providing Internet communications and advanced telephony services on digital
mobile phones, pagers, personal digital assistants and other wireless
terminals. The Wireless Application Protocol is a standard developed by the
WAP Forum, a group founded by Nokia, Ericsson, Phone.com (formerly Unwired
Planet), and Motorola. WAP defines a communications protocol as well as an
application environment. In essence, it is a standardized technology for
cross-platform, distributed computing.
(Source:
www.perfectxml.com/glossary4.asp)
Warchalking:
The unauthorized act of physically marking the locations of wireless access
points (APs) that are available for free network access, such as those at a
coffee house or an airport—or an office AP with a leaky signal. The word chalking
derives from the informal system of markings used by vagabonds to indicate
places where one might get a meal or a place to sleep.
Wardriving:
The unauthorized act of seeking out and
mapping wireless access points (APs) that are available for free network
access, such as those at a coffee house or an airport—or an office AP with
a leaky signal. This is the new, wireless version of
war dialing, in which hackers dialed hundreds of numbers to find an open
modem so that they could gain access to a company’s network.
WECA:
Wireless Ethernet Compatibility Alliance. This is the former name of the
Wi-Fi Alliance of vendors promoting 802.11 wireless networking standards and
compatibility.
Wireless
bridging: A networking bridge is used to connect two or more separate
networks. A wireless bridge functions the same way but can be used in
situations in which running a wire or cable would be impractical or
prohibitively expensive, such as creating a 10-mile point-to-point link.
WPA:
Wi-Fi protected access. WPA is a specification for improving the security of
Wi-Fi networks, replacing the weaker WEP for current and future 802.11
standards. It uses 802.1x and EAP to restrict network access, and it uses
its own encryption, called Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP), to secure
data during transmission.
WPAN:
Wireless Personal-Area Network. A WPAN is specifically a PAN that uses
wireless connections, but because all current PAN technologies, such as
Bluetooth, are wireless, you can consider the terms synonymous.
100BaseT:
A synonym for the Fast Ethernet networking standard. The 100 refer to
a maximum data-transfer rate of 100 megabits per second over twisted-pair
wiring.
802.11:
A set of IEEE standards for data transmission over wireless LANs. The specs
include 802.11, 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g. All of the specifications use
the Ethernet protocol.
802.1x:
802.1x is a security standard for wired and wireless LANs. It encapsulates
EAP processes into Ethernet packets instead of using the protocol’s native
PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) environment, thus reducing some network
overhead. It also puts the bulk of the processing burden upon the client
(called a supplicant in 802.1x parlance) and the authentication
server (such as a RADIUS), letting the “authenticator” middleman simply
pass the packets back and forth.
Source: http://www.cnet.com/4520-7364_1-105323-1.html?tag=gloss
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