5. Wireless Network Glossary
X.USB
User’s Manual
22
Infrastructure Mode
A wireless network that is built around one or more access points to provide wireless
clients access to wired LAN / Internet service. The opposite of Infrastructure mode is
Ad-hoc mode.
IP address
IP (Internet Protocol) is a layer-3 network protocol that is the basis of all Internet
communication. An IP address is 32-bit number that identifies each sender or
receiver of information that is sent across the Internet. An IP address has two parts:
an identifier of a particular network on the Internet and an identifier of the particular
device (which can be a server or a workstation) within that network. The new IPv6
specification supports 128-bit IP address format.
IPsec
IP Security. A set of protocols developed by the IETF to support secure exchange of
packets at the IP layer. IPsec has been deployed widely to implement Virtual
Private Networks (VPNs). IPsec supports two encryption modes: Transport and
Tunnel. Transport mode encrypts only the data of each packet, but leaves the
header untouched. The more secure Tunnel mode encrypts both the header and the
payload. On the receiving side, an IPSec-compliant device decrypts each packet.
LACP (802.3ad) Trunking
The 802.3ad Link Aggregation standard defines how to combine the several
Ethernet ports into one high-bandwidth port to increase the transmission speed. It is
also known as port trunking. Both device must set the trunking feature to work.
MAC
(Media Access Control)
MAC address provides layer-2 identification for Networking Devices. Each Ethernet
device has its own unique address. The first 6 digits are unique for each
manufacturer. When a network device have MAC access control feature, only the
devices with the approved MAC address can connect with the network.