Glossary; Networking Terms And Abbreviations - Extreme Networks Summit WM20 User Manual

Glossary

Networking Terms and Abbreviations

A
AAA
Access Point (AP)
Ad-hoc mode
AES
AES-CCMP
ARP
Association
asynchronous
Summit WM20 User Guide, Software Release 4.2
Authentication, Authorization and Accounting. A system in IP-based
networking to control what computer resources users have access to
and to keep track of the activity of users over a network.
A wireless LAN transceiver or "base station" that can connect a wired
LAN to one or many wireless devices.
An 802.11 networking framework in which devices or stations
communicate directly with each other, without the use of an access
point (AP). (Compare Infrastructure Mode)
Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) is an algorithm for encryption
that works at multiple network layers simultaneously. As a block
cipher, AES encrypts data in fixed-size blocks of 128 bits. AES was
created by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
AES is a privacy transform for IPSec and Internet Key Exchange (IKE).
AES has a variable key length - the algorithm can specify a 128-bit key
(the default), a 192-bit key, or a 256-bit key.
For the WPA2/802.11i implementation of AES, a 128 bit key length is
used. AES encryption includes 4 stages that make up one round. Each
round is then iterated 10, 12 or 14 times depending upon the bit-key
size. For the WPA2/802.11i implementation of AES, each round is
iterated 10 times.
AES uses the Counter-Mode/CBC-MAC Protocol (CCMP). CCM is a
new mode of operation for a block cipher that enables a single key to
be used for both encryption and authentication. The two underlying
modes employed in CCM include Counter mode (CTR) that achieves
data encryption and Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication
Code (CBC-MAC) to provide data integrity.
Address Resolution Protocol. A protocol used to obtain the physical
addresses (such as MAC addresses) of hardware units in a network
environment. A host obtains such a physical address by broadcasting
an ARP request, which contains the IP address of the target hardware
unit. If the request finds a unit with that IP address, the unit replies
with its physical hardware address.
A connection between a wireless device and an Access Point.
Asynchronous transmission mode (ATM). A start/stop transmission in
which each character is preceded by a start signal and followed by one
or more stop signals. A variable time interval can exist between
characters. ATM is the preferred technology for the transfer of images.
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