ZyXEL Communications NXC-8160 User Manual page 42

Chapter 4 WLAN Settings
Client
When two or more devices are connected digitally to form a network, the one that contacts and
obtains data from a server is known as the "client". Each client is designed to work with one or
more specific kinds of servers, and each server requires a specific kind of client. Wireless
adapters are clients that connect to a network server through an AP.
Authentication
Authentication is the process of confirming a client's or user's digital identity when they
connect to a network. Turning off authentication means disabling all security protocols and
opening your network to anyone with the means to connect to it.
Encryption
The process of taking data and encoding it, usually using a mathematical formula, so that it
becomes unreadable unless decrypted with the proper code or pass phrase.
Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP)
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy) encrypts data transmitted between wired and wireless
networks to keep the transmission private. Although one of the original wireless encryption
protocols, WEP is also the weakest. Many people use it strictly to deter unintentional usage of
their wireless network by outsiders.
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA)
The WPA protocol affords users with vastly stronger security than the WEP protocol. It comes
in two different varieties: WPA and WPA2. The original implementation of the WPA
encryption algorithm relied on TKIP encryption to ensure maximum backwards-compatibility
with WEP-compliant systems. The second interation, WPA2, abandoned TKIP and utilized a
more modern, more secure algorithm known as CCMP. As such, whenever possible use the
WPA2 version instead of the older WPA version.
MAC Address
On a local area network (LAN) or other network, the MAC address is a computer's unique
hardware number. On an Ethernet LAN, it's the same as your Ethernet address. The MAC
layer frames data for transmission over the network, then passes the frame to the physical layer
interface where it is transmitted as a stream of bits.
WMM
Wi-Fi Multimedia (WMM) is a wireless interoperability standard designed to prioritize data
packets based on the type of information they carry.
BSS
A Basic Service Set (BSS) exists when all communications between wireless clients or
between a wireless client and a wired network client go through a single access point (AP).
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NXC-8160 User's Guide