NewbieZone

802.11

A wireless-Ethernet standard. SeattleWireless is using 802.11b, which has a data rate of 11 Mbps and uses the 2.4 GHz band.

Ad-hoc mode

Nodes communicating without the aid of a central access point are in ad-hoc mode.

WEP

"Wired-Equivalent Privacy", or 40-bit RC4 encryption. Supposedly this provides security equivalent to a physical cable. You can also get cards that provide 128-bit encryption.

MAC address

Short for Media Access Control address, a hardware address that uniquely identifies each node of a network. In IEEE 802 networks, the Data Link Control (DLC) layer of the OSI Reference Model is divided into two sublayers: the Logical Link Control (LLC) layer and the Media Access Control (MAC) layer. The MAC layer interfaces directly with the network media. Consequently, each different type of network media requires a different MAC layer. On networks that do not conform to the IEEE 802 standards but do conform to the OSI Reference Model, the node address is called the Data Link Control (DLC) address.

Infrastructure mode

Nodes communicating with the aid of an access point are in infrastructure mode: the idea is that the access point is giving access to a wired-network infrastructure.

DNS

"Domain Name Service". This is the protocol that allows a machine to translate a domain name, e.g. www.seattlewireless.net, into an IP address such as 209.95.123.254.

DHCP

(dynamic host configuration protocol) a protocol for assigning dynamic IP addresses to devices on a network. With dynamic addressing, a device can have a different IP address every time it connects to the network. In some systems, the device's IP address can even change while it is still connected. DHCP also supports a mix of static and dynamic IP addresses. Dynamic addressing simplifies network administration because the software keeps track of IP addresses rather than requiring an administrator to manage the task. This means that a new computer can be added to a network without the hassle of manually assigning it a unique IP address. Many ISPs use dynamic IP addressing for dial-up users.

MAN

Metropolitan Area Network. A network based around a city.