GLOSSARY
10BASE-T The IEEE specification for 10 Mbps Ethernet over Category 3, 4 or 5
twisted pair cable.
100BASE-TX The IEEE specification for 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet over Category 5
twisted-pair cable.
Access Point An Access Point is a device through which wireless clients connect to
other wireless clients and which acts as a bridge between wireless clients
and a wired network, such as Ethernet. Wireless clients can be moved
anywhere within the coverage area of the access point and still connect
with each other. If connected to an Ethernet network, the access point
monitors Ethernet traffic and forwards appropriate Ethernet messages to
the wireless network, while also monitoring wireless client radio traffic
and forwarding wireless client messages to the Ethernet LAN.
Auto-negotiation Some devices in the range support auto-negotiation. Auto-negotiation is
where two devices sharing a link, automatically configure to use the best
common speed. The order of preference (best first) is: 100BASE-TX full
duplex, 100BASE-TX half duplex, 10BASE-T full duplex, and 10BASE-T
half duplex. Auto-negotiation is defined in the IEEE 802.3 standard for
Ethernet and is an operation that takes place in a few milliseconds.
Bandwidth The information capacity, measured in bits per second, that a channel can
transmit. The bandwidth of Ethernet is 10 Mbps, the bandwidth of Fast
Ethernet is 100 Mbps. The bandwidth for 802.11b wireless is 11Mbps.
Category 3 Cables One of five grades of Twisted Pair (TP) cabling defined by the EIA/TIA-586
standard. Category 3 is voice grade cable and can only be used in
Ethernet networks (10BASE-T) to transmit data at speeds of up to 10
Mbps.