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Adaptec Ultra Wireless PCI Adapter User’s Guide
Glossary
Access Point
An Access Point (AP) is a wired controller that sends data to the
wireless NICs installed in your network computers, and receives
data back from them. An AP is often connected to the network
computer that has Internet access, or is directly connected to the
Internet by a DSL or cable modem. The AP then allows other
stations on your WLAN to access the Internet.
Ad-hoc mode
See operating mode.
channel
Your Wireless device communicates with other devices on your
WLAN over a specific channel. The channel is similar to a radio
channel—any Wireless device linking to your Wireless device must
be "tuned" to the same channel.
In Infrastructure mode, the channel is selected by the AP or Router.
It automatically selects a channel from the range available for your
geographical location (11 channels are available for use in the
United States) and communicates that channel to your Wireless
device. In Ad Hoc mode only, you can set the channel yourself.
device driver
A device driver is a software program that lets an adapter (such as
a PC card, PCI card, or USB adapter) or any other device (such as a
printer or CD-ROM drive) communicate with the computer that it's
connected to.
Ethernet
Ethernet is a popular networking system that uses NICs and cables
(and often, other networking devices such as bridges and hubs) to
create a LAN.