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NWD-270N User’s Guide
17
CHAPTER 2
Wireless LANs
2.1 Overview
This section provides background information on wireless Local Area Networks.
2.1.1 What You Can Do in This Section
• Connect securely to an AP using many of the strongest and most common encryption
protocols. See Section 2.3 on page 19 for details.
• Connect securely either to an AP or computer-to-computer using WPS. See Section 2.4 on
page 21 for details.
2.1.2 What You Need to Know
The following terms and concepts may help as you read through this section.
Server
When two or more devices are connected digitally to form a network, the one that distributes
data to the other devices is known as the “server”. A RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial-In
User Service) is a kind of server that manages logins and logout, among other things, for the
network to which it is connected.
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.