Glossary of terms
| Abbreviations | Description |
| Access Popint | A device that acts as the bridge between wireless clients and the wired network. Often abbreviated as AP. |
| AES | The Advanced Encryption Standard is a symmetric block encryption protocol used in WPA2. |
| BSSID | BSSID stands for Basic Service Set Identifier and is the MAC address of the AP. |
| EAP | The Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) can be used to provide authentication to the wireless network when employing WPA-Enterprise and WPA2-Enterprise. |
| SSID | The Service Set Identifier (SSID) is the name of the wireless network. It can be contained in the beacons sent out by APs. |
| ESSID | The Extended Service Set Identifier is the name of the wireless network, and is used by all APs that provide access to the same infrastructure in an ESS. |
| ESS | An extended service set (ESS) refers to a network with two or more APs working cooperatively. |
| QoS | Quality of Service enables networks to prioritize certain traffic types. |
| CCMP | Cipher Block Chaining Message Authentication Code Protocol (CCMP) is an encryption protocol that forms part of the wireless standard local area networks. |
| STA | Wireless Station. |
Wi-Fi Standards
IEEE Standards for Wireless, 802.11 is the set of standards maintained by the IEEE for wireless networking.
| Abbreviations | Description |
| 802.11a | In the 5 GHz range. 802.11a networks can support up to 54 Mbps throughput and operate in the UNII bands |
| 802.11ac | In the 5 GHz range. 802.11ac networks can support up to 1 Gbps throughput using multiple channels. |
| 802.11b | In the 2.4 GHz range. 802.11b networks support up to 11 Mbps throughput and operate in the ISM band. |
| 802.11d | Addresses the Media Access Control (MAC) layer to comply with rules in each country. |
| 802.11g | In the 2.4 GHz range. 802.11g networks support up to 54 Mbps throughput and operate in the ISM band. |
| 802.11h | Sets the requirements for Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) and Transmit Power Control (TPC). |
| 802.11n | Can use both the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz ranges. |
Wireless Security
| Abbreviations | Description |
| Ad Hoc Mode | A peer to peer mode of networking using Wi-Fi networking but no access point. Ad Hoc networks can include more than two devices. |
| WAP | WAP can refer to the Wireless Application Protocol, or can be used to mean Wireless Access Point. |
| WEP | Wired Equivalent Privacy is the original encryption scheme implemented in wireless networks |
| WPA | Wi-Fi Protected Access is a security protocol for wireless networks that was designed to replace WEP. It uses TKIP to encrypt data. |
| WPA2 | Wi-Fi Protected Access v2 is currently the strongest encryption protocol available to wireless networks. It uses AES encryption algorithm. |
| WPS | Wi-Fi Protected Setup makes it easier for users to add Wi-Fi clients to WPA and WPA2 protected wireless networks. |
| TKIP | The Temporal Key Integrity Protocol was developed as a replacement for WEP but is no longer considered secure and has been removed from 802.11 standards. |
| TLS | Transport Layer Security is a protocol designed to encrypt and authenticate all kinds of network traffic at the trans port layer, and is the successor to SSL. |
1.8.17