ProSoft Technology RLX-IFH24S-A - Manual (Page 102)

Glossary of Terms RLX-IFHS ♦ RadioLinx Industrial Wireless
User Manual RadioLinx® Industrial Frequency Hopping Serial Radios
Page 102 of 107 ProSoft Technology, Inc.
November 19, 2013
Site Survey
A comprehensive facility study performed by network managers to ensure that
planned service levels will be met when a new wireless LAN, or additional WLAN
segments to an existing network are deployed. Site survey’s are usually
performed by a radio frequency engineer and used by systems integrators to
identify the optimum placement of access points to ensure that planned levels of
service are met. Site surveys are sometimes conducted following the deployment
to ensure that the WLAN is achieving the necessary level of coverage. Site
surveys can also be used to detect rogue access points.
Spectrum
A range of electromagnetic frequencies.
Spread Spectrum
A form of wireless communication in which a signal’s frequency is deliberately
varied. This increases bandwidth and lessens the chances of interruption or
interception of the transmitted signal.
SSI
Service Set Identifier is a sequence of characters unique to a specific network or
network segment that’s used by the network and all attached devices to identify
themselves and allow devices to connect to the correct network when one or
more than one independent network is operating in nearby areas.
Subnet Mask
A mask used to determine what subnet an IP address belongs to. An IP address
has two components: the network address, and the host (node or device)
address. For example, consider the IP address 150.215.017.009. Assuming this
is part of a Class B network (with a subnet mask of 255.255.0.0), the first two
numbers (150.215) represent the Class B network address, and the second two
numbers (017.009) identify a particular host on this network.
T
TKIP
Temporal Key Integrity Protocol. The wireless security encryption mechanism in
Wi-Fi Protected Access. TKIP uses a key hierarchy and key management
methodology that removes the predictability that intruders relied upon to exploit
the WEP key. In increases the size of the key from 40 to 128 bits and replaces
WEP’s single static key with keys that are dynamically generated and distributed
by an authentication server, providing some 500 trillion possible keys that can be
used on a given data packet. If also includes a Message Integrity Check (MIC),
designed to prevent the attacker from capturing data packets, altering them, and
resending them. By greatly expanding the size of keys, the number of keys in
use, and by creating an integrity checking mechanism, TKIP magnifies the
complexity and difficulty involved in decoding data on a Wi-Fi network. TKIP
greatly increases the strength and complexity of wireless encryption, making it far
more difficult (if not impossible) for a would-be intruder to break into a Wi-Fi
network.