ProSoft Technology RLXIB-IHA-A - Manual (Page 113)

RLXIB-IHA ♦ 802.11a Glossary of Terms
RadioLinx® 802.11a Industrial Hotspot User Manual
ProSoft Technology, Inc. Page 113 of 123
July 25, 2013
M
MAC ID
Media Access Control address. Every 802.11 device has its own MAC address.
This is a unique identifier used to provide security for wireless networks. When a
network uses a MAC table, only the 802.11 radios that have had their MAC
addresses add
ed to the network’s MAC table are able to get on the network.
Master device
Device that is connected to the Master radio.
Mbps
Megabits per second, or millions of bits per second. A measure of bandwidth.
Megahertz
A measure of electromagnetic wave frequency equal to one million hertz. Often
abbreviated as MHz and used to specify the radio frequency used by wireless
devices.
Mesh Networking
Features free standing, non wired network nodes that communicate among one
another and form self-configuring networks, with only one node required to hook
into a wired LAN. The other nodes are simply plugged into an electrical outlet, so
cabling is much less of an issue.
MIC
Message Integrity Check. One of the elements added to the TKIP standard. A
"signature" is added by each radio on each packet it transmits. The signature is
based on the data in the packet, a 64-bit value (key) and the MAC address of the
sender. The MIC allows the receiving radio to verify (check) that the data is not
forged.
MIMO
Multiple Input Multiple Output refers to using multiple antennas in a Wi-Fi device
to improve performance and throughput. MIMO technology takes advantage of a
characteristic called multipath, which occurs when a radio transmission starts out
at Point A and the reflects off or passes through surfaces or objects before
arriving, via multiple paths, at Point B. MIMO technology uses multiple antennas
to collect and organize signals arriving via these paths.
Modbus
The Modbus protocol provides the internal standard that the MODICON
®
controllers use for parsing messages. During communications on a Modbus
network, the protocol determines how each controller will know its device
address, recognize a message addressed to it, determine the kind of action to be
taken, and extract any data or other information contained in the message. If a
reply is required, the controller will construct the reply message and send it using
Modbus protocol.