card-type (read-only: type) - a string with some basic information about adapter type and model
mac-address (MAC address) - an IEEE Media Access Control (MAC) address. This is a hardware address that uniquely identifies each node of a network. It is shown as a sequence of six two-digits hexadecimal numbers separated by colons, exempli gratia: 00:2f:21:c1:11:0a. In the console it also can be entered without delimiters, id est 002f21c1110a
mtu (integer) - Maximum Transmission Unit, the largest physical packet size, measured in bytes, that a network can transmit. Any packets larger than the MTU are fragmented into smaller ones before being sent over the network; this slows down transmission speeds. There are some tupical settings of MTU: the MTU of many PPP connections is 576 while most ethernet networks have an MTU of 1500
name (name) - assigned feature name. Usually is used for inner reference and scripting
ad-hoc mode - a network framework provided by IEEE 802.11 standard set in which all communications between wireless clients are made without the use of an Access Point (AP). This mode sometimes is referred as a peer-to-peer mode
AP - short for Access Point, a set of hardware and software that acts as a
communication hub for wireless clients to connect to a wired LAN. APs are important for providing heightened
wireless network security and for extending the physical range of service a wireless client has
access to.
See infrastructure mode and ad-hoc mode.
ARP - short for address resolution protocol. This protocol is used to resolve IP addresses to MAC addresses
Basic Service Set - (BSS). A network setup with a set of wireless clients and one AP connected to a wired network
dlci - short for data link connection identifier. Identifies the number of the logical circuit the data travels over. DLCI is a number of a switched virtual or private circuit in a Frame Relay network, which is used to determine how to route the data.
Extended Service Set - (ESS). A set of two or more BSSs that for one single subnetwork
IEEE - short for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. IEEE is best known for developing various standards for the computer and electronic industry
infrastructure mode - a network framework provided by IEEE 802.11 standard set in which all communications between wireless clients are made with a help of an Access Point (AP). In this mode, wireless devices can communicate either with each other or with a wired network. There are two possible infrastructure mode configurations referred as Basic Service Set (BSS) and Extended Service Set (ESS). The infrastructure mode is widely used in corporate networks in order to gain access to wired LAN services such as file or application servers and printers
IP address - short for Internet Protocol address. This is a logical address belonging to the OSI layer 3. Consists of four (IPv4) or six (IPv6) binary octets. Usually is shown in decimal form, exempli gratia 159.148.60.2.
MAC address - short for Media Access Control address. This is OSI layer 2 hardware address defined by IEEE standard and is used to deliver packets in the local network. It is sequence of six two-digits hexadecimal numbers separated by colons, exempli gratia: 00:2f:21:c1:11:0a.
RFC - short for request for comments. This is a set of technical and organizational notes about the Internet. Memos in the RFC series discuss many aspects of computer networking, including protocols, procedures, programs, and concepts
ssid - short for Service Set Identifier. The SSID is a 32-character identifier which is used in wireless networking to separate different networks. All devices within the same network must have the same SSID.
EAP - short for Extensible Authentication Protocol defined in RFC 2284. It is general authentication protocol which supports various methods of authentication, such as passwords, public keys, Kerberos and smart cards.
In wireless communications using EAP, a user requests connection to a WLAN through an AP, which then requests the identity of the user and transmits that identity to an authentication server such as RADIUS. The server asks the AP for proof of identity, which the AP gets from the user and then sends back to the server to complete the authentication.