WLAN Terminology
This page on WLAN terminology describes terms related to WLAN or Wireless LAN technology. It covers what is wlan, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, 802.11ac, wifi hotspot, wifi access point, wifi station, 802.11ad, WLAN router etc.
| WLAN Terms | Basic description | RF Wireless World Reference |
|---|---|---|
| WLAN | Wireless Local Area Network, the wireless extension of the LAN using wifi bands is referred as WLAN. | what is wlan |
| 802.11a | One of the version of WLAN standard with OFDM modulation and speed upto 54 Mbps. It supports RF carrier frequency of 5GHz and bandwidth of about 20MHz. | 802.11a basics |
| 802.11b | One of the version of WLAN standard. It supports DSSS and CCK modulation schemes. It has max. data rate support of 11Mbps. It operates at 2.4GHz frequency. | 802.11b in depth |
| 802.11g | Supports both the variants of WLAN i.e. 11a and 11b. It supports RF frequency of 2.4GHz. | 11g comparison with 11a,11b,11n |
| 802.11n | Supports legacy standards viz. 11a, 11b and 11g. In addition it supports new modes such as green field mode. It supports higher data rate with the addition of MIMO. | 11n physical layer |
| 802.11ac | Capabilities of 11n is further increased in WLAN 802.11ac version. It supports all the legacy versions till 802.11n. In addition MIMO capabilities have been increased further in 11ac. It supports multiuser transmission, beamforming and multiuser MIMO. | 802.11ac overview |
| WiFi hotspot | The kiosks made to provide free and paid wifi service to access the internet at selected outlets, malls etc. is referred as wifi hotspots. | WiFi hotspot |
| Access Point | Access Point is the terminal which provides wifi connectivity to number of wifi subscribes(i.e. Stations). It is similar to router. It will be interfaced with internet service provider on one end and other end is wireless through which all the stations will be connected to obtain the wifi service. | |
| Station | The users or subscribers having wlan or wifi capabilities are referred as stations. | |
| 802.11ad | 802.11ad features | |
| WLAN router | The device which provides supports to route the packet through the WLAN network is referred as WLAN router. | WiFi Router |
| BSS | Basic Service Set, a set of stations which are controlled using a common coordination function. Coordination function determines whether stations within BSS is permitted to transmit and receive or not. | |
| DS | Distribution System, the system which connects BSSs and integrated LANs to make ESS. | |
| ESS | Extended Service Set, a set of one or more BSSs and LANs. This appears as single BSS to LLC layer. | |
| MPDU | MAC Protocol Data Unit, unit of data which is exchanged between two peer MAC entities using PHY layer. | |
| MSDU | MAC Service Data Unit, Information exchanged as unit between two MAC users. |
Other useful Terminologies
WiMAX TERMINOLOGY
GSM TERMINOLOGY
LTE TERMINOLOGY
SATELLITE TERMINOLOGY
RF TERMINOLOGY
Antenna TERMINOLOGY
Avionics TERMINOLOGY
DSP TERMINOLOGY
Electronic TERMINOLOGY
Fibre optic TERMINOLOGY
GPRS TERMINOLOGY
Networking TERMINOLOGY
Test and Measurement TERMINOLOGY
WCDMA TERMINOLOGY
Wireless TERMINOLOGY
WLAN TERMINOLOGY
Zigbee TERMINOLOGY
RF and Wireless Terminologies
SATELLITE
RF
Antenna
Avionics
Wireless
LiFi vs WiFi
MiFi vs WiFi
BPSK vs QPSK
BJT vs FET
PDH vs SDH
CS vs PS
MS vs PS