HP Deskjet 6980 Printer series - Networking glossary

c
Channel

: One of several pre-set frequencies at which 802.11b-enabled devices

communicate in order to reduce interference. The number of channels available varies
by country/region.

d
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)

: A protocol used to automatically

assign an IP address to each device on a network.

e
EAP

: Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP) is a general protocol for authentication

that also supports multiple authentication methods, such as token cards, one-time
passwords, certificates, and public key authentication.

WPA

uses EAP.

Encryption

: A network security that encodes the data sent across a wireless network

making the data unintelligible to eavesdroppers. The printer supports

WEP

and

WPA

.

Encryption keys

: A sequence of characters or digits that a wireless device uses to

encode data. Encryption keys can be static (as they are in

WEP

) or dynamic (as they are

in

WPA

).

Ethernet

: A popular form of wired computer networking for Local Area Networks.

Ethernet cable

: There are two types of Ethernet cables. A straight-through cable is the

most common and is used to connect devices on a network to a hub or router. A crossover
cable is used to connect two devices that have Ethernet ports but that are not hubs or
routers. Use a CAT-5 cable with an RJ-45 plug to connect the printer to an Ethernet
network.

f
Firewall

: A combination of hardware and software tools that protects a network from

unwanted entry.

g
Gateway

: A dedicated device (router or computer) that connects two different networks.

For example, a computer on an Ethernet network can act as a gateway between the
network and the Internet.

h
Host Name

: The name by which the printer identifies itself on the network. The printer's

host name is displayed on the HP Report page. Use the host name to open the printer's
embedded Web server (EWS).

Hub

: A simple device that acts as the center of an Ethernet network. Other devices on

the network are connected to the hub.

i
ICS (Internet Connection Sharing)

: A Windows program that allows a computer to act

as a gateway between the Internet and a network. ICS uses DHCP to assign IP
addresses. For more information about ICS, see the Windows documentation.

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Internet Sharing

: A Macintosh OSX program that allows a computer to act as a gateway

between the Internet and a network. For more information about Internet, see Macintosh
documentation.

IP address (Internet Protocol address)

: A unique number that identifies a device on a

network. The IP address is often automatically assigned by DHCP or AutoIP. However,
a device can be manually assigned a static IP address.

Infrastructure network

: A type of wireless network in which devices communicate with

each other through a Wireless Access Point (WAP), such as a wireless network hub,
router, or gateway.

j

k

l
LAN (Local Area Network)

: A high-speed type of computer network that connects

devices that are a relatively short distance from one another. An Ethernet network is one
type of LAN.

m
MAC address (Media Access Control address)

: The hardware address for a device

on a network. The printer's MAC address is displayed on the HP Report page.

Mb/s (megabits per second)

: The measure for the rate at which a network functions.

For example, 1 Mb/s equals 1,000,000 bits per second (or 125,000 bytes per second).

mDNS

: As an alternative to a Domain Name Server, a device issues a Multicast Domain

Name Server (mDNS) notification to provide information regarding its service. The
notification includes the type of service (such as printing), the name of the service (such
as "your printer"), IP and port addresses, and other necessary information. Each device
on the network receives the notification and stores the information in a personal DNS
server.

n
Network name

: A network name is an alphanumeric, case-sensitive character string that

provides basic access control to a wireless network. A network name is also known as
a "Service Set Identifier (SSID)."

o

p
Packet

: A message sent from one device on a network to other devices on the network.

Protocol

: A language that devices on a network use to communicate with each other. A

popular network protocol is TCP/IP.

q

User's guide

45

r
RJ-45

: The type of plug at the end of an Ethernet cable.

Router

: A complex networking device that directs packets from one network to another

network. A router can act as a gateway between a LAN and the Internet.

s
Static IP address

: An IP address that is manually assigned to a device on a network. A

static IP address remains fixed until changed manually. Alternative methods for assigning
IP address are DHCP and AutoIP.

Subnet

: A small network that acts as part of a large network. It is recommended that the

printer and the computers that use the printer all be on the same subnet.

Subnet mask

: A number that identifies the IP addresses that belong to a subnet.

Switch

: A network device that manages network traffic in order to minimize collisions

and maximize speed.

t
TCP/IP

: Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is the network

communication protocol used on the Internet. The printer's built-in networking feature
supports LANs that use TCP/IP.

TKIP

: Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) is an encryption method used in

WPA

.

u
Unicast packet

: A packet sent from one device on a network to another device on the

network.

v

w
WEP

: Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) provides security by encrypting data sent over

radio waves from one wireless device to another wireless device. WEP encodes the data
sent across the network making the data unintelligible to eavesdroppers. Only devices
that share the same WEP settings as the printer will be able to communicate with the
printer. WEP depends on encryption keys that are static and provides less security than
WPA.

WEP key

: A WEP key, or encryption key, is a sequence of alphanumeric characters or

hexadecimal digits. After creating a WEP key, you must remember it or store it in a secure
location. You might not be able to retrieve the WEP key if you lose it. A WEP key is either
64 or 128 bits long. The first 24 bits of the key are provided automatically. When creating
the WEP key, the person creating the key provides the remaining bits (40 bits in the case
of a 64-bit key, or 104 bits in the case of a 128-bit key).

Wireless Access Point (WAP)

: A Wireless Access Point (WAP) is a device through

which devices (for example, computers and printers) on an infrastructure wireless
network communicate with one another. A WAP is also called a base station.

Wireless profile

: A wireless profile is a collection of wireless network settings that

applies to a particular wireless network. For example, a wireless LAN card can have one

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