AC: Access controller device that controls and manages all APs in the WLAN.
AP: Access point. APs bridge a wireless client to the wireless LAN by frame conversion between wired and wireless networks.
BSS: Basic service set. A BSS is the coverage of an AP. It is uniquely identified by the BSSID. The simplest WLAN consists of one BSS, where all wireless clients reside.
BSSID: Basic Service Set Identifier. BSSID is the MAC address of an AP. It is used to identify the BSS managed by the AP.
Client: A PC or laptop equipped with a wireless NIC.
Engineered fit AP: AP that has come online but is under debugging. An engineered fit AP cannot send traps to INC. Change an engineered fit AP to a normal AP after it is successfully debugged and is operating correctly.
ESS: Extended service set. ESS is a virtual BSS that contains multiple BSSs with the same SSID. The ESS is uniquely identified by the SSID. A station must provide an SSID to get AP access.
Fat AP: Traditional AP that provides basic wireless connection functions, as well as security, management, and performance-enhancement functions. Along with these additional functions, the fat AP also leads to complex structure of the individual AP, high cost, and difficulty of management. It is also known as "Autonomous AP."
Fit AP: Provides only RF functions, a subset of the fat AP functionality, for higher reliability and performance. A fit AP is also known as "Controlled AP."
Radio: Normal physical port that sends and receives wireless signals.
Relation between SSID and BSSID: There is a one-to-one mapping between SSID and BSSID within an AP. If an AP supports more than one SSID, each of the SSIDs is assigned a BSSID.
Resource Management: WSM provides the Resource Management function for easy wireless device management by type.
Roam domain: Includes all ACs and fat APs with the same SSID. A roam domain makes it easier for an administrator to monitor the clients roaming within the domain.
SSID: Uniquely identifies a WLAN. A client accesses a WLAN through the SSID.
MAP: Mesh point AP that provides the mesh service and the access service concurrently.
Mesh: A WLAN that contains at least two MPs. The WLAN mesh technology is a new approach for deploying wireless networks. Different from a traditional WLAN, a WLAN mesh network allows for wireless connections between APs and multi-hop wireless links can be established between APs.
MP: Mesh point, an IEEE 802.11 entity that contains an IEEE 802.11-conformant medium access control (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) interface to the wireless medium (WM) that supports mesh services.
MPP: Mesh point AP that connects to an AC through a wired connection.