Chapter 2 - Terms from CWNA to Review

Station (STA) - Any 802.11 wireless addressable unit. This could be a client station *or* an AP.

Basic Service Set (BSS) - The basic building block of an 802.11 wireless network. Composed of at least one Station (STA) that has initiated a service set, and possibly more stations have joined that service set. A BSS is usually initiated by an AP and then joined by client stations.

Basic Service Area (BSA) - The area containing the members of a Basic Service Set (BSS). It may contain members of other BSSs. 

Basic Service Set Identifier (BSSID) - The 6-12 octet (12 hex characters) MAC address representation that identifies a BSS. A single AP's radio can support multiple BSSs using a unique BSSID for each. 

Independent Basic Service Set (IBSS) - A Basic Service Set (BSS) that forms a self-contained network, and in which no access to a distribution system (DS) is available. IBSS networks also lack a central coordination point, such as an AP. An IBSS is also often called an Ad Hoc or Peer-to-Peer network.

Extended Service Set (ESS) - A set of one or more interconnected basic service sets (BSS)

Distribution System (DS) - A system used to connect LANs and BSSs to create an ESS. This is normally the ethernet network of the company. 

Distribution System Medium (DSM) - The medium used to communicate between APs and portals of an ESS.

Service Set Identifier (SSID) - The network name of a BSS or ESS as known and identified by users.

Portal - The logical point at which the integration service (translation from one format to another) is provided