The 802 specifications from the IEEE specify many networking subjects as listed below.
    802.1 -Internet working, 802.1d, 802.1x
    802.2 -Logical Link Control, defines the LLC & MAC sublayers
    802.3- Ethernet (CSMA/CD), 802.3af
    802.4 -Token Bus LAN
    802.5 -Token RingLAN
    802.6 -Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
    802.7 -BroadbandTechnical Advisory Group
    802.8 -Fiber OpticTechnical Advisory Group
    802.9 -Integrated Voice and Data Networks
    802.10 -Network Security
    802.11-Wireless Networks
    802.12 -Demand Priority Access LAN, 100BaseVG-AnyLAN
    802.15 -Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN)
    802.30 -100Base T

802.11 is a Wireless standard from the IEEE. The original standard specifies three wireless technologies:
    Infrared
    Frequency Hopping
    Direct Sequence
There have been additions to this standard that specify faster technologies such as:
    802.11b 802.11a 802.11g
There are other additions as well.
    802.11e 802.11d 802.11h 802.11i 802.11k 802.11n
Often times, in the data collection industry, 802.11 refers not only to the standard, but specifically to the 802.11 Frequency hopping products from Symbol Technologies because they are the only ones that released an 802.11 FH product.

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See also 802.11x

802.11a is a supplement standard to the 802.11 standard from the IEEE. It specifies a 5GHz radio with data rates up to 54Mbps. It also specifies fallback data rates with the lowest being 6Mbps. At 6Mbps the range would be similar to the range of 802.11b at 1Mbps.

802.11b is a supplement to the 802.11 standard from the IEEE. It specifies a Direct Sequence radio with a high end data rate of 11Mbps. This standard also calls for fallback data rates of 5.5, 2 and 1Mbps as distance from the Access Point increases.

Also specified in 802.11b is 40 Bit WEP encryption. Many manufacturers offered up to 128 bit WEP encryption in their products, but this is not part of the 802.11b standard.

Wi-Fi is sometimes thought to be synonymous with 802.11b in error. Wi-Fi is a certification from the Wi-Fi Alliance applied to 802.11b products if they pass a compatibility test.

802.11b is the first standard that has gained world-wide acceptance and truly offers Interoperability.

802.11d is a Wireless network communications specification for use in countries where systems using other standards in the 802.11family are not allowed to operate. The 802.11d specification is similar in most respects to 802.11b. The main difference is that the configuration can be fine-tuned at the Media Access Control layer (MAC layer) level to comply with the rules of the country or district in which the network is to be used. Rules subject to variation include allowed frequencies, allowed powerlevels, and allowed signal Bandwidth. The specification eliminates the need for designing and manufacturing dozens of different hardware solutions, each for use in a particular jurisdiction. The 802.11d specification is thus well suited for systems that want to provide global roaming.

802.11e is an enhancement to the 802.11a and 802.11b WLAN specifications. It offers quality of service (QoS) features, including the prioritization of data, voice, and video transmissions. The 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11e standards are elements of the 802.11 family of specifications for WLANs.

802.11e enhances the 802.11 Media Access Control (MAC) layer with a coordinated time division multiple access (TDMA) construct, and adds error-correcting mechanisms for delay-sensitive applications such as voice and video. The 802.11e specification provides seamless Interoperability between business, home, and public environments such as airport sand hotels, and is especially well suited for use in networks that include multimedia capability. It offers all subscribers high-speed Internet access with full-motion video, high-fidelity audio, and Voice Over IP (VOIP).

Networks employing 802.11e operate at radio frequencies of 2.4GHz or 5GHz.

Ratified in June, 2003 as an IEEE standard for Wireless local area networks (WLANs), 802.11g offers wireless transmission rates of 54Mbps compared with the 11Mbps of the 802.11b standard. Like 802.11b, 802.11g operates in the 2.4GHz range and is backwards compatible with 802.11b.

802.11g is not compatible with 802.11a.

The 802.11h specification is an addition to the 802.11 family of standards
for Wireless local area networks (WLANs). 802.11h is intended to resolve
interference issues introduced by the use of 802.11a in some locations,
particularly with military radar systems and medical devices. The rules
for 802.11h were recommended by the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU) because of problems that arose with interference to and from
other devices, especially in Europe. Two schemes are used to minimize
interference. Dynamic Frequency selection (DFS) detects the presence of
other devices on a channel and automatically switches the network to
another channel if and when such signals are detected. Transmitpower
control (TPC) reduces the radio-frequency (RF) output power of each
network transmitter to a level that minimizes the risk of interference to
and from other systems, while still allowing satisfactory network
performance.

This standard, ratified in the summer of 2004, is a supplement to 802.11 and is improves WLAN security. It describes the encrypted transmission of data between systems of 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g WLANs. It defines new encryption key Protocols including the Temporal Key Integrity Protocol (TKIP) and the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).

802.11k is a standard for how a Wireless local area network (WLAN) should perform channel selection, roaming, and transmit power control (TPC) in order to optimize network performance. It is part of the 802.11 family of specifications. 802.11k is intended to improve the way traffic is distributed within a network. In a WLAN, each device normally connects to the Access Point (AP) that provides the strongest signal. Depending on the number and geographic locations of associated Clients, this arrangement can sometimes lead to excessive demand on one AP andunderutilization of others, resulting in degradation of overall network performance. In a network conforming to 802.11k, if the AP having the strongest signal is loaded to its full capacity, a wireless device is connected to one of the underutilized APs. Even though the signal may be weaker, the overall throughput is greater because more efficientuse is made of the network resources.

802.11n is a proposed specification for WLAN communications. An addition to the 802.11 family of standards, 802.11n is intended to increase network speed and reliability and to extend the operating distance of Wireless networks. Raw data throughput is expected to reach as much as 600 Mbps, or more than 10 times the throughput of 802.11g. 802.11n is based on MIMO (multiple input, multiple output) technology, which uses multiple Antennas at both the source (transmitter) and the destination (receiver) to minimize errors and optimize data speed. The standard may also use orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing to increase speed, as well as coding schemes that transmit multiple redundant copies of data to boost reliability.

Progress in ratifying 802.11n has been stalled by the formation of competing vendor groups backing different proposals within the IEEE. The groups agree on most technology aspects but support different usage of the wireless spectrum. One group recommends using the 2.4GHz bandand the same 20MHz channels as 802.11 band 802.11g for compatibility, while another proposes using the 5GHz band and boosting channel width to 40MHz to increase data rates. Experts predict the earliest the standardization process can be completed is by late 2006.

There are "pre-N" products on the market based on early drafts of the specification. This equipment works at relatively low speeds (around 100 Mbps) and may not be compatible with the finished standard.

A generic term for any or all of the 802.11 family standards.

Communications specification approved in early 2002 by the IEEE for Wireless personal area networks (WPANs).

See also 802.15a

Bluetooth - an addition to 802.15 that defines a short range (10m) Wireless technology for cordless mouse, keyboard, and hands-free headset at 2.4 GHz.

WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) is a Wireless industry coalition whose members organized to advance IEEE 802.16 standards for Broadband wireless access (BWA) networks. 802.16 technology is expected to enable multimedia applications with wireless connections. WiMax also has a range of up to 30 miles, presenting provider networks with a viable wireless last mile solution. WiMAX was formed in April 2001, in preparation for the original 802.16 specification published in December of that year. According to the WiMAX forum, the group's aim is to promote and certify compatibility and interoperability ofdevices based on the 802.16 specification, and to develop such devices for the marketplace. Members of the organization include Airspan, Alvarion, Analog Devices, ApertoNetworks, Ensemble Communications, Fujitsu, Intel, Nokia, OFDM Forum, Proxim, and Wi-LAN.

The IEEE 802.1d specification defines the Spanning Tree Protocol. When two Bridges or Switches are used to interconnect the same two computer network segments, spanning tree allows the bridges to exchange information so that only one of them will handle a given message that is being sent between two computers within the network. The spanning tree protocol prevents the condition known as a bridge loop.

Access Points, which are bridges in the network world, use spanning tree protocol to prevent bridge loops from occurring in the Wireless network when Client devices roam form one access point to another. If the access points in a given WLAN are connected to more than one switch, the switches must be 802.1d compliant and spanning tree must be enabled for roaming to work properly.

802.1x is a standard from the IEEE for passing EAP over a wired LAN. EAP messages are packaged in Ethernet frames. It is authentication and nothing more. 802.1x is also now used in Wireless LANs since the wireless standard 802.11i has not yet been ratified.

802.1x has three components. The user or Client that wants to be authenticated is called a supplicant. The actual Server doing the authentication, typically a RADIUS server, is called the Authentication Server, and the device in between, such as an Access Point, is called the authenticator. One of the key points of 802.1x is that the authenticator can be simple and dumb - all of the brains have to be in the supplicant and the authentication server. This makes 802.1x ideal for access points, which are typically small and have little memory and processing power.

The Protocol in 802.1x is called EAP encapsulation over LANs (EAPOL). It is currently defined for Ethernet-like LANs including 802.11 wireless, as well as Token Ring LANs such as Fiber Distributed Data Interface(FDDI).

Authentication algorithms in 802.1x include EAP Cisco Wireless (LEAP), EAP-TLSand PEAP.

802.3 is a standard for Ethernet, a method of physical communication in a LAN, which is maintained by the IEEE. In general, 802.3 specifies the physical mediaand the working characteristics of Ethernet. Ethernet supports these possible physical media:

10BASE-2 (Thinnet Coaxial cable with a maximum segment length of 185 meters)

10BASE-5 (Thicknet coaxial cable with a maximum segment length of 500 meters)

10BASE-F (fiber optic cable)

10BASE-T (twisted pairwire)

100BASE-T (twisted pair wire)

10BASE-36 (broadband multi-channel coaxial cable with a maximum segment length of 3,600 meters)

802.3af, also known as Power over Ethernet, defines a way to build Ethernet power-sourcing equipment and powered terminals. The specification involves delivering 48 volts of DC power over unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) wiring. It works with existing cable plant, including Category 3, 5, 5e or 6; horizontal and patch cables; patch-panels; outlets; and connecting hardware, without requiring modification.

This approach of delivering power to an Access Point utilizes a Power Injector to add DC power to a CAT5 cable.