Brother PT-E550W - Gateway (and router); Wireless network terms and concepts; SSID (Service Set Identifier) and channels

Glossary
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Wireless network terms and concepts 10
Specifying your network 10
SSID (Service Set Identifier) and channels 10
You need to configure the SSID and a channel to specify the wireless network you want to connect to.
 SSID
Each wireless network has its own unique network name which is technically referred to as an SSID
(Service Set Identifier). The SSID is a 32-byte or less value and is assigned to the access point.
The wireless network devices you want to associate with the wireless network should match the access
point. The access point and wireless network devices regularly send wireless packets (referred to as
beacons) which have the SSID information. When your wireless network device receives a beacon,
you can identify wireless networks that are close enough to connect to.
 Channels
Wireless networks use channels. Each wireless channel is on a different frequency. There are up to
14 different channels that can be used when running a wireless network. However, in many countries
the number of available channels is restricted.
Security terms 10
Authentication and encryption 10
Most wireless networks use some kind of security settings. These security settings define the authentication
(how the device identifies itself to the network) and encryption (how the data is encrypted as it is sent on the
network). If you do not correctly specify these options when you are configuring your Brother wireless
machine, it will not be able to connect to the wireless network. Therefore care must be taken when
configuring these options.