802.... standards

802.1D

Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) - Prevents Layer 2 switching loops by dynamically blocking redundant paths.

802.1W

Rapid Spanning Tree Protocol (RSTP) - An evolution of STP that recovers from link failures in seconds instead of minutes.

802.1Q

VLAN Tagging (Dot1q) - Adds a 4-byte tag to Ethernet frames so a single trunk link can carry multiple VLANs.

802.1X

Port-Based Network Access Control (NAC) - Restricts unauthorized devices from connecting to a LAN/WLAN until authenticated.

802.3

Ethernet - The baseline IEEE standard for wired local area network (LAN) cabling and communication.

802.3af

Power over Ethernet (PoE) - Delivers baseline electrical power (~15.4W source) alongside data over twisted-pair copper.

802.3at

Power over Ethernet Plus (PoE+) - Delivers higher wattage (~30W source) for power-hungry devices like PTZ cameras.

802.3ad

Link Aggregation (LACP) - Bundles multiple physical switch ports together into a single logical high-bandwidth channel.

802.11

Wireless LAN (Wi-Fi) - The overarching standard for wireless local area network communications.

802.11i

Wireless Security Framework - Introduced robust encryption standards forming the foundation for WPA2 (AES).

802.11r

Fast BSS Transition (Fast Roaming) - Enables seamless handoffs for wireless clients moving between enterprise access points.