Huh!
One way to
categorize the different types of computer network designs is by their scope or
scale. For historical reasons, the networking industry refers to nearly every
type of design as some kind of area network. Common examples
of area network types are:
·
LAN - Local Area Network
·
WLAN - Wireless Local Area Network
·
WAN - Wide Area Network
·
MAN - Metropolitan Area Network
·
SAN - Storage Area Network, System
Area Network, Server Area Network, or sometimes Small Area Network
·
CAN - Campus Area Network,
Controller Area Network, or sometimes Cluster Area Network
·
PAN - Personal Area Network
·
DAN - Desk Area Network
LAN - Local Area Network
A LAN connects network devices over a relatively short
distance. A networked office building, school, or home usually contains a
single LAN, though sometimes one building will contain a few small LANs
(perhaps one per room), and occasionally a LAN will span a group of nearby
buildings. In TCP/IP networking, a LAN is often but not always implemented
as a single IP subnet.
In addition to operating in a
limited space, LANs are also typically owned, controlled, and managed by a
single person or organization. They also tend to use certain connectivity
technologies, primarily Ethernet and Token Ring.
WAN - Wide Area Network
As the term
implies, a WAN spans a large physical distance. The Internet is the
largest WAN, spanning the Earth.
A WAN is a geographically-dispersed
collection of LANs. A network device called a routerconnects
LANs to a WAN. In IP networking, the router maintains both a LAN address and a
WAN address.
A WAN differs from a LAN in several
important ways. Most WANs (like the Internet) are not owned by any one
organization but rather exist under collective or distributed ownership and
management. WANs tend to use technology like ATM, Frame Relay and X.25 for
connectivity over the longer distances.
References
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