NETWORKING LESSONS FOR BEGINNERS-TYPES OF NETWORK
Types Of networks
Networks are
classified by their scope or scale.
Common types of area networks are:
- · LAN - Local Area Network
- · WAN - Wide Area Network
- · WLAN - Wireless Local 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
LAN and WAN are the two primary and best-known categories of area networks,
while the others have emerged with technology advances.
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 router connects
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.
LAN, WAN and Home Networking
Residences
typically employ one LAN and connect to the Internet WAN via an Internet
Service Provider (ISP) using a broadband
modem. The ISP provides a WAN IP address to the modem, and all of
the computers on the home network use LAN (so-called private) IP addresses. All
computers on the home LAN can communicate directly with each other but must go
through a central network
gateway, typically a broadband
router, to reach the ISP.
Other Types of Area Networks
While LAN and
WAN are by far the most popular network types mentioned, you may also commonly
see references to these others:
- Wireless Local Area Network - A
LAN based on Wi-Fi
wireless network technology
- Metropolitan Area Network - A
network spanning a physical area larger than a LAN but smaller than a WAN,
such as a city. A MAN is typically owned and operated by a single entity
such as a government body or large corporation.
- Campus Area Network - A network
spanning multiple LANs but smaller than a MAN, such as on a university or
local business campus.
- Storage
Area Network - Connects servers to data storage devices through
a technology like Fibre
Channel.
- System Area Network (also
known as Cluster Area Network) - Links high-performance computers with
high-speed connections in a cluster configuration.
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