Basically the networks are categorized on their design. The two most popular network design are "LAN" and "WAN".
Now a days offices and schools often have all their computers connected to each other. This is commonly known as Local Area Network or LAN.
Wide Area Network or WAN, consists of computers that are connected over a wide geographic area, such as a city or a country. In this setup, information is transmitted via telephone lines or satellites.
Local Area Network (LAN)
A LAN connects network devices over a relatively short distance. A networked office building, school, or home usually contains a single LAN, through sometimes one building will contain a few small LAN's and occasionally a LAN will span a group of nearby buildings.
Besides operating in limited space, LANs include several other distinctive features. LANs are typically owned, controlled and managed by a single person or organization. They also use certain specific connectivity technologies, primarily Ethernet and token ring.
Wide Area Network (WAN)
A Wide Area Network spans a large physical distance. A WAN like the Internet spans most of the world.
A WAN is geographically dispersed collection of LANs. IN WAN mostly the LANs are connected with each other through a network device called as Router.
WANs differ from LANs in several iportant ways. Like the internet, most WANs are not owned by one organization but rather exist under collective or disturbed ownership and Management.
Metropolitan Area Network
A Metropolitan Area Network connects an area larger than a LAN but smaller than a WAN, such as a city, with dedicated or high performance hardware.
MAN is one of number of types of networks. A MAN is relatively new class of network, it serves role similar to an Internet Service Providers(ISP), but for corporate users with large LANs.
There are three important features which distinguish MAN from LAN or WAN.
1. The network size falls intermediate between LAN and WAN. A MAN typically covers an area of between 5 and 50 kms diameter. Many MANs cover an area the size of a city, although in some cases MANs may be as small as a group of buildings or as large as Pune.
2. A MAN is not generally owned by a single organization. The equipments and communication links used in MAN are generally owned by either a consortium of users by a single network provider who sells the service to users. This level of service provided to each user must therefore be negotiated with the MAN operator and some performance guarantees are normally specified at the time.
3. A MAN ofter acts a high speed network to allow sharing of regional resources. It frequently used to provide a shared connection to other networks using a link to a WAN.
Now a days offices and schools often have all their computers connected to each other. This is commonly known as Local Area Network or LAN.
Wide Area Network or WAN, consists of computers that are connected over a wide geographic area, such as a city or a country. In this setup, information is transmitted via telephone lines or satellites.
Local Area Network (LAN)
A LAN connects network devices over a relatively short distance. A networked office building, school, or home usually contains a single LAN, through sometimes one building will contain a few small LAN's and occasionally a LAN will span a group of nearby buildings.
Besides operating in limited space, LANs include several other distinctive features. LANs are typically owned, controlled and managed by a single person or organization. They also use certain specific connectivity technologies, primarily Ethernet and token ring.
Wide Area Network (WAN)
A Wide Area Network spans a large physical distance. A WAN like the Internet spans most of the world.
A WAN is geographically dispersed collection of LANs. IN WAN mostly the LANs are connected with each other through a network device called as Router.
WANs differ from LANs in several iportant ways. Like the internet, most WANs are not owned by one organization but rather exist under collective or disturbed ownership and Management.
Metropolitan Area Network
A Metropolitan Area Network connects an area larger than a LAN but smaller than a WAN, such as a city, with dedicated or high performance hardware.
MAN is one of number of types of networks. A MAN is relatively new class of network, it serves role similar to an Internet Service Providers(ISP), but for corporate users with large LANs.
There are three important features which distinguish MAN from LAN or WAN.
1. The network size falls intermediate between LAN and WAN. A MAN typically covers an area of between 5 and 50 kms diameter. Many MANs cover an area the size of a city, although in some cases MANs may be as small as a group of buildings or as large as Pune.
2. A MAN is not generally owned by a single organization. The equipments and communication links used in MAN are generally owned by either a consortium of users by a single network provider who sells the service to users. This level of service provided to each user must therefore be negotiated with the MAN operator and some performance guarantees are normally specified at the time.
3. A MAN ofter acts a high speed network to allow sharing of regional resources. It frequently used to provide a shared connection to other networks using a link to a WAN.
