Networks Geographical Area, Like A Home, Office, or Groups of Buildings E.G. A

A Local Area Network is a privately owned computer network covering a small
Networks geographical area, like a home, office, or groups of buildings e.g. a

school Network. A LAN is used to connect the computers and other network devices
so that the devices can communicate with each other to share the resources. The
resources to be shared can be a hardware device like printer, software like an
application program or data. The size of LAN is usually small. The various devices in
LAN are connected to central devices called Hub or Switch using a cable.
Now-a-days LANs are being installed using wireless technologies. Such a system
makes use of access point or APs to transmit and receive data. One of the
computers in a network can become a server serving all the remaining computers
called Clients.
For example, a library will have a wired or wireless LAN Network for users to
interconnect local networking devices e.g., printers and servers to connect to
the internet.
LAN offers high speed communication of data rates of 4 to 16 megabits per second
(Mbps). IEEE has projects investigating the standardization of 100 Gbit/s, and
possibly 40 Gbit/s. LANs Network may have connections with other
LANs Network via leased lines, leased services.
Types of LAN
There are basically two types of Local Area Networks
namely: ARCnet and Ethernet.
ARCNET (Attached Resource Computer NETwork)
ARCNET is one of the oldest, simplest, and least expensive types of Local-
Area Network protocol, similar in purpose to Ethernet or Token Ring. ARCNET was
the first widely available networking system for microcomputers and became popular
in the 1980s for office automation tasks. ARCnet was introduced by Datapoint
Corporation in 1977.
A special advantage of ARCNET is that it permits various types of transmission
media - twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, and fiber optic cable - to be mixed on the
same network. The specification is ANSI 878.1. It can have up to 255 nodes
per network.
A new specification, called ARCnet Plus, will support data rates of 20 Mbps
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks
commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely
replaced competing wired local area network technologies. Ethernet uses a bus or
star topology Network and supports data transfer rates of 10 Mbps.
Ethernet Network uses the CSMA/CD access method to handle simultaneous
demands. It is one of the most widely implemented LAN standards. A newer version
of Ethernet Network, called 100Base-T (or Fast Ethernet), supports data transfer
rates of 100 Mbps.
And the newest version, Gigabit Ethernet supports data rates of 1 gigabit (1,000
megabits) per second. Ethernet is a physical and data link layer technology for local
area networks (LANs). Ethernet Network was invented by engineer Robert Metcalfe.
MAN (Metropolitan Area Networks)
MAN stands for Metropolitan Area Networks is one of a number of types of networks.
A MAN is a relatively new class of network. MAN is larger than a local area network
and as its name implies, covers the area of a single city. MANs rarely extend beyond
100 KM and frequently comprise a combination of different hardware and
transmission media. It can be single network such as a cable TV network, or it is a
means of connecting a number of LANs into a larger network so that resources can
be shared LAN to LAN as well as device to device.
A MAN can be created as a single network such as Cable TV Network, covering the
entire city or a group of several Local Area Networks (LANs). It this way resource
can be shared from LAN to LAN and from computer to computer also. MANs are
usually owned by large organizations to interconnect its various branches across a
city.
MAN is based on IEEE 802.6 standard known as DQDB (Distributed Queue Dual
Bus). DQDB uses two unidirectional cables (buses) and all the computers are
connected to these two buses. Each bus has a specialized device that initiates the
transmission activity. This device is called head end. Data that is to be sent to the
computer on the right hand side of the sender is transmitted on upper bus. Data that
is to be sent to the left hand side of the sender is transmitted on lower bus.
The two most important components of MANs are security and standardization.
Security is important because information is being shared between dissimilar
systems. Standardization is necessary to ensure reliable data communication.
A MAN usually interconnects a number of local area networks using a high-capacity
backbone technology, such as fiber-optical links, and provides up-link services to
wide area networks and the Internet.
The Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN) protocols are mostly at the data link level
(layer 2 in the OSI model), which are defined by IEEE, ITU-T, etc.
WAN (Wide Area Networks)
A wide area network (WAN) is a telecommunication network. A wide area network is
simply a LAN of LANs or Network of Networks. WANs connect LANs that may be on
opposite sides of a building, across the country or around the world. WANS are
characterized by the slowest data communication rates and the largest distances.
WANs can be of two types: an enterprise WAN and Global WAN.
Computers connected to a Wide Area Networks are often connected through public
networks, such as the telephone system. They can also be connected through
leased lines or satellites. The largest WAN in existence is the Internet. Some
segments of the Internet, like VPN based extranets, are also WANs in themselves.
Finally, many WANs are corporate or research networks that utilize leased lines.
Numerous WANs have been constructed, including public packet networks, large
corporate networks, military networks, banking networks, stock brokerage networks,
and airline reservation networks.
Organizations supporting WANs using the Internet Protocol are known as Network
Service Providers (NSPs). These form the core of the Internet.
By connecting the NSP WANs together using links at Internet Packet Interchanges
(sometimes called "peering points") a global communication infrastructure is formed.
WANs (wide area networks) generally utilize different and much more expensive
networking equipment than do LANs (Local Area Networks). Key technologies often
found in WANs (wide area networks) include SONET, Frame Relay, and ATM.
Clarify Enterprise WANs.

An enterprise WAN (wide area networks) connects an entire organization including
all LANs (Local Area Networks) at various sites. This term is used for large,
widespread organizations such as corporations, universities and governments.
Clarify Global WANs.

Global WANs (wide area networks) also span the world but they do not have to
connect LANS (Local Area Networks) within a single organization. The Internet is an
example of a global WAN. It connects diverse locations, organizations and
institutions throughout the world. Global WANS (wide area networks) can be public
or private. Private WANs (wide area networks) are called Intranet which belongs to
an organization. Public WANs (wide area networks) are open to everybody so that
anybody can connect and use the resources and services available.
WLANs - Wireless Local Area Networks
WLANs (Wireless Local Area Networks or sometimes referred to as LAWN, for
local area wireless network) provide wireless network communication over short
distances using radio or infrared signals instead of traditional network
cabling.WLANs (Wireless Local Area Networks) is one in which a mobile user can
connect to a local area network (LAN) through a wireless (radio) connection
Norman Abramson, a professor at the University of Hawaii, developed the world’s
first wireless computer communication network,
A WLAN typically extends an existing wired local area network. WLANs (Wireless
Local Area Networks) are built by attaching a device called the access point (AP) to
the edge of the wired network. Clients communicate with the AP using a wireless
network adapter similar in function to a traditional Ethernet adapter.
Network security remains an important issue for WLANs (Wireless Local Area
Networks). Random wireless clients must usually be prohibited from joining the
WLAN. Technologies like WEP raise the level of security on wireless networks to
rival that of traditional wired networks.
The IEEE 802.11 group of standards specify the technologies for wireless LANs.
802.11 standards use the Ethernet
WLAN (Wireless Local Area Networks) hardware was initially so expensive that it
was only used as an alternative to cabled LAN in places where cabling was difficult
or impossible.
All components that can connect into a wireless medium in a network are referred to
as stations. All stations are equipped with wireless network interface controllers
(WNICs). Wireless stations fall into one of two categories: access points, and clients.
Access points (APs), normally routers, are base stations for the wireless network.
They transmit and receive radio frequencies for wireless enabled devices to
communicate with. Wireless clients can be mobile devices such as laptops, personal
digital assistants, IP phones and other smartphones, or fixed devices such as
desktops and workstations that are equipped with a wireless network interface.
WLAN (Wireless Local Area Networks) types

Private home or small business WLAN
Commonly, a home or business WLAN employs one or two access points to
broadcast a signal around a 100- to 200-foot radius. You can find equipment for
installing a home WLAN in many retail stores.
With few exceptions, hardware in this category subscribes to the 802.11a, b, or g
standards (also known as Wi-Fi); some home and office WLANs now adhere to the
new 802.11n standard. Also, because of security concerns, many home and office
WLANs adhere to the Wi-Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) standard.
Enterprise class WLAN
An enterprise class WLAN employs a large number of individual access points to
broadcast the signal to a wide area. The access points have more features than
home or small office WLAN equipment, such as better security, authentication,
remote management, and tools to help integrate with existing networks. These
access points have a larger coverage area than home or small office equipment, and
are designed to work together to cover a much larger area. This equipment can
adhere to the 802.11a, b, g, or n standard, or to security-refining standards, such as
802.1x and WPA2.
Examples:
For WLANs that connect to the Internet, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP)
technology allows Web content to be more easily downloaded to a WLAN and
rendered on wireless clients like cell phones and PDAs.

Networks Geographical Area, Like A Home, Office, or Groups of Buildings E.G. A

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Networks Geographical Area, Like A Home, Office, or Groups of Buildings E.G. A

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Networks Geographical Area, Like A Home, Office, or Groups of Buildings E.G. A

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

A Local Area Network is a privately owned computer network covering a small

Networks geographical area, like a home, office, or groups of buildings e.g. a

Clarify Enterprise WANs.

Clarify Global WANs.

WLAN (Wireless Local Area Networks) types

You might also like