Type of Computer Networking

 

The most common categories of computer network are described in details below by our experts:

WAN (Wide Area Network)

WAN is defined as the computer network that covers a broad area which may span across provinces and even whole country. In the sector of telecommunications, this type of system is utilized. This network is of extreme high speed. So the users have to spend a huge amount of money to get the services from this network.

Government entities, business organizations and other education facilities use WAN to get connected and transmit data to each other. Different technologies are used to develop the wide area network links from integrated telephone lines, radio wave transmission and the optical fiber. The speed of the WAN has increased radically in the last few decades. From 110 bits per second in the year 1960 to up to 100 G/bits per second now, the speed has improved exponentially.

LAN (Local Area Network)

A network system installed in a building and operated under single administrative system is known as LAN. Generally, this type of network is used in organization’s offices, schools, colleges/universities, etc.

Usually, the LAN has a server of its own which has its own applications and storage systems that are shared among the users. From two to a few hundred, the number of users within the LAN network can vary. Today, Ethernet and Wi-Fi are the most common forms of LAN usage. A wireless LAN is always preferred to wired LAN due to its effectiveness, flexibility and cost. Simple LANs comprises of two to three switches which are connected to the router or modem for internet access. A complex LAN consists of several switches which uses a spanning tree protocol to prevent loops and manage more volumes of data transmission.

Internet

This network is mostly used in recent private, public, business, academic and government networks connected and guided by wireless and fiber-optic technologies. Computer network assignment help experts highlight internet as a network of global exchange connected by network system that uses TCP/IP to transmit data.

It is also referred to as Internet Area Network which is envisioned as the ideal networking model for the future. It connects all the endpoints through the public web, enabling the transmission of data and exchanging information possible without getting bound to a physical location. The rise of Internet Area Network is based on cloud computing. In the last one decade, high capacity networks and peer-to-peer architecture have paved the way for the popularity of internet networking.

MAN (Metropolitan Area Network)

This type of network facilities equips the whole city such as cable TV network. It can be used in various forms like Ethernet, Token-ring, ATM or FDDI. With accordance to the area of coverage, a MAN network covers larger area than LAN but smaller than WAN. MAN links generally use microwave, radio or infra-red laser transmission to connect between two LANs. 

MANs are used to build high speed network for cities and towns which is effective due to its medium range. The network of MAN can extend up to 40 kilometers maintaining its speed and effectiveness. These days MAN networks work on Distributed Queue Dual Bus (DQDB) with IEEE 802.6 standard of data communication giving a speed of transmission up to 155 Mbps.

CAN (Campus Area Network)

A network that connects many small LAN networks is named as CAN. It allows easy file sharing between different departments as all the files are usually shared on the server machine.

CAN is a form of smaller MAN network but with a shorter range of effectiveness. The networking equipments and transmission media are owned by the authority itself which uses FDDI, ATM, Token Ring and fast Ethernet to get connected. The range of CAN varies but it can be effective with an area about 8-10 km2. CAN is used in the corporate offices where the employees require high speed data link.

SAN (Storage Area Network)

This network is mostly used as information database, not often used by organizations or any similar entities. This network is implemented on the websites that offer downloading services.

A Storage Area Network or SAN is assembled using three principle components: cabling, Host Bus Adapters and switches. The SAN moves the storage resources from the common network reorganizing them into a high speed and independent network. Every server, whenever required, can access this storage. A SAN cannot perform file abstraction and it can be used for only block-level operations. It uses ATA, Fiber Channel Protocol and SCSI protocol for communication between servers and disk drive services.

SAN (Storage Area Network) is linked to high performance computers with high-speed connections in a cluster configuration. It is also known as Cluster Area Network.

System Area Network is capable of delivering very high bandwidth up to 1 Gbps with a very low latency. A SAN is used to interconnect all the nodes within a distributed computer system referred to as a cluster. It is known for its security and low error rates. SANs are especially effective for bulk data transfer as it uses Remote Direct Memory Access Mechanism.

PAN (Personal Area Network)

This network is used for communicating between more than one or two computers and computer devices (including telephones) within around few meters within a room.

When a person works in his individual laptop, connected with a printer which is also attached with his smartphone using wireless technology, it can be referred to as the simplest form of Personal Area Network. This wireless PAN is based on the standard IEEE 802.15. Bluetooth and Infrared data transmission falls under the category of PAN.

Share this post