Table of Contents
Computer Network Types
A computer network is a group of computers linked to each other that enables the computer to communicate with another computer and share their resources, data, and applications.
A computer network can be categorized by their size. A computer network is mainly of three types:
- LAN(Local Area Network)
- MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)
- WAN(Wide Area Network)
LAN(Local Area Network)
- Local Area Network is a group of computers connected to each other in a small area such as building, office.
- LAN is used for connecting two or more personal computers through a communication medium such as twisted pair, coaxial cable, etc.
- It is less costly as it is built with inexpensive hardware such as hubs, network adapters, and ethernet cables.
- The data is transferred at an extremely faster rate in the Local Area Network.
- Local Area Network provides higher security.
MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)
- A metropolitan area network is a network that covers a larger geographic area by interconnecting a different LAN to form a larger network.
- Government agencies use MAN to connect to the citizens and private industries.
- In MAN, various LANs are connected to each other through a telephone exchange line.
- The most widely used protocols in MAN are RS-232, Frame Relay, ATM, ISDN, OC-3, ADSL, etc.
- It has a higher range than the Local Area Network(LAN).
Uses Of Metropolitan Area Network:
- MAN is used in communication between the banks in a city.
- It can be used in an Airline Reservation.
- It can be used in a college within a city.
- It can also be used for communication in the military.
WAN(Wide Area Network)
- A Wide Area Network is a network that extends over a large geographical area such as states or countries.
- A Wide Area Network is quite a bigger network than the LAN.
- A Wide Area Network is not limited to a single location, but it spans over a large geographical area through a telephone line, fiber optic cable, or satellite links.
- The internet is one of the biggest WAN in the world.
- A Wide Area Network is widely used in the field of Business, government, and education.
Examples Of Wide Area Network:
- Mobile Broadband: A 4G network is widely used across a region or country.
- Last-mile: A telecom company is used to provide internet services to the customers in hundreds of cities by connecting their home with fiber.
- Private network: A bank provides a private network that connects the 44 offices. This network is made by using the telephone leased line provided by the telecom company.
Advantages Of Wide Area Network:
Following are the advantages of the Wide Area Network:
- Geographical area: A Wide Area Network provides a large geographical area. Suppose if the branch of our office is in a different city then we can connect with them through WAN. The internet provides a leased line through which we can connect with another branch.
- Centralized data: In the case of the WAN network, data is centralized. Therefore, we do not need to buy the emails, files, or back up servers.
- Get updated files: Software companies work on the live server. Therefore, the programmers get the updated files within seconds.
- Exchange messages: In a WAN network, messages are transmitted fast. The web application like Facebook, Whatsapp, Skype allows you to communicate with friends.
- Sharing of software and resources: In the WAN network, we can share the software and other resources like a hard drive, RAM.
- Global business: We can do business over the internet globally.
- High bandwidth: If we use the leased lines for our company then this gives the high bandwidth. The high bandwidth increases the data transfer rate which in turn increases the productivity of our company.
Disadvantages of Wide Area Network:
The following are the disadvantages of the Wide Area Network:
- Security issue: A WAN network has more security issues as compared to LAN and MAN network as all the technologies are combined together that creates the security problem.
- Needs Firewall & antivirus software: The data is transferred on the internet which can be changed or hacked by the hackers, so the firewall needs to be used. Some people can inject the virus in our system so antivirus is needed to protect from such a virus.
- High Setup cost: An installation cost of the WAN network is high as it involves the purchasing of routers, switches.
- Troubleshooting problems: It covers a large area so fixing the problem is difficult.