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.

ADVANTAGES

• Files can be stored on a central computer (the file server) allowing data to
be shared throughout an organisation.
• Files can be backed up more easily when they are all on a central
fileserver rather than when they are scattered across a number of
independent workstations.
• Networks also allow security to be established, ensuring that the network
users may only have access to certain files and applications.
• Software and resources can be centrally managed.
• Network versions of software often allow for their speedy installation on
workstations from the file server.
• Expensive devices such as laser printers or scanners can be shared.
• Users can access their files from any workstation
DISADVANTAGES.

- If Sever develops a fault then users may not be able to run the application
programs.

- A fault in the network can cause user to lose the data.

-If the network stops operating then it may not be possible to access to various
computers.

- It is difficult to make the system secure from hackers, novices or industrial

espionage.

- Decisions on resource planning tend to become centralized.

- Networks that have grown with little thought can be inefficient in the long
term.

-As traffic increases on a network the performance degrades unless it is

designed properly.

- The larger the network becomes difficult to manage.

MAN
A metropolitan area network is a computer network that carries data across big
cities. This type of connection can connect numerous locations together in one
municipality.

A MAN is optimized for a larger geographical area than a LAN, ranging from
several blocks of buildings to entire cities. MANs can also depend on
communications channels of moderate-to-high data rates. A MAN might be
owned and operated by a single organization, but it usually will be used by
many individuals and organizations. MANs might also be owned and operated
as public utilities. They will often provide means for internetworking of local
network. There are three important features which discriminate MANs from
LANs or WANs:

1. The network size falls intermediate between LANs and WANs. A MAN
typically covers an area of between 5 and 50 km range. Many MANs
cover an area the size of a city, although in some cases MANs may be as
small as a group of buildings.
2. A MAN (like a WAN) is not generally owned by a single organisation.
The MAN, its communications links and equipment are generally owned
by either a consortium of users or by a network service provider who sells
the service to the users.
 3. A MAN often acts as a high speed network to allow sharing of regional
resources. It is also frequently used to provide a shared connection to
other networks using a link to a WAN.

MAN adopted technologies from both LAN and WAN to serve its purpose.
Some legacy technologies used for MAN are ATM, FDDI, DQDB and SMDS.
These older technologies are in the process of being displaced by Gigabit
Ethernet and 10 Gigabit Ethernet. At the physical level, MAN links between
LANs have been built on fibre optical cables or using wireless technologies
such as microwave the advantages of the metropolitan area network are-

• sharing of resources such as printers; hence cost effective.

• can send local email

DIASADVANTAGES-

• As the network consists of many computers over the span of a city

(various HAN networks) the connection can lag or become quite slow

or radio.

WAN - Wide Area Network

As the term implies WAN spans a large physical distance,large geographic area,
such as a state, province or country. The Internet is the largest WAN, spanning
the Earth.It is The world's most popular WAN . Some segments of the Internet,
like VPN, are also WANs in themselves. Finally, many WANs are corporate or
research networks that utilize leased lines.

WANs generally utilize different and much more expensive networking

equipment than do LANs. Key technologies often found in WANs include
Frame Relay etc.
WANs often connect multiple smaller networks, such as local area networks
(LANs) or metro area networks (MANs).
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.

Advantages Of WAN

-Messages can be sent very quickly to anyone else on the network. These
messages can have pictures, sounds, or data included with them (called
attachments).
-Expensive things (such as printers or phone lines to the internet) can be shared
by all the computers on the network without having to buy a different peripheral
for each computer.
-Everyone on the network can use the same data. This avoids problems where
some users may have older information than others.
-Share information/files over a larger area

Disadvantages Of WAN

-Setting up a network can be an expensive and complicated experience. The

bigger the network the more expensive it is.
-Security is a real issue when many different people have the ability to use
information from other computers. Protection against hackers and viruses adds
more complexity and expense.
-Once set up, maintaining a network is a full-time job which requires network
supervisors and technicians to be employed.
-Information may not meet local needs or interests

-Vulnerable to hackers or other outside threats

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 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 WiFi wireless network

technology
• 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 - links high-performance computers with high-
speed connections in a cluster configuration. Also known as Cluster Area
Network.