CATEGORIES OF NETWORKS

Muhammad Jawad
Enrollment # UW-19-CS-BS-005
Email: [email protected]
Course: Computer Networks (CS-312)

INTRODUCTION:
Networking is referred to connecting multiple computers electronically for the purpose of sharing
information. Resources such as files, applications, printers, etc. are common information shared on network. Basically
network consists of hardware components such as computers, routers, hubs, switched, and other network devices
which can form an infrastructure. These devices plays an important role in sharing from one place to another.

There are multiple ways of connecting devices or different types of networks available. In this report we’ll discuss
LAN, WAN and MAN in detail, these are the most commonly used network categories. We will discuss topologies,
protocols, transmission medium and advantages and disadvantages used in different categories of networks. [1]

CATEGORIES OF NETWORKS:
Today when we speak of networks we generally refers two primary categories Local-Area Networks (LAN)
and Wide-Area Networks (WAN). The category into which a network falls is determined by its size. LAN normally
covers small area while a WAN is large can be worldwide. Networks of a size in between are normally referred to as
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) and spans tens of miles

LOCAL AREA NETWORK (LAN)

LAN is a collection of devices connected together in a small area such as building, office, campus, etc. it can
be small or large, ranging from home network with one user to an enterprise network of hundreds of users and devices
in an office or school. It enable local users to share information through file servers, print documents through
centralized printers, do transactions through central servers and connect to outside networks in a secured manner
through a firewall routers.

Computers and devices in LAN are connected through Switches, Hubs, Network Adapter, cables, and optic
fibers. In modern LAN computers are connected in wireless mode. [2]
 Switch
Server

PC-1

PC-2

PC-3
Printer

Figure-1: LAN

Figure-1 represents the LAN connection. The devices are connected through Switch. PC-1 PC-2 and PC-3 shares the
same printer and a server and can also communicate with each other.

TOPOLOGIES:
Topology is the physical and logical arrangement of a network. The physical arrangement of a network
refers to how the workstations, servers and other equipment joined together with cables and connectors. There
are three main topologies of LAN which are primarily used bus, ring and star topology.

 B US T OPOLOGY
In a bus topology stations are arranged along with the single length of cable which can be extended
at ends. Figure 2 represents Bus Topology.

 R ING T OPOLOGY
In a ring topology each node connects to exactly two other nodes, forming a single continuous
pathway for signals through each node – a ring. Data travels from node to node, with each node
along the way handling every packet. Figure 3 represents bus topology.

 S TAR T OPOLOGY
In a star topology each node is connected with the central node which can be hub or switch. For
communication each node send to central node and then central node sends it to the destination.
Figure-1 uses the star topology.
 Station 1 Station 3 Station 5

Station 2 Station 4

Figure-2: Bus Topology Figure 3: Star topology

PROTOCOLS:
Each network has its own rules and standards. Therefore protocols are used in network technology to
govern network to network communication. There are many protocols used in LAN but Ethernet, and
token ring are most commonly used.

T OKEN R ING :
Unlike Ethernet, Token Ring uses a ring topology whereby the data is sent from one machine to the
next and so on around the ring until it ends up back where it started. It also uses a token passing protocol
which means that a machine can only use the network when it has control of the Token, this ensures that
there are no collisions because only one machine can use the network at any given time. [3]

E THERNET
Ethernet is one of the most widely used LAN technology. The reason behind its wide usability is its
simplicity. It is easy to understand, implement and maintain. And also it is cheaper than token ring.

Original Ethernet uses coaxial cable as a shared medium while newer Ethernet uses fiber optics and
twisted pair links in conjunction with switches. Ethernet data transfer rates have been increased from
2.94Mbps to 400Gbps. Systems communicating over Ethernet transfer data in form of frames and each
frame contains source and destination addresses, error checking data so that damaged frames can be
detected and discarded.

Ethernet is widely used in homes and industry, and interworks well with wireless Wi-Fi technologies.
The Internet Protocol is commonly carried over Ethernet and so it is considered one of the key
technologies that make up the Internet. [4]

TRANSMISSION MEDIUM
Coaxial cable, Twisted pair cable, fiber optics are the commonly used transmission mediums used in
Wired Local Area Network (LAN).

ADVANTAGES
 LAN is an inexpensive transmission media which provides a high speed transfer rate. Network data
transmission is independent of the connected devices rates, making it accessible for the one-speed device to
send data to another speed device.
DISADVANTAGES
LAN used to connect devices within a small geographical area which is its disadvantage. And also it is
not much secure, if it is not properly maintained unauthorized users can access the data.

METROPOLITAN AREA NETWORK (MAN)

MAN covers a large geographical area than the LAN and smaller than the WAN. It can also be a superior
version of LAN network which connects cities or districts. As LAN covers small area of network MAN is designed
to connect two cities or villages together through it. The area covered by MAN is generally 5-50 KM. it may be small
as a group of buildings in a campus to as large as a city.[5]

MAN can also be considered as a group of two or more Local Area Networks LANs together. Because MANs are
smaller, they are usually efficient than WANs, since data doesn’t travel over large distance. MANs typically combine
the networks of multiple organizations, instead of being managed by a single organization.

They provide uplinks for connecting LANs to WANs and Internet.

Figure-4: MAN

In Figure-4 there are multiple LANs which are connected with each other and form a MAN and further more MAN is
connected to the internet, as we said before that MAN also provide uplinks for connecting LANs to WANs and Internet

TOPOLOGIES
Star and Bus Topologies are commonly used in MAN network.

TRANSMISSION MEDIUM
Fiber optical cable and twisted pair cables are used for connectivity for communication through
MAN networks.

PROTOCOLS:
Protocols used in MAN are:

 RS-232
 X-25
  Frame Relay
 ATM

ADVANTAGES
 it is very efficient and swift for communication over fiber optic cable for interconnection of
networks in cities.
 It serves many villages and cities and thus provides great inter-connectivity at a low cost.
 It works on ring or bus topology with a protection link, thus data can be transmitted or received
simultaneously over nodes and if one link fails the other will keep the network live.
DISADVANTAGES :
 Depending upon the distance between two nodes, the cable length required for inter-connection
differs every time. Thus greater will be the cable length, the more will be the cost of the network.
 Security is a big concern for this network as for such a big distance anyone can hack the network.
We can’t put security at each level of the network, hence it becomes easier for unwanted people to
access it for their own benefits.

WIDE AREA NETWORK (WAN)

WAN is widely used in long-distance communication systems, which can be worldwide. Since WANs are
not tied to a specific location, they allow localized networks to communicate with each other across the long distances.
WAN networks are complex in nature. However they are used for mobile networks as they cover long distances.

TRANSMISSION MEDIUM AND TECHNOLOGY :

Fiber optics is generally used as a transmission medium in wired WAN, as it covers long distances
so high speed transmission medium is needed and fiber optics is fast enough to deliver large amount
of data in short time.

Routers are used in WAN network for communication as they provide the shortest path for
communication over long distance using routing tables. Routers also provide a secure and fast rate
of transmission.

Different types of data need to be transmitted over the network like image, voice, video and data
files. Therefore the routers use packet switching technique for sending and receiving data between
nodes. Switches and bridges are devices used for connectivity other than routers.

“Routers have routing tables by which they learn the host and destination address for delivery of the
data packet and that in turn is the shortest path for transmission. By following this mechanism a
source end router will communicate with the far end destination router and exchange the data
packets.

Routers and switches have internal memories. Thus when a data packet has arrived at a switch node
for delivery, it uses to store and forward the technique for data transmission.

If a media is busy then the node (switch or router) stores the data packets and queues it and when it
finds the link free, it then transmits it further. Therefore, packet switching uses data store, queuing
and forward technique in the case when the link is found busy.”[5]
 MAN

Figure 5: WAN

F IGURE 5 REPRESENTS WAN STRUCTURE . T HERE ARE MULTIPLE LANS AND A MAN IS
CONNECTED TOGETHER TO FORM A WAN.
TOPOLOGIES
Topologies used in WAN are:

 Point to Point Topology

 Point to Multipoint Topology
 Full mesh Topology

P OINT TO P OINT T OPOLOGY :

Point to point allows to send and receive Ethernet frames to each other as if they are connected
directly. Point-to-point topology is transparent to the customer network and acts as if there are
physical connections between remote sites. Typical dedicated leased lines connections are offered
with this kind of setup, such as an E1 or T1 line. But with MetroE, service providers offer what is
called an Ethernet Line Service or E-Line where two customer premise equipment (CPE) devices can
exchange Ethernet frames, similar in concept to a leased line.[6]

P OINT TO M ULTIPOINT :
In point to multipoint topology central site device is required that sends frames to each
remote site. But a remote site can only sends data to the central site. Where the central site is the root
and other are leaves. Leaves can send data to the root and then root transfer it to the destination node.
This topology is also known as Hub and Spoke or Partial Mesh topology. [6]

F ULL M ESH T OPOLOGY :

In full mesh topology all the connected devices in a WAN can communicate with each other,
and send and receive Ethernet frames without having to be dependent on central hub. [6]
 PROTOCOLS:
 Asynchronous Transmission Mode (ATM)
 Bandpass Access
 Frame Relay
 Point to Point Protocol
 SONET (Synchronous Optical Networking) and SDN (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy)
 X.25

ADVANTAGES:
 WAN covers large geographical area. Hence the large scale industries can be connected to one
single network.
 N number of devices can be connected over a network for sharing information.
 Another advantage of WAN is that it allows data to be centralized. It provides the facility of sharing
the data to all the connected devices in a network. For example, “through WAN connection all
office branches can share the data through the head office server. You can get back up, support,
and other useful data from the head office and all data are synchronized with all other office
branches.”

DISADVANTAGE :
 WAN faces more security problem as compare to LANs and MANs.
One of the key disadvantages of WANs is a security issue when many different people have the
ability to use information from other computers.
 As it faces security issue, therefore it is a basic need of WANs to use firewalls and antivirus
software to protect data transfer on the internet which can be accessed and changed by hackers.
Also, some people can inject a virus into the computers so antivirus software is also needed to
install.
 A WAN network covers a large geographical area, it is very expensive to setup in the initial
stage. It may involve purchasing different networking devices, i.e routers, switches, and extra
security software.
 A WAN network covers large geographical areas, so fixing the problem in a network is a very
difficult job. Most of WANs wires go into the sea and if those wires get broken. It involves a lot
of hard work to fix those lines under the sea.
 Once set up, maintaining a WAN network is a full-time job which requires high tech skills of
network supervisors and technicians.

CONCLUSION:
In this report we have discussed LAN WAN and MAN computer network categories. All of these three types
of networks have their own significance in different fields.

MAN networks are very rear in use as they have lots of security issues and installation costs are high. Nowadays LAN
netwroks are widely used for local level communication in offices, hospitals, and universities while WAN is used in
mobile and LTE long distance communications where the connectivity is based on the fiber cables. LAN networks
are cheap as compare to WAN and MAN and are efficient then WAN because it covers short distance. While WAN
networks large number of devices are connected so that overall cost increases.
REFERENCES
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