Types of networks

A local area network LAN is a computer network covering a small physical area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings, such as a school, or an airport. Current wired LANs are most likely to be based on Ethernet technology, although new standards like ITUTG.hn also provide a way to create a wired LAN using existing home wires coaxial cables, phone lines and power lines.

For example, a library may have a wired or wireless LAN for users to interconnect local devices., printers and servers and to connect to the internet. On a wired LAN, PCs in the library are typically connected by category cable, running the IEEE protocol through a system of interconnected devices and eventually connect to the Internet. The cables to the servers are typically on Cat e enhanced cable, which will support IEEE at Gbit. A wireless LAN may exist using a different IEEE protocol, or possibly. n. The staff computers bright green in the figure can get to the color printer, checkout records, and the academic network and the Internet. All user computers can get to the Internet and the card catalog. Each workgroup can get to its local printer. Note that the printers are not accessible from outside their workgroup.


Typical library network, in a branching tree topology and controlled access to resourcesAll interconnected devices must understand the network layer layer because they are handling multiple subnets the different colors. Those inside the library, which have only Ethernet connections to the user device and a Gigabit Ethernet connection to the central router, could be called "layer switches" because they only have Ethernet interfaces and must understand IP. It would be more correct to call them access routers, where the router at the top is a distribution router that connects to the Internet and academic networks' customer access routers.

The defining characteristics of LANs, in contrast to WANs wide area networks, include their higher data transfer rates, smaller geographic range, and lack of a need for leased telecommunication lines. Current Ethernet or other .LAN technologies operate at speeds up to. This is the data transfer rate. IEEE has projects investigating the standardization of, and possibly Gbits.Main article: Campus area network.

A campus area network CAN is a computer network made up of an interconnection of local area networks LANs within a limited geographical area. It can be considered one form of a metropolitan area network, specific to an academic setting.In the case of a university campus-based campus area network, the network is likely to link a variety of campus buildings including; academic departments, the university library and student residence halls. A campus area network is larger than a local area network but smaller than a wide area network WAN in some cases.
The main aim of a campus area network is to facilitate students accessing internet and university resources. This is a network that connects two or more LANs but that is limited to a specific and contiguous geographical area such as a college campus, industrial complex, office building, or a military base. A CAN may be considered a type of MAN metropolitan area network, but is generally limited to a smaller area than a typical MAN. This term is most often used to discuss the implementation of networks for a contiguous area. This should not be confused with a Controller 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 TCPIP networking, a LAN is often but not always implemented as a single IP subnet.