TYPES OF TELECOM

NETWORK

Submitted to

Ms. RASHMI ISHRAWAT

(FACULTY, MBA)

Submitted by

MUHAMMAD SALIM
07217003909
MBA-1ST SEMESTER
Network can broadly be classified into two types: local-area
networks (LANs) and wide-area networks.

LAN - Local Area Network

A local area network (LAN) supplies networking capability to a group of

computers in close proximity to each other such as in an office building,
a school, or a home. A LAN is useful for sharing resources like files,
printers, games or other applications. A LAN in turn often connects to
other LANs, and to the Internet or other WAN.

Most local area networks are built with relatively inexpensive hardware
such as Ethernet cables, network adapters, and hubs. Wireless LAN and
other more advanced LAN hardware options also exist.

Specialized operating system software may be used to configure a local

area network. For example, most flavors of Microsoft Windows provide
a software package called Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) that
supports controlled access to LAN resources.

The term LAN party refers to a multiplayer gaming event where

participants bring their own computers and build a temporary LAN.
Examples: The most common type of local area network is an Ethernet
LAN. The smallest home LAN can have exactly two computers; a large
LAN can accommodate many thousands of computers. Many LANs are
divided into logical groups called subnets. An Internet Protocol (IP)
"Class A" LAN can in theory accommodate more than 16 million
devices organized into subnets.

WAN - Wide Area Network

Definition: A WAN spans a large geographic area, such as a state,

province or country. WANs often connect multiple smaller networks,
such as local area networks (LANs) or metro area networks (MANs). As
the term implies, a WAN spans a large physical distance. The Internet is
the largest WAN, spanning the Earth.

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.
The world's most popular WAN is the Internet. Some segments of the
Internet, like VPN-based extranets, 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 SONET, Frame Relay, and ATM.

The key characteristics, which are often used to differentiate

between these two types of networks, are as follows:

1) Geographic distribution – a LAN is restricted to a

limited geographic coverage of a few kilometers, but a
WAN may extend over several thousand kilometers.
Therefore, LANs typically provide communication
facilities within a building or a campus, whereas
WANs may operate nationwide or even worldwide.
2) Speed - The other difference between LAN and WAN, is the
speed of the network. The maximum speed of a LAN can be
1000 megabits per second, while the speed of a WAN can
go up to 150 megabits per second. This means the speed of
a WAN, is one-tenth of the speed of a LAN. A WAN is
usually slower because it has lower bandwidth.
3) Cost- A WAN is more expensive than a LAN. It is easier to
expand a LAN than a WAN. The equipment needed for a
LAN is a network interface card (NIC), a switch and a hub.
On the other hand, the equipment needed to connect a WAN
to the Internet is a modem and a router. The modem may be
a cable modem or a DSL modem that is connected to a wall
jack, while the router should be configured so that it can
handle the packets traveling between the WAN and the
Internet.
4) Data rate- transmission rate in LANs usually range from 10
Mbps to 1Gbps. On the other hand, in WANs usually range
from 1200 bits per second to2Mbps.this rate is increasing
with the advancement of technology.
5) Error rate- LANs generally experience fewer data
transmission error than WANs do. Typically, bit error rate in
the range of 10-8 to 10-12 with LANs as opposed to 10-5 to 10-
7
with WANs.
6) Printer sharing- Computers in a LAN can share a printer, if they are
all in the same LAN. On the other hand, a WAN cannot share a
printer, so a computer in one country cannot use a printer in another
country.
7) Standard used- A LAN uses the Ethernet standard, while a
WAN uses the T1 standard. Before Ethernet, the protocols
used for LAN were Attached Resource Computer Network
(ARCNET) and Token Ring. The protocols used for WAN are
Frame Relay and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM).
Another protocol for WAN is Packet over SONET/SDH
(PoS), where SONET stands for Synchronous Optical
Networking and SDH stands for Synchronous Digital
Hierarchy. The first WAN protocol was X.25, while an
advanced WAN protocol is Multiprotocol Label Switching
(MPLS). The hardware in a LAN is connected with 10Base-T
cable connectors, while a WAN is connected via leased lines
or satellites.
8) Connection setup- A LAN is easy to set up, as you need to
slip the NIC into the PCI slot (for desktop computers) or
PCMCIA slot (for laptop computers). You also need to install
the driver for the NIC. The NIC can be connected to the
network using the RJ45 port. On the other hand, a WAN is
very difficult to set up. There is often an appliance to
optimize the WAN. There is also a device to cache WAN
data, so workers in the branch office can quickly access
documents. The router also has Quality of Service (QoS)
built in, so that it gives priority to certain kinds of traffic.
METROPOLITAN AREA NETWORK (MAN)

A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a network that interconnects

users with computer resources in a geographic area or region larger than
that covered by even a large local area network (LAN) but smaller than
the area covered by a wide area network (WAN). The term is applied to
the interconnection of networks in a city into a single larger network
(which may then also offer efficient connection to a wide area network).
It is also used to mean the interconnection of several local area networks
by bridging them with backbone lines. The latter usage is also
sometimes referred to as a campus network.

Examples of metropolitan area networks of various sizes can be found in

the metropolitan areas of London, England; Lodz, Poland; and Geneva,
Switzerland. Large universities also sometimes use the term to describe
their networks. A recent trend is the installation of wireless MANs.

ETHERNET
Ethernet is a physical and data link layer technology for local area networks
(LANs). Ethernet was invented by engineer Robert Metcalfe.
Ethernet is a standard communications protocol embedded in software and
hardware devices, intended for building a local area network (LAN). Ethernet was
designed by Bob Metcalfe in 1973, and through the efforts of Digital, Intel and
Xerox (for which Metcalfe worked). "DIX" Ethernet became the standard model
for LANs worldwide.
When first widely deployed in the 1980s, Ethernet supported a maximum
theoretical data rate of 10 megabits per second (Mbps). Later, so-called "Fast
Ethernet" standards increased this maximum data rate to 100 Mbps. Today, Gigabit
Ethernet technology further extends peak performance up to 1000 Mbps.
Higher level network protocols like Internet Protocol (IP) use Ethernet as their
transmission medium. Data travels over Ethernet inside protocol units called
frames.
The run length of individual Ethernet cables is limited to roughly 100 meters, but
Ethernet networks can be easily extended to link entire schools or office buildings
using network bridge devices.
ARPANET
ARPANET was the network that became the basis for the Internet. Based on a
concept first published in 1967, ARPANET was developed under the direction of
the U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). In 1969, the idea became a
modest reality with the interconnection of four university computers. The initial
purpose was to communicate with and share computer resources among mainly
scientific users at the connected institutions. ARPANET took advantage of the new
idea of sending information in small units called packets that could be routed on
different paths and reconstructed at their destination. The development of the
TCP/IP protocols in the 1970s made it possible to expand the size of the network,
which now had become a network of networks, in an orderly way.

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 Wi-Fi wireless

network technology
• Metropolitan Area Network - a network spanning a physical area
larger than a LAN but smaller than a WAN, such as a city. A MAN is
typically owned an operated by a single entity such as a government body or
large corporation.
• 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 Fiber Channel.
• System Area Network - links high-performance computers with high-
speed connections in a cluster configuration. Also known as Cluster Area
Network.