Computer Network | Types of area networks – LAN, MAN and WAN

From Ferouzon Book:

1.3 NETWORK TYPES

After defining networks in the previous section and discussing their physical
structures, we need to discuss different types of networks we encounter in the
world today. The criteria of distinguishing one type of network from another is
difficult and sometimes confusing. We use a few criteria such as size,
geographical coverage, and ownership to make this distinction.

After discussing two types of networks, LANs and WANs, we define switching,
which is used to connect networks to form an internetwork (a network of
networks).

1.3.1 Local Area Network

A local area network (LAN) is usually privately owned and connects

some hosts in a single office, building, or campus. Depending on the needs of
an organization, a LAN can be as simple as two PCs and a printer in someone’s
home office, or it can extend throughout a company and include audio and
video devices.

Each host in a LAN has an identifier, an address, that uniquely defines

the host in the LAN. A packet sent by a host to another host carries both the
source host’s and the destination host’s addresses.

In the past, all hosts in a network were connected through a common

cable, which meant that a packet sent from one host to another was received by
all hosts. The intended recipient kept the packet; the others dropped the packet.

Today, most LANs use a smart connecting switch, which is able to

recognize the destination address of the packet and guide the packet to its
destination without sending it to all other hosts. The switch alleviates the traffic
in the LAN and allows more than one pair to communicate with each other at
the same time if there is no common source and destination among them.
 Note that the above definition of a LAN does not define the minimum or
maximum number of hosts in a LAN. Figure 1.8 shows a LAN using either a
common cable or a switch.

Figure 1.8 An isolated LAN in the past and today

When LANs were used in isolation (which is rare today), they were
designed to allow resources to be shared between the hosts. As we will see
shortly, LANs today are connected to each other and to WANs (discussed next)
to create communication at a wider level.

1.3.2 Wide Area Network

A wide area network (WAN) is also an interconnection of devices

capable of communication. However, there are some differences between a
LAN and a WAN. A LAN is normally limited in size, spanning an office, a
building, or a campus; a WAN has a wider geographical span, spanning a town,
a state, a country, or even the world.
 A LAN interconnects hosts; a WAN interconnects connecting devices
such as switches, routers, or modems. A LAN is normally privately owned by
the organization that uses it; a WAN is normally created and run by
communication companies and leased by an organization that uses it.

We see two distinct examples of WANs today: point-to-point WANs and

switched WANs.

Point-to-Point WAN:

A point-to-point WAN is a network that connects two communicating

devices through a transmission media (cable or air). We will see examples of
these WANs when we discuss how to connect the networks to one another.
Figure 1.9 shows an example of a point-to-point WAN.

Figure 1.9 A point-to-point WAN

Switched WAN:

A switched WAN is a network with more than two ends. A switched

WAN, as we will see shortly, is used in the backbone of global communication
today. We can say that a switched WAN is a combination of several point-to-
point WANs that are connected by switches. Figure 1.10 shows an example of a
switched WAN.

Figure 1.10 A switched WAN

Internetwork:

Today, it is very rare to see a LAN or a WAN in isolation; they are

connected to one another. When two or more networks are connected, they
make an internetwork, or internet.

As an example, assume that an organization has two offices, one on the

east coast and the other on the west coast. Each office has a LAN that allows all
employees in the office to communicate with each other. To make the
communication between employees at different offices possible, the
management leases a point-to-point dedicated WAN from a service provider,
such as a telephone company, and connects the two LANs. Now the company
has an internetwork, or a private internet (with lowercase i). Communication
between offices is now possible. Figure 1.11 shows this internet.

Figure 1.11 An internetwork made of two LANs and one point-to-point

WAN

When a host in the west coast office sends a message to another host in
the same office, the router blocks the message, but the switch directs the
message to the destination.
On the other hand, when a host on the west coast sends a message to a
host on the east coast, router R1 routes the packet to router R2, and the packet
reaches the destination.
Figure 1.12 (see next page) shows another internet with several LANs
and WANs connected. One of the WANs is a switched WAN with four
switches.
Figure 1.12 A heterogeneous network made of four WANs and three LANs

***** (As per Ferouzon Book)

The Network allows computers to connect and communicate with

different computers via any medium. LAN, MAN and WAN are the three major
types of the network designed to operate over the area they cover. There are
some similarities and dissimilarities between them. One of the major differences
is the geographical area they cover, i.e. LAN covers the smallest
area; MAN covers an area larger than LAN and WAN comprises the largest of
all.

There are other types of Computer Networks also, like :

 PAN (Personal Area Network)

 SAN (Storage Area Network)
 EPN (Enterprise Private Network)
  VPN (Virtual Private Network)

Generally, networks are distinguished based on their geographical span. A

network can be as small as distance between your mobile phone and its
Bluetooth headphone and as large as the internet itself, covering the whole
geographical world.

Personal Area Network

A Personal Area Network (PAN) is smallest network which is very personal

to a user. This may include Bluetooth enabled devices or infra-red enabled
devices. PAN has connectivity range up to 10 meters. PAN may include
wireless computer keyboard and mouse, Bluetooth enabled headphones,
wireless printers and TV remotes.

For example, Piconet is Bluetooth-enabled Personal Area Network which

may contain up to 8 devices connected together in a master-slave
fashion.

1. Local Area Network (LAN)

LAN or Local Area Network connects network devices in such a way that
personal computer and workstations can share data, tools and programs. The
group of computers and devices are connected together by a switch, or stack
of switches, using a private addressing scheme as defined by the TCP/IP
protocol. Private addresses are unique in relation to other computers on the local
network. Routers are found at the boundary of a LAN, connecting them to the
larger WAN.

Data transmits at a very fast rate as the number of computers linked are
limited. By definition, the connections must be high speed and relatively
inexpensive hardware (Such as hubs, network adapters and Ethernet cables).
LANs cover smaller geographical area (Size is limited to a few kilometers)
and are privately owned. One can use it for an office building, home, hospital,
schools, etc. LAN is easy to design and maintain. A Communication medium
used for LAN has twisted pair cables and coaxial cables. It covers a short
distance, and so the error and noise are minimized.
Early LAN’s had data rates in the 4 to 16 Mbps range. Today, speeds are
normally 100 or 1000 Mbps. Propagation delay is very short in a LAN. The
smallest LAN may only use two computers, while larger LANs can
accommodate thousands of computers. A LAN typically relies mostly on
wired connections for increased speed and security, but wireless connections
can also be part of a LAN. The fault tolerance of a LAN is more and there is
less congestion in this network.
For example : A bunch of students playing Counter Strike in the same room
(without internet).

2. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

MAN or Metropolitan area Network covers a larger area than that of a LAN and
smaller area as compared to WAN. It connects two or more computers that
are apart but resides in the same or different cities. It covers a large
geographical area and may serve as an ISP (Internet Service Provider). MAN is
designed for customers who need a high-speed connectivity. Speeds of MAN
ranges in terms of Mbps. It’s hard to design and maintain a Metropolitan Area
Network.

The fault tolerance of a MAN is less and also there is more congestion in the
network. It is costly and may or may not be owned by a single organization. The
data transfer rate and the propagation delay of MAN is moderate. Devices
used for transmission of data through MAN are: Modem and Wire/Cable.
Examples of a MAN are the part of the telephone company network that can
provide a high-speed DSL line to the customer or the cable TV network in a
city.

3. Wide Area Network (WAN) :

WAN or Wide Area Network is a computer network that extends over a large
geographical area, although it might be confined within the bounds of a state
or country. A WAN could be a connection of LAN connecting to other LAN’s
via telephone lines and radio waves and may be limited to an enterprise (a
corporation or an organization) or accessible to the public. The technology is
high speed and relatively expensive.

There are two types of WAN:

Switched WAN and Point-to-Point WAN.

Example of a Switched WAN is the asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)
network and Point-to-Point WAN is dial-up line that connects a home
computer to the Internet.

WAN is difficult to design and maintain. Similar to a MAN, the fault tolerance
of a WAN is less and there is more congestion in the network. A
Communication medium used for WAN is PSTN or Satellite Link. Due to long
distance transmission, the noise and error tend to be more in WAN.

WAN’s data rate is slow about a 10th LAN’s speed, since it involves
increased distance and increased number of servers and terminals etc. Speeds of
WAN ranges from few kilobits per second (Kbps) to megabits per second
(Mbps). Propagation delay is one of the biggest problems faced here. Devices
used for transmission of data through WAN are: Optic wires, Microwaves and
Satellites.

Conclusion

There are many advantages of LAN over MAN and WAN, such as LAN’s
provide excellent reliability, high data transmission rate, they can easily be
managed, and shares peripheral devices too. Local Area Network cannot cover
cities or towns and for that Metropolitan Area Network is needed, which can
connect city or a group of cities together. Further, for connecting Country or a
group of Countries one requires Wide Area Network.
S. No LAN MAN WAN
1 LAN’s provide Local Area for connecting
excellent Network cannot Country or a
reliability cover cities or group of
towns and for that Countries one
Metropolitan Area requires Wide
Network is Area Network.
needed, which can
connect city or a
group of cities
together.
2 high data
transmission rate
3 they can easily be
managed and
shares peripheral
devices too
Internetwork
A network of networks is called an internetwork, or simply the internet.
It is the largest network in existence on this planet. The internet hugely
connects all WANs and it can have connection to LANs and Home
networks. Internet uses TCP/IP protocol suite and uses IP as its
addressing protocol. Present day, Internet is widely implemented using
IPv4. Because of shortage of address spaces, it is gradually migrating
from IPv4 to IPv6.

Internet enables its users to share and access enormous amount of

information worldwide. It uses WWW, FTP, email services, audio and
video streaming etc. At huge level, internet works on Client-Server
model.

Internet uses very high speed backbone of fiber optics. To inter-connect

various continents, fibers are laid under sea known to us as submarine
communication cable.

Internet is widely deployed on World Wide Web services using HTML

linked pages and is accessible by client software known as Web
Browsers. When a user requests a page using some web browser located
on some Web Server anywhere in the world, the Web Server responds
with the proper HTML page. The communication delay is very low.

Internet is serving many proposes and is involved in many aspects of

life. Some of them are:

 Web sites

 E-mail

 Instant Messaging

 Blogging

 Social Media

 Marketing

 Networking

 Resource Sharing

 Audio and Video Streaming