Types Of Network

Computer networks can be classified by a number of different properties such as capacity,

authorization, structure, technology, organizational purpose, etc. However, the most common
network classification method is the physical or geographical extent. Here’s the list of the
different types of computer networks:

Sr. No. Types Of Networks

1 Local Area Network (LAN)

2 Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

3 Wide Area Network (WAN)

4 Personal Area Network (PAN)

5 Campus Area Network (CAN)

1. Local Area Network (LAN)

LAN stands for local area network and is the most common and popular network design found
in most businesses and homes. It is a network that interconnects devices in a limited
geographical area. The single defining characteristic of a LAN is that it connects devices located
within a single, limited area such as a building or a house. However, the scale or number of
devices doesn’t limit a LAN. It can be large such as an enterprise network with thousands of
connected devices or small such as a home network with only a couple of devices.

A simple office LAN consists of cables, access points, switches, routers, etc. which connect the
devices such as computers and laptops with internal servers, printers but more importantly
allows the connected devices to access a shared internet connection. More robust LANs include
firewalls, load balancers, network intrusion detection, redundant links, and traffic segregation
among other features.

Number/Length Of Components With Their Specifications In Local

Area Network (LAN)

A local area network(LAN) is a group of computers and associated devices that share a common
communications line or wireless link. Typically, connected devices share the resources of a
single processor or server within a small geographic area. A LAN is useful for sharing resources
like files, printers, games or other applications. A LAN in turn often connects to other LAN’s, and
to the Internet or other WAN.

Components of LAN:

A LAN is made up of three basic elements:

• A. The hardware which is connected to form the LAN.

 • B. The software (or programs) which is accessed through the LAN.

• C. The users, who create, work with and manage the various files.

Each of these elements can be divided into a number of components.

A. Hardware Components:

A LAN can be thought of as a system composed of a series of building blocks. These blocks can
be added and configured as needed. Some of basic hardware components of LAN’s are:

1. Networking Interface Card (NICs):

A network interface card (NIC) is a circuit board or card that is installed in a computer so that it
can be connected to a network. Each networked device contains a Network Interface Card. The
NIC may be a separate board installed into a computer’s slot, or it may be built into the
motherboard.
2. Server:
A network server is a computer designed to process requests and deliver data to other (client)
computers over a local network or the Internet. A server may be three types:

• File Server: A file server is a computer that stores files, is attached to a network, and
provides shared access of those files to multiple workstation computers.
• Print Server: A print server is a device that connects printers to client computers over
a network. It accepts print request from the computers and sends the jobs to the
appropriate printers over the LAN.
• Communication Server: A communication server is a computer system designed to
handle a wide range of communications-based applications.
3. Station:
A station is a computer that is connected with a server computer over the LAN, and
communicate with other devices connected with it.

4. HUB:

A common connection point for devices in a network. Hubs are commonly used to connect
segments of a LAN. A hub contains multiple ports. When a packet arrives atone port, it is copied
to the other ports so that all segments of the LAN can see all-packets.
5. Switch:

A switch is like a hub in that it is a central point for connecting network cables; however, a
switch is able to receive a packet and transmit it to only the destination computer.
• Router:

Routers make the connection to the Internet for LANs. They use a configuration table to decide
where packets should go.
• Access point:

A hardware device or a computer’s software that acts as a communication hub for users of a
wireless device to connect to a wired LAN.
• Power Supply:

Both wired and wireless networks need a power supply. A wireless network uses the current to
generate radio waves. A cabled network sends data interpreted as an electronic pulse.
• Connector:

A network connector refers to any device that used to connect many LAN connection with the
hardware of the computer.
10. Shared Peripheral Device:

A peripheral device is any device—such as a printer, hard disk drive, CD-ROM drive or modem
—that is connected to and controlled by a computer. Any or all of these devices can be
accessed by multiple users when connected to a LAN in the proper manner. B. LAN
Software:
Once the physical building blocks of the LAN are put into place, the next step is to make them
functional. Software is needed for devices to function cooperatively and effectively on the LAN.
There are three categories of software found on a LAN:
 • The operating system of each attached server: The server operating system is
considered to be the brains of the network:
• The operating system of each attached station: All PCs require an operating
system to function.
• Applications software accessed by LAN users: Applications software is those
software, which are used to perform a specific task. The most common business
applications are word processing, spreadsheet analysis and database management.

Groupware: A second type of application software has been introduced for the LAN
environment— groupware. Groupware refers to programs that help people work together
collectively while located remotely from each other. Client/server computing: In client/ server
computing, the applications software is created and sold for use expressly on a LAN.
Client/server software has two distinct parts—the client part which runs on the user’s station
and the server part which is installed on the file server. C. The People:
Among the most important elements of a LAN are the people. The purpose of a LAN is to allow
the sharing of resources. This sharing is done by people— making them an integral part of the
structure.
With any LAN there are two groups of people involved—those who use the resources and those
who manage the resources.

• The users: A user is defined as a person who makes use of the network resources.
• Network Administrator: The network administrator is the individual responsible for
maintaining the LAN. It is essential that the administrator have a good understanding of
how the network is put together and how it functions.
A LAN consists of a group of computers and devices connected by switches and hubs. For this
LAN to gain access to the Internet it must contain a router. The speed of the network greatly
depends on the configuration of the switches and hubs.
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. I t 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.

Number/Length Of Components With Their

Specifications In Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

Bridges

The industry definition of a bridge is a device that connects two networks that might use the
same or a different data-link layer protocol (Layer 2 of the OSI reference model). Figure 1-1
illustrates this concept.

Figure 1-1. Bridges Enable the Connection of Two Networks

Basic Ethernet-to-Wireless Bridges

An Ethernet-to-wireless bridge (see Figure 1-2) connects directly to a single computing device
through an Ethernet port and then provides a wireless connection to an access point. This
makes it useful when the device, such as a printer, PC, or video game console, has an Ethernet
port and no wireless NIC. In some cases, you might have no way of adding a wireless NIC, which
makes a basic bridge the only way to go wireless. Printers and video game machines are
common examples of this scenario.

Figure 1-2. Basic Bridge Connects a PC to a Wireless LAN

Workgroup Bridges

Workgroup bridges are the answer for connecting wireless networks to larger, wired Ethernet
networks. A workgroup bridge acts as a wireless client on the wireless network, and then
interfaces to a wired network. The wired side connects to an Ethernet switch that connects
multiple devices. A workgroup bridge offers more robust and higher-end management and
security utilities? with higher prices?as compared to a basic bridge.

Figure 1-3. Workgroup Bridge Connects to Standard Wired Networks

Directional Antennae

The antenna is an important element of a wireless MAN. Unlike other types of wireless
networks, most antennae for wireless MANs use directional antennae, mainly because they
operate over wider areas. Figure 1-4 illustrates the propagation of radio waves from a
directional antenna. This contrasts with an omnidirectional antenna, which transmits radio
waves in all directions.

Figure 1-4. Directional Antennae Maximize the Intensity of Radio Waves in One
Direction

3. Wide Area Network (WAN)

WAN stands for Wide Area Network. It is a computer network that covers a large geographical
area consisting of two or more LANs or MANs. These networks are established with leased
telecommunication circuits, in which two sides which are connected have routers that connect
the LAN of both sides together in a network to facilitate communication.

The roots of WAN are connected to the U.S Department of defense which developed ARPANET
to let researchers communicate and share computer resources remotely.The connection can be
circuit-switched telephone lines, radio wave transmission or optical fiber transmission. It is used
to exchange data with users all over the world, they can be client, employee, buyer, seller,
student, etc. WAN has the ability to transmit data, image, audio data, video data over large
distances.
Number/Length Of Components With Their
Specifications In Wide Area Network (WAN)

Wide area network (WAN) is a type of computer network that spreads over a large physical area
connecting one or more local area networks (LAN) together. The geographical area covered by a
wide area network is significantly larger than the areas covered by a typical LAN or MAN.
Internet is the largest wide area network. WAN consists of different components that combine
together to form a wide area network.

• Routers, Switches and Modems (Edge Device)

• Connecting Media (Fiber, Wireless, Microwave or Satellite)
• Customer Premises Equipment (CPE)

WAN usually connects more than one local area networks together, a router or layer-3 switch or
modem is used to connect the local area network to the WAN. The edge device advertises the
details of the LAN that is connected to it so that the other edge devices know which network is
behind a particular router. Similarly, the edge devices also receive the information from other
edge devices regarding the networks connected to them.

The medium used for connecting the LANs to the WAN can be fiber optic cable or other wireless
medium such as radio waves, microwaves or satellite connections. UTP cabling cannot be used
as the size of WAN is significantly larger than the supported maximum by the UTP cables. WAN
links can also use the ordinary copper PSTN networks for connectivity.
A customer premises equipment is installed at the end-customer’s home or office to provide the
last-mile interface for WAN connection. For home and small offices, a CPE may be a low cost
device which is usually provided by the service provider on easy installments or free of cost.
Large enterprises and corporate offices use enterprise-grade routers or layer-3 switches as CPEs.
Many large enterprises use their private WAN to connect between their different offices
situated in several countries around the world.
A large public WAN may consist of hundreds and thousands of LANs, the data from origin to
destination is guided by the help of routers installed on the edge of each LAN. These routers use
the routing algorithms to guide the data packet correctly from its origin to its destination.
Commonly used routing algorithms are RIP, OSPF and EIGRP etc.
3. Personal Area Network (PAN)

A personal area network (PAN) connects electronic devices within a user's immediate area. The
size of a PAN ranges from a few centimeters to a few meters. One of the most common real-
world examples of a PAN is the connection between a Bluetooth earpiece and a smartphone.
PANs can also connect laptops, tablets, printers, keyboards, and other computerized devices.

connections can either be wired or wireless. Wired connection methods include USB and
FireWire; wireless connection methods include Bluetooth (the most common), WiFi, IrDA, and
Zigbee.
While devices within a PAN can exchange data with each other, PANs typically do not include a
router and thus do not connect to the Internet directly. A device within a PAN, however, can be
connected to a local area network (LAN) that then connects to the Internet. For instance, a desktop
computer, a wireless mouse, and wireless headphones can all be connected to each other, but
only the computer can connect directly to the Internet.

Number/Length Of Components With Their

Specifications In Personal Area Network (PAN)

Wireless PANs feature battery-operated devices that draw very little current. Sleep modes
commonly are used to further extend battery life. Network protocols tend be simpler than Wi-Fi
or WiMAX (to reduce required processor power), and the transmit power is typically less than 1
milliwatt.
In the United States, PANs for the most part operate in two unlicensed bands: 902-928 MHz and
2.4-2.4835 GHz. Ultrawideband devices also can operate in the 3.1-10.6 GHz band, coexisting
with other radio services by employing low overall power and ultra-low power densities
(watts/Hz).
Let’s examine three of the most popular PAN technologies: ZigBee, Bluetooth and
ultrawideband.
ZigBee is a short-range, low-power computer networking protocol that complies with the IEEE
802.15.4 standard. In the U.S., ZigBee devices operate in the 902-928 MHz and 2.4 GHz
unlicensed bands. The technology is intended to be less complex and less expensive than other
WPANs such as Bluetooth. Although ZigBee is a WPAN protocol, it also is used for telemetry
applications such as automatic meter reading and building automation.
ZigBee employs direct-sequence spread spectrum modulation with a gross data rate of 40 kb/s
in the 900 MHz band and 250 kb/s in the 2.4 GHz band. Advertised transmission range is from
10 to 75 meters, but like any radio system, the actual range depends on the environment.
There are three types of ZigBee devices: ZigBee Coordinator (ZC), ZigBee Router (ZR), and ZigBee
End Device (ZED). The ZC is the most capable device, forming the root of the network tree and
bridging to other networks. There is only one ZC per network. The ZR can run an application
function as well as act as an intermediate router, passing data from other devices. A ZED
contains just enough functionality to talk to its parent node, which is a coordinator or a router. It
can sleep most of the time, extending its battery life. The ZigBee Alliance is a trade organization
charged with developing and publishing the Zigbee standard and promoting its use.
Bluetooth is a computer networking protocol designed for short-range, lowpower
communications in the 2.4 GHz unlicensed band. It was named after King Harald Bluetooth,
ruler of Denmark and Norway in the late 10th century. Sven Mattison and Jaap Haartsen, both
employees of Ericsson Mobile Platforms in Lund, Sweden, published the first Bluetooth standard
in 1994. The current version of the standard is 2.1 and specifies gross data rates up to 3 Mb/s.
Bluetooth employs frequency-hopping spread spectrum modulation with a rate of up to 1600
hops per second using 79 different channels, each 1 MHz wide. Because the technology uses a
spread spectrum signal and low power, it is less likely to cause harmful interference to other 2.4
GHz devices, such as Wi-Fi radios, that often exist in the same personal computer. There are
three classes of Bluetooth devices corresponding to different transmit power levels. Class 1, 2
and 3 devices operate at up to 100 mW, 2.5 mW and 1 mW, respectively. Bluetooth networks
normally operate in a master-slave configuration. A master device can communicate with up to
seven active slave devices, and this network of up to eight devices is called a piconet. Up to 255
additional devices can be inactive or parked, waiting for wakeup instructions from the master.
The technology implements confidentiality, authentication and key derivation using algorithms
based on the SAFER+ block cipher.
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group is a privately held, nonprofit trade association organized to
promote Bluetooth in the marketplace and to develop Bluetooth standards.
3. Campus Area Network (CAN)

Campus Area Network (CAN) is a group of interconnected Local Area Network(LAN) within a
limited geographical area like school campus, university campus, military bases, or
organizational campuses and corporate buildings etc. A Campus Area Network is larger than
Local Area Network but smaller than Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) And Wide Area
Network
(WAN)

This Campus Area Network also called as Corporate Area Network. Sometimes this network is
also referred as Residential Network or ResNet as it is only used by residents of specific campus
only. Campus Area Network is network of interconnected Local Area Networks where these
LANs are connected via Switches and routers and create a single network like CAN. Campus Area
Network covers areas of around 1 to 5 km range and it can be both wired or wireless
connectivity.

Finally, we can say Campus Area Network is a cost-effective and easy to implement within a
specific geographical area or certain kilometers of locality. And it is very helpful to campuses like
colleges, universities, corporate organizations, etc.
Number/Length Of Components With Their
Specifications In Campus Area Network (CAN)

A campus network, campus area network, corporate area network or CAN is a computer
network made up of an interconnection of local area networks (LANs) within a limited
geographical area. The networking equipments ( HYPERLINK
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_switch"switches, routers) and transmission media
(optical fiber, copper plant, Cat5 HYPERLINK
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category_5_cable"cabling etc.) are almost entirely owned by the
campus tenant / owner: an enterprise, university, government etc. A campus area network is
larger than a local area network but smaller than a metropolitan area network (MAN) or wide
area network (WAN).
Much like a university campus network, a corporate campus network serves to connect
buildings. Examples of such are the networks at Googleplex and Microsoft's campus. Campus
networks are normally interconnected with high speed Ethernet links operating over optical
fiber such as gigabit Ethernet and 10 HYPERLINK
"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_Gigabit_Ethernet"Gigabit Ethernet.