SESSION-1 A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school,

computer laboratory, or office building using network media.The defining characteristics of LANs include their usually h igher data-transfer rates and smaller geographic area ARCNET, Token Ring and other technology standards have been used in the past, bu t Ethernet over twisted pair cabling, and Wi-Fi are the two most common technolo gies currently used to build LANs. ARCnet, Attached Resource Computer NETwork) i s a local area network (LAN) protocol, Types of Computer Networks Computer networks are of many different types such as Personal area network (PAN ), Local area network (LAN), Metropolitan area network (MAN), Campus area networ k (CAN) and Wide area network (WAN). The elements of a computer network & Computing Models , Network Developmentand p rovide transmission speeds up to 10 Mbps.Fast Ethernet or 100BASE-T provides tra nsmission speeds up to 100 megabits per second and is typically used for LAN bac kbone systems, supporting workstations with 10BASE-T cards. Gigabit Ethernet pro vides an even higher level of backbone support at 1000 megabits per second (1 gi gabit or 1 billion bits per second). 10-Gigabit Ethernet provides up to 10 billi on bits per second. Attached Resource Computer network, ARCnet is one of the oldest, simplest, and l east expensive types of local-area network. ARCnet was introduced by Datapoint C orporation in 1977. It uses a token-ring architecture, supports data rates of 2. 5 Mbps, and connects up to 255 computers. A special advantage of ARCnet is that it permits various types of transmission media -- twisted-pair wire, coaxial cab le, and fiber optic cable -- to be mixed on the same network. A new specificatio n, called ARCnet Plus, will support data rates of 20 Mbps. , repeaters Layers 3 devices Routers, Multi-layer Switches and Technology specific devices l ike ATM or Frame-relay Switches etc. An internetwork is a collection of individual networks, connected by intermediat e networking devices, that functions as a single large network. Internetworking refers to the industry, products, and procedures that meet the challenge of crea ting and administering internetworks.

Cisco Three-layer Hierarchical Model Cisco Systems has developed a three-layered model. Starting with the basics, the Cisco network is traditionally defined as a three-tier hierarchical model compr ising the core, distribution, and access layers Description of Cisco layers Core layer The core layer is literally the internet backbone, the simplest yet most critica l layer. The primary purpose of the core is to provide fault isolation and backb one connectivity; in other words, the core must be highly reliable and switch tr affic as fast as possible. Therefore, on one hand, the core must provide the app ropriate level of redundancy to allow fault tolerance in case of hardware or sof tware failure or upgrade; on the other hand, the high-end switches and high-spee d cables are implemented to achieve High data transfer rate and Low latency peri

od. The core means to be simple and provides a very limited set of services. Archite cts and engineers shouldn't implement complex policy services or attach user/ser ver connections directly at this layer. Examples of core layer Cisco equipment include : Cisco switches such as 7000, 7200, 7500, and 12000 (for WAN use) Catalyst switches such as 6000, 5000, and 4000 (for LAN use) T-1 and E-1 lines, Frame relay connections, ATM networks, Switched Multimegabit Data Service (SMDS) Distribution layer The distribution layer acts as an interface between the access layer and the cor e layer. The primary function of the distribution layer is to provide routing, f iltering, and WAN access and to determine how packets can access the core, if ne eded While core layer and access layer are special purpose layers, the distribution l ayer on the other hand serves multiple purposes. It is an aggregation point for all of the access layer switches and also participates in the core routing desig n. This layer includes LAN-based routers and OSI layer 3 switches. It ensures th at packets are properly routed between subnets and VLANs. Access layer The access layer is sometimes referred to as the desktop layer. The network reso urces the workgroup and users needed will be available locally. The access layer is the edge of the entire network, where a wide variety of type s of consumer devices such as PCs, printers, cameras attach to the wired portion of the network, various services are provided, and dynamic configuration mechan isms implemented. As a result, the access layer is most feature-rich layer of th e Cisco three-layered model. The following table lists examples of the types of services and capabilities tha t need to be defined and supported in the access layer of the network.