Types of Networks

based On Geography
Mahdi Hakimzada
Network-1
Aria University
Types of Networks based On Geography

• Local area network (LAN)

• Wide area network (WAN)
• Wireless local area network (WLAN)
• Storage area network (SAN)
• Campus area network (CAN)
• Metropolitan area network (MAN)
• Personal area network (PAN)
LAN
• A local area network (LAN) typically is confined to a
single building, such as an office building, your home
network, or a college campus.
WAN
• A wide area network (WAN) spans multiple geographic locations
and is typically made up of multiple LANs.
• For example, I have a company with an office in Halifax, Nova
Scotia, that has 100 computers all connected together. This would
be considered a LAN. Now if we expand the company and create
an office in Toronto, the network in Toronto also would be
considered a LAN. If we want to allow the two offices to share
information with one another, we would connect the two LANs
together, creating a WAN.
Cont.
WLAN, SAN and CAN
• A local area network made up of wireless networking devices is a
wireless local area network (WLAN).
• A storage area network (SAN) is a high-speed specialized network
used to provide storage space to other devices on the network.
• A campus area network (CAN) originated as a network that covers
a university campus, but you may find a large organization has a
CAN that spans a number of buildings on the company’s private
land.
MAN and PAN
• The term metropolitan area network (MAN) refers to
a network that exists within a single city—typically
multiple buildings in different areas of the city.
• A personal area network (PAN) is a network created
between devices in close proximity, usually within 10
meters, using wireless technology.