LAN Printer Print server Mail server File server Figure . Local Area Network Advantages of LAN • In this network one can become a server serving all the remaining computers called clients . A Software can be stored on the server and it can be used by the remaining clients. • Without internet access, it is possible to connect all the workstations in a building with each other locally.
• It is easy to share common resources like printers with LAN. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) It is basically a bigger version of LAN. It is designed to extend over the entire city. MANs extend beyond KM.
MANs are usually owned by large organizations to interconnect its various branches across a city. MAN comprises combination of different hardware and transmission media. It can be single network such as a cable TV network, or it is a means of connecting a number of LANs into a larger network so that resources can be shared through LAN to LAN as well as device to device. Internetworking Device Internetworking Device Internetworking Device Network Network Network MAN Figure .
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) Advantages of MAN • It is extremely efficient and provides fast communication via high-speed carriers, such as fibre optic cables. • It provides a good back bone for large network and provides greater access to WANs. • The dual bus used in MAN helps the transmission of data in both directions simultaneously. • A MAN usually encompasses several blocks of a city or an entire city.
Wide area network (WAN) A wide area network (WAN) is a telecommunication network. WANs connect LANs that may be on opposite sides of a building, across the country or around the world. Computers connected to a Wide Area Network are often connected through public networks, such as the telephone system. They can also be connected through leased lines or satellites.
The largest WAN in existence is the Internet. Internet Firewall Router Switch Switch Web Server Fax Plotter Colour Printer File Server File Server File Server Figure . Wide area network Advantages