Which type of network is used to connect digital devices within a city or metropolitan area group of answer choices Wi-Fi LAN WAN man san?

In order to understand the difference between the network types, it’s important to first understand what a network is. Simply enough, a network is two or more connected computers or other devices, linked for the purpose of communicating or sharing resources. This connection can either be wired or wireless through the use of cables, satellites, radio waves, telephone lines, and infrared light beams. By and large, the most common types of network is a LAN (Local Area Network).

What Differentiates One Kind of Network From Another?

For the most part, the differentiating factor in the types of networks is how large of a system it is, or how many devices are included in the network’s area, as well as how those devices are connected to one another.

LAN

The most basic and common type of network, a LAN, or local area network, is a network connecting a group of devices in a “local” area, usually within the same building. These connections are generally powered through the use of Ethernet cables, which have length limitations, as the speed of the connection will degrade beyond a certain length.

A WLAN, or wireless LAN, is a subtype of LAN. It uses WiFi to make the LAN wireless through the use of a wireless router.

HAN

A HAN, or home area network, is a network connecting devices within a home. These networks are a type of LAN. All the devices inside the household, including computers, smartphones, game consoles, televisions, and home assistants that are connected to the router are a part of the HAN.

CAN

A CAN, or campus area network, usually comprises several LANs. They cover a campus, connecting several buildings to the main firewall. A university could use a CAN, as could a corporate headquarters.

MAN

Even larger than a CAN, a MAN is a metropolitan area network. These can cover an area as large as a city, linking multiple LANs through a wired backhaul. An example of a MAN would be a citywide WiFi network.

WAN

In contrast to the smaller LAN and HANs, a WAN is a wide area network, covering any distance necessary. The Internet could be considered a WAN that covers the entire Earth.

VPN

A VPN is a virtual private network, or a network of devices that aren’t connected through any physical means. The devices connected through a VPN could be anywhere and any distance apart, and are simply connected through the Internet. Many individuals choose to install VPNs on their personal computers, as they offer an extra layer of security and privacy protection.

PAN

A PAN is a personal area network, and devices within a PAN are usually no more than 10 yards apart. Devices connected through Bluetooth technology could be considered part of a PAN, as it is both wireless and devices must be within a close proximity to one another.

BAN

A BAN, or body area network, is an area connected through extremely low-range wireless communication, all within the vicinity of the human body. Devices connected to a BAN could include smartwatches, surgically implanted medical devices, and fitness armbands.

NAN (Near-me Network)

An informal type of network, a NAN is a near-me network, or a network of devices informally connected by their proximity to one another. An example of this could be a business meeting in which various colleagues are sitting at the same conference table, sharing files to one another’s devices. They could all be connected to the Internet through different means – cellular, WiFi, or wired connection – but they are a part of the same informal network because they are sharing resources with one another.

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We put together this handy reference guide to explain the types of networks in use today, and what they’re used for.

11 Types of Networks in Use Today

1. Personal Area Network (PAN)

The smallest and most basic type of network, a PAN is made up of a wireless modem, a computer or two, phones, printers, tablets, etc., and revolves around one person in one building. These types of networks are typically found in small offices or residences, and are managed by one person or organization from a single device.

2. Local Area Network (LAN)

We’re confident that you’ve heard of these types of networks before – LANs are the most frequently discussed networks, one of the most common, one of the most original and one of the simplest types of networks. LANs connect groups of computers and low-voltage devices together across short distances (within a building or between a group of two or three buildings in close proximity to each other) to share information and resources. Enterprises typically manage and maintain LANs.

Using routers, LANs can connect to wide area networks (WANs, explained below) to rapidly and safely transfer data.

3. Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)

Functioning like a LAN, WLANs make use of wireless network technology, such as Wi-Fi. Typically seen in the same types of applications as LANs, these types of networks don’t require that devices rely on physical cables to connect to the network.

4. Campus Area Network (CAN)

Larger than LANs, but smaller than metropolitan area networks (MANs, explained below), these types of networks are typically seen in universities, large K-12 school districts or small businesses. They can be spread across several buildings that are fairly close to each other so users can share resources.

5. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

These types of networks are larger than LANs but smaller than WANs – and incorporate elements from both types of networks. MANs span an entire geographic area (typically a town or city, but sometimes a campus). Ownership and maintenance is handled by either a single person or company (a local council, a large company, etc.).

6. Wide Area Network (WAN)

Slightly more complex than a LAN, a WAN connects computers together across longer physical distances. This allows computers and low-voltage devices to be remotely connected to each other over one large network to communicate even when they’re miles apart.

The Internet is the most basic example of a WAN, connecting all computers together around the world. Because of a WAN’s vast reach, it is typically owned and maintained by multiple administrators or the public.

7. Storage-Area Network (SAN)

As a dedicated high-speed network that connects shared pools of storage devices to several servers, these types of networks don’t rely on a LAN or WAN. Instead, they move storage resources away from the network and place them into their own high-performance network. SANs can be accessed in the same fashion as a drive attached to a server. Types of storage-area networks include converged, virtual and unified SANs.

8. System-Area Network (also known as SAN)

This term is fairly new within the past two decades. It is used to explain a relatively local network that is designed to provide high-speed connection in server-to-server applications (cluster environments), storage area networks (called “SANs” as well) and processor-to-processor applications. The computers connected on a SAN operate as a single system at very high speeds.

9. Passive Optical Local Area Network (POLAN)

As an alternative to traditional switch-based Ethernet LANs, POLAN technology can be integrated into structured cabling to overcome concerns about supporting traditional Ethernet protocols and network applications such as PoE (Power over Ethernet). A point-to-multipoint LAN architecture, POLAN uses optical splitters to split an optical signal from one strand of singlemode optical fiber into multiple signals to serve users and devices.

10. Enterprise Private Network (EPN)

These types of networks are built and owned by businesses that want to securely connect its various locations to share computer resources.

11. Virtual Private Network (VPN)

By extending a private network across the Internet, a VPN lets its users send and receive data as if their devices were connected to the private network – even if they’re not. Through a virtual point-to-point connection, users can access a private network remotely.

If you have questions about which type of network is right for your organization, or want to learn more about Belden’s network solutions that improve uptime, maintain security, and help improve user access, click here.

The Network allows computers to connect and communicate with different computers via any medium. LAN, MAN, and WAN are the three major types of networks 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)

Local Area Network (LAN) –

LAN or Local Area Network connects network devices in such a way that personal computers 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 is limited. By definition, the connections must be high speed and relatively inexpensive hardware (Such as hubs, network adapters, and Ethernet cables). LANs cover a 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 LANs 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).

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 reside 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 high-speed connectivity. Speeds of MAN range 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 are 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.

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 LANs 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. 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 a few kilobits per second (Kbps) to megabits per second (Mbps). Propagation delay is one of the biggest problems faced here. Devices used for the transmission of data through WAN are Optic wires, Microwaves, and Satellites. An example of a Switched WAN is the asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network and Point-to-Point WAN is a dial-up line that connects a home computer to the Internet.

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 a city or a group of cities together. Further, for connecting a Country or a group of Countries one requires a Wide Area Network.