ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Types of Computer Networks; Lan, Wan, Man, Wlan

Updated on May 10, 2021
Patkay profile image

Patrick is a dedicated computer technician and writer. He strives to make the world better by informing individuals who seek more knowledge.

Main Common Types of Computer Networks

The world of computers is made up of computers and other networking devices interconnected together with wires while others are interconnected wirelessly to form what we call a network.

A computer network is an interconnection of two or more computers for the user to share data and peripherals.

There are several different types of computer networks in existence.

  1. Local Area Network (LAN)
  2. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
  3. Wide Area Network (WAN)
  4. WLAN - Wireless Local Area Network
  5. SAN - Storage Area Network, System Area Network, Server Area Network, or sometimes Small Area Network
  6. CAN - Campus Area Network, Controller Area Network, or sometimes Cluster Area Network
  7. PAN - Personal Area Network

A Local Area Network Setting

A Local Area Network
A Local Area Network | Source

The Local Area Network

A Local Area Network is a network type comprising of a group of computers and other systems located reasonably close to one another within a given area.

Users communicate and share resources for instance within a college, Cyber Cafe' or an office. A LAN connects computers and network devices over a relatively short distance.

A Local Area Network uses TCP/IP network protocol for communication between computers and other connected peripherals.

LANs are the basis of all other types of networks. So if you connect two or more computers in an office, the result will be a Local Area Network.

The smallest LAN may only use two computers, while larger Local Area Networks 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.

High speed and relatively low cost are the major defining characteristics of LANs.

Advantages of a Local Area Network

  1. Easy to troubleshoot - this is because a LAN does not cover a large area and it is not complicated.
  2. Cheap to install and monitor - the devices involved in coming up with this network are not expensive.
  3. More secure - because it is usually a small network, it is possible to maintain security.
  4. Less vulnerable to attenuation - attenuation is the gradual loss of signal strength as the signal tends to travel far from the point of origin. In this type of network, because the computers are situated within a small geographical area, the signals are less prone to attenuation.
  5. It experiences low error rates.

The Metropolitan Area Network

This is a network that covers an entire city or town. This type of network usually makes use of wireless infrastructure or optical fibre connections to link sites.

It can be created by connecting several LANs. For example, it can be a network covering all the police stations in a big city, local government authorities.

A college with several branches can also interlink their LANs and come up with a Metropolitan Area Network.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Metropolitan Area Network

Advantages of Metropolitan Area Network

  1. It enhances easier communication
  2. It offers a faster passage of data.

Disadvantages of Metropolitan Area Network

  • It is expensive to install and maintain.
  • It is susceptible to tapping.
  • It is susceptible to attenuation (gradual loss of signal strength as data flows further from the point of origin).
  • It has high error rates.

The Wide Area Network

It’s a type of network design that connects computers across a large geographical area of a city, region and even spans beyond country boundaries.

It consists of several sections of LAN’s and MAN’s connected by devices such as routers.

A WAN transmits information by telephone lines, ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) lines, Radio waves, or satellite Microwave.

A network device called a router connects LANs to a WAN. The Internet is the best example of the largest Wide area network as it covers the whole world.

A Wide Area Network
A Wide Area Network | Source

Wireless Local Area Network

Wireless Local Area Network - This is a LAN based on Wi-Fi wireless network technology.

This type of network can be created within a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, campus, or office building.

It gives users the ability to move around within the area and remain connected to the network. Making use of a gateway, a WLAN can also provide a connection to the wider Internet.

The primary difference between a LAN and a WLAN is how the data is transmitted. In a LAN, data is transmitted over physical cables in a series of data packets. In a WLAN, packets are transmitted over the air.

Storage Area Network

Storage Area Network - Connects servers to data storage devices through a technology like Fibre Channel.

A storage area network (SAN) is a dedicated, independent high-speed network that interconnects and delivers shared pools of storage devices to multiple servers.

Each server accesses the shared storage as if it were a drive directly attached to the server.

A SAN is assembled with cabling, host bus adapters, and SAN switches attached to storage arrays and servers. Each switch and storage system on the SAN must be interconnected.

Campus Area Network

Campus Area Network - A network spanning multiple LANs but smaller than a MAN, such as on a university or local business campus.

By size, a campus area network is larger than a local area network but smaller than a metropolitan area network (MAN) or wide area network (WAN).

Most CANs are made of several LANs connected via switches and routers that combine to create a single network.

CAN (Campus Area Network)

A Campus Area Network
A Campus Area Network | Source

Personal Area Network

A Personal Area Network, or PAN, is a computer network organized around a person within a single building.

This could be inside a small office or residence. A typical PAN will include one or more computers, telephones, peripheral devices, video game consoles, and other personal entertainment devices.

Conclusion

The moment you connect two or more computers located reasonably close to one another, you will be creating a LAN.

Even when you are to create a MAN or a WAN, you will have to start with a Local Area Network.

Types of Computer Network

Do you have interconnected computers in your place

See results

This article is accurate and true to the best of the author’s knowledge. Content is for informational or entertainment purposes only and does not substitute for personal counsel or professional advice in business, financial, legal, or technical matters.

© 2011 Patrick Kamau

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)