Classifications of Networks-Part 2

According to Geographical conditions

• LAN (Local Area Network) : A Local Area Network covers only a localized or small physical area such as Home, Office, building or a small groups of building such as a school, or an airport.A LAN is useful for sharing resources like files, printers, games or other applications. A LAN in turn often connects to other LAN's, and to the Internet or other WAN.Most local area networks are built with relatively inexpensive hardware such as Ethernet cables, Network adapters, and Hubs/Switches. Wireless LAN and other more advanced LAN hardware options also exist.

Local Area Network

• MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) : A MAN is simply a network which interconnects a number of  Local Area Networks (LAN's) using a high-capacity backbone technology, such as fiber-optical links and spans a city or a large campus. A MAN often provides efficient connections to a Wide Area Network (WAN). MAN adopted technologies from both LAN and WAN to serve its purpose. Some legacy technologies used for MAN are Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), Distributed Queue Dual Bus (DQDB) and Switched Multimegabit Data Service (SMDS).MAN's are sometimes also called CAN(Campus Area Network)

Metropolitan Area Network

• WAN (Wide Area Network) : A computer network which is spread over a relatively large area such as country, or across counties. 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. A wide area network may be privately owned or rented, but the term usually connotes the inclusion of public (shared user) networks. The largest WAN in existence is the Internet.

  

  Wide Area Network