Network Types Flashcards
PAN (Personal Area Network)
A network that is centered around a person and their devices. A PAN allows for various devices, such as a person’s desktop computer, laptop, smartphone, tablet, headphones, wireless keyboard and mouse, and speakers to communicate with each other, often over Bluetooth in the case of wireless connections or USB in the case of wired connections. PANs can be used to enable communication between the devices, such as a device sending music to speakers or headphones, or can be used as a jumping-off point for other devices to a network gateway, such as when a mobile phone acts as a Wi-Fi hotspot for other devices.
LAN (Local Area Network)
A network consisting of computers connected within a limited area. Some examples of LANs are a home, lab, or office building. Most often, LANs use Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or both to connect the network devices.
WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network)
A LAN with wireless connectivity. Unlike LANs, which are wired, WLANs use Wi-Fi to communicate with devices. Users and devices can be placed anywhere and move anywhere in the coverage area. This is a popular choice for small businesses, as it is easy and inexpensive to install and allows guests to use the network as well with a hotspot service. Many WLANs also act as a gateway to the internet for users.
CAN (Campus Area Network)
A network providing networking of multiple LANs across a limited area, like a university campus or a group of buildings owned by a company. Each LAN would typically be constrained to a single building (or even just a part of a building), and the CAN would link them together in much the same way that a WAN (wide area network, which will be defined later) does but over a smaller geographic area. The CAN typically connects LANs owned by a single company, university, government agency, etc.
MAN (Metropolitan Area Network)
A network providing networking across a larger area than a CAN, but smaller than a WAN, such as a whole city or the equivalent of a metropolitan area (hence the name), though it is not necessarily limited by city boundaries. A MAN is made up of many LANs and is owned by many organizations, government entities, etc., within the city to create a fabric of network coverage, often at higher speeds than maybe commercially viable when connecting directly to a WAN when connecting to other entities in the same MAN. Often, this MAN is then connected to a larger WAN (usually the internet) for access beyond the city.
WAN (Wide Area Network)
Similar to a LAN, except that it covers a large geographical area within its network. This would be the case for worldwide businesses or government bodies. The internet is an example of a WAN, as it can connect individual users across the globe.
While the technical definition of a WAN is a network spanning a city, countries, or the entire earth, it is easier to think of WANs as a network that connects smaller networks, like LANs. WANs are able to link these smaller networks to transfer data over hundreds of thousands of miles, whereas a true LAN is only able to do so over its small network.
SAN (Storage Area Network)
A network that allows access to storage devices specifically instead of the more general networking that can be used for any purpose. SANs allow servers to access devices such as tape libraries and disk arrays while presenting them to the operating system like any other locally attached device.
A form of LAN specifically used for storage.
