LAN (Local Area Network) and WAN (Wide Area Network)
LAN (Local Area Network)
- LAN stands for Local Area Network.
- It refers to building a network by connecting computers with dedicated cables within a relatively small area, such as an office or building.
- This type of network can also be built at home, where it is called a home LAN or home network.
Types of LAN
- By connection topology, LANs include star, bus, and ring types.
- By communication control method, examples include Ethernet, FDDI, and Token Ring.
- Today, star LANs based on Ethernet are the most commonly used.
WAN (Wide Area Network)
- A WAN (Wide Area Network) is a network over a broad area. A network that connects LANs within an organization or across buildings is called a WAN.
- It is managed by an Internet service provider.
Intranet
- An intranet can be thought of as an internal company network. It is roughly a network made up of multiple LANs.
- Only members inside the intranet can communicate and share information with each other.
- An extranet is a network that extends an intranet, where only internal members can communicate, to allow communication with approved external users.