Types Of Networks

What are the different types of networks? We use computers every day. These days, it’s hard to think of reasons not to use these computers. We visit the internet and our social media accounts every day, too. But in order to visit the internet, we need to be connected to a device that will bring our computers online. Sometimes, we have more than one computer at home. The connection of our computers is called a network. There are many different types of networks. Read on and get to know the most common of these.

The types of networks are mainly divided into two main categories – the LAN and the WAN. The LAN, which stands for Local Area Network, is a network of computers that is located in a small area. A good example of this is the computers we see at home or in a computer laboratory. As you would see, this is a network of computers that can be found in a small location. The WAN, on the other hand, stands for Wide Area Network. As the name implies, these are types of networks that pertains to computers in a large area or spans a large distance. The most common example of a WAN is the internet.

Both LAN and WAN types of networks are connected via the help of a router. This is a device that ensures each connected computer is properly connected and is able to connect to the other computers. The main difference of the LAN and the WAN is that the LAN is normally owned by a single person or entity. This person controls, manipulates, and manages the entire network. WANs, on the other hand, are not owned by a single person or an organization. They are usually under distributed ownership or collective management.

WLAN stands for Wireless Area Network. As the name implies, these are types of networks that are also in a small physical distance. However, the WLAN is connected wirelessly through what is called as a WiFi technology. This is the fastest growing types of networks at present.

The MANs are types of networks that are bigger than LANs but smaller than WAN. MAN stands for Metropolitan Area Network. As the name implies, these are networks that can be found in metropolitan areas. The MANs, however, are normally managed and operated by government bodies or large corporations.

The CANs are types of networks that are composed of multiple LANs. However, they are smaller than the MAN. CAN stands for Campus Area Network. As the name implies, these are types of networks that you can commonly see in campuses, colleges and universities.

SANs can be two different types of networks. It can stand for Storage Area Network or System Area Network. The storage area networks are basically networks of storage devices. These storage devices are connected by high speed connections called fiber channels. System Area Networks, on the other hand, are a network of computers of high performance. These are connected through high speed connections as well and are formed in cluster configuration.