Imagine an office where employees had no way to electronically share documents, collaborate on projects, video conference with remote colleagues, or access centralized company data. Today these vital capabilities all depend on the crucial yet invisible infrastructure of computer networks transmissioning data behind the scenes.
Networks manifest in many forms spanning across diverse geographies. In this guide aimed at technically curious friends, we’ll explore the six primary classifications of computer networks manifesting around us daily to understand their differences.
Grab your favorite beverage friend, as we’re about to plug into the fascinating foundations powering our digital world!
What Are Computer Networks and Why Do They Matter?
Simply put, a computer network refers to an interconnected system of devices that can exchange data. This seemingly simple capability of shipping data across distances enablesgame-changing functionalities like:
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Instant communication – Enabling real-time messaging, calls and video conferences linking people across rooms and continents
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Collaboration – Providing seamless mechanisms for cooperative document sharing, editing, and working together on deliverables.
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Accessibility – Allowing users to securely access centralized apps, services, data storage from anywhere.
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Resource sharing – Optimally utilizing printers, scanners, specialized hardware across connected devices.
On an individual level, home networks let family members share printers, stream movies, play interactive video games, and sync data across phones.
Expanding outwards, office networks facilitate teams in collaborating on projects. School networks provide digital access to research materials and educational apps. Cities contain metro-wide networks interlinking government agencies and public services.
And globally, the internet stands as the ultimate worldwide network seamlessly interconnecting billions of smaller institutional and private networks. This enables the mobile workforce flexibility we largely take for granted in the modern economy.
Behind all these invaluable connectivity use cases lie an array of network infrastructures specialized to their purpose. Let‘s uncover them!
Personal Area Network (PAN)
Personal Area Networks (PAN) focus on linking all your personal mobile smart devices centered around your individual proximity. These tiny local networks typically span no more than 30 feet containing wearables, phones, wireless headphones and other gadgets orbiting your personal space.
Defining Attributes:
- Purpose – Interconnect devices around an individual
- Range – Up to 30 feet
- Speed – Typically under 2 Mbps
- Standards – Bluetooth, ZigBee, Infrared
Typical Gadgets:
- Smartphones
- Smart Watches
- Wireless Earbuds
- Fitness Trackers
- Wireless Keyboards / Mice
Key Advantages
- Simple plug-and-play connections
- Convenience of wireless synchronization
- Energy efficiency crucial for mobiles
Limitations
- Very limited range
- Low transfer speeds
- Often app specific connectivity
So for example, that fitness tracker on your wrist monitors heartbeat then streams the health telemetry via Bluetooth to display real-time in your smartphone health app.
PAN represents the most intimate type of network orbiting in your personal bubble. Let‘s now look at networks powering the environments you occupy.
| Network Type | Personal (PAN) | Local (LAN) | Metro (MAN) | Wide Area (WAN) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Interconnect personal mobile devices around an individual | Enable device communication locally e.g. within a building | Link multiple LANs across a metropolitan area | Connect networks globally across vast distances |
| Typical Size | Up to 30 feet diameter | Up to 1 kilometer diameter | Up to 50 kilometer diameter | Spans worldwide |
| Speed | < 2 Mbps | 10 Mbps – 10 Gbps | 10 Mbps – 10 Gbps | 45 Mbps – 10 Gbps |
| Primary Users | Individuals | Homes, Offices, Schools | Businesses, Cities | ISPs, Organizations |
| Topologies | Ad-Hoc, Hub | Bus, Star, Ring | Star, Bus, Ring | Mesh, Star, Bus |
| Protocols | Bluetooth, ZigBee, UWB, IrDA | Ethernet, WiFi, Token Ring | ATM, FDDI, WiMAX | IP, MPLS, ATM |
| Cabling | No cables | Cat 5e, Cat 6, Fiber | Fiber Optic | Fiber Optic, T1/T3 |
| Key Apps | Wearables, Phones, Headphones, Peripherals sync | File/printer sharing, video streaming, networked gaming | Resource sharing between corporate LANs | Cloud apps, remote access, web |
Table 1. Comparative overview of various computer network types segmented by purpose, size, speed and other vital statistics.
Local Area Network (LAN)
In offices, schools, and homes, Local Area Networks (LANs) adjoin networked devices enabling users to share data plus hardware assets. Within the sub-1000 foot confines of a building, ethernet cables or WiFi connections link together:
- Computers
- Printers
- Scanners
- File and app servers
- Networked storage arrays
- Surveillance cameras
- Wireless laptops/tablets via WiFi
Key Characteristics:
- Environment – Typically within a single building
- Range – Up to 1 kilometer diameter
- Speed – 10 Mbps up to 10 Gbps
- Standards – Ethernet, WiFi, Token Ring
Advantages include:
- Facilitates communication apps like messaging
- Centralized data backups on servers
- Cost efficiency from shared printers etc
- Managed network policies
Downsides encompass
- Cable infrastructure costs
- Wireless interference elements
- Administrative complexity scaling up
- Malware/hacking risks require vigilance
So for example in a corporate setting, the LAN links employee workstations to shared assets like a centralized database server, application servers, and networked enterprise printers located down the hall or in another floor in the building.
LANs provide localized networking glue connecting users to nearby resources. Next let‘s explore how LANs can be linked together into larger metropolitan networks.
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
A Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) links together many Local Area Networks (LANs) across an entire city or region to function as one unified network. These networks are extremely powerful providing super fast data connectivity needed to provide modern infrastructure services on a metro wide level.
For example a MAN operated by an ISP can supply interconnected LAN capabilities allowing businesses to directly collaborate with a MAN footprint. A university campus containing different colleges can also leverage a MAN to centralize academic resources between far flung buildings. Even utility infrastructure components can form critical MANs to keep cities operational.
Core Characteristics
- Environment – City or region up to 50 km diameter
- Range – Up to 50 kilometers diameter
- Speed – 10 Mbps up to 10 Gbps
- Standards – ATM, FDDI, WiMAX, Ethernet
Advantages encompass:
- Very high bandwidth capacity
- Low Latency for proximate links
- Enables efficient metro-wide LAN links
- Better economies-of-scale vs WAN
Tradeoffs include:
- Challenging complex designs
- Single point failures need redundancies
- Skilled engineers support overhead
- Not as resilient as more local LANs
Smart cities strive to evolve MAN capabilities further to optimize communication services, transportation infrastructure, and public utilities through real-time data exchanges between agency endpoints.
Now that we understand how MANs can network entire metropolitan regions, next we’ll uncover how global networks can link between cities and continents.
Wide Area Network (WAN)
Wide Area Network (WAN) represents connections spanning super vast distances of generally over 1,000 miles linking networks across continents. These worldwide backbone networks enable international travel connectivity crucial for commercial airline pilots, shipping container tracking systems, scientific data exchanges, and financial transactions to name a few.
Most familiar to everyday users includes the public internet – essentially the largest global WAN seamlessly internetworking countless private/public subnetworks to enable shared data access locally and remotely.
Let’s explore more WAN attributes:
- Environment – National or international connectivity
- Range – Unlimited physical range
- Speed – 45 Mbps up to 100 Gbps
- Standards – IP, MPLS, ATM, SONET
Advantages include:
- Enables international collaboration
- Business continuity via offsite backups
- Powers real-time supply chain logistics
- Connectivity for a global mobile workforce
Tradeoffs encompass
- Leased lines mean recurring costs
- International private lines still have latency
- Complex designs require expert administration
- Security threats require extensive vigilance
Take for example scientists around the world working together to crunch datasets needed to process immense volumes of telescope imagery data searching for new planets. Such global big data analysis depends on the high speed WAN connectivity linking supercomputing clusters worldwide.
While most users don’t directly utilize dedicated Wide Area Network infrastructure, we do heavily depend on the global public internet itself for access to apps, services and humans worldwide!
Now that we understand long distance networking, let‘s shift back locally into wifi wireless networking so vital in homes and offices.
Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)
Wireless LAN (WLAN) offers the flexibility of connecting devices wirelessly over wifi using access points rather than physically stringing ethernet cables everywhere. This has become the predominant setup in millions of homes and offices globally.
Laptop users can walk from room to room yet maintain high speed LAN access to local network resources like printers and file servers. Smartphones can also utilize wifi for home network access not counting towards cellular data usage caps.
Core facets of WLANs
- Environment – Typically within homes/offices
- Range – Up to 100 meter radius
- Speed – Typically 54-300+ Mbps
- Standards – IEEE 802.11 WiFi protocols
Benefits WiFi provides:
- No cabling allows flexible setups
- Supports roaming devices like phones/tablets/laptops
- Generally cheaper/easier than recabling
- Range can be extended via wifi repeaters
Limitations around Wireless LANs
- Overall reduced reliability vs wired
- Slower speeds compared to wired LAN
- Multiple wifi networks can interfere
- Physical structures weaken signals
For example – those wifi mesh routers blanketing homes in strong wifi signals for solid video streaming coverage to tablets around the house depend on Wireless LAN tech!
Campus Area Network (CAN)
A Campus Area Network (CAN) links together multiple LANs clustered across a small geographic region typically spanning a single organizations premises.
For instance a corporate headquarter campus may have different buildings housing departments that contain localized LANs. Interconnecting these networks forms a complete CAN serving that company‘s networking needs across the acreage.
Typical implementations encompass:
- College/University campuses
- Corporate business parks
- Enterprise headquarters
- Government sites
- Telecomm hotels
- Military bases
Core CAN Qualities
- Environment – Single firm’s campus
- Range – Up to 5 kilometers diameter
- Speed – 1 Gbps to 100 Gbps
- Standards – Ethernet, WiFi, Token Ring
Key Perks of Campus Area Networks
- Optimized for institution’s requirements mix
- Enhanced network access policies
- Tight security and quality control
- Centralized yet localized administration
For example – A corporate headquarters with clustered buildings for different departments can use a CAN to centrally interconnect all the LANs across every site building to function in harmony as a cohesive network that meets all connectivity needs of that particular organization uniquely.
Choosing the Right Network Type
Hopefully this overview better connects the spans across our technical world! With so many network classifications though, here‘s a handy cheat sheet:
Are you looking to cable just one room? Go LAN.
Do you need employees to roam a single building with laptops? Pick Wireless LAN.
Must research labs around a campus share huge datasets? Campus Area Network.
Does your company have sites nationwide to interconnect? Choose WAN.
Need city infrastructure securely networked? Metropolitan Area Network.
Just trying to connect your personal devices? Start small with a PAN.
The common thread stays focused on sizing geographic coverage span to fulfill a clearly defined connectivity goal.
Of course in practice, many networks interconnect in harmony serving complementary purposes. Your music streams from a metro WAN to a Wireless LAN finally connecting PAN headphones for enjoyment!
Closing Thoughts
What an intriguing tour from planet-spanning networks down to personalized wristwear networks just in our individual proximity!
Fundamentally, these networked connections form the lifeblood empowering communication, collaboration and access to centralized resources that define our modern digitally-transformed age.
Hopefully this guided tour across the spectrum of computer networks demystifies the crucial behind-the-scenes infrastructure profoundly revolutionizing how we collectively work, play and live better connected together thanks to the foundations of networking!
Until next time my friend! Let me know if you have any other questions.
