Introduction to Computer Networks
Types of Networks
• PAN (Personal Area Network)
• LAN (Local Area Network)
• MAN (Metropolitan Area Network)
• WAN (Wide Area Network)
PAN
A Personal Area Network, or PAN, is like a tiny network that connects your
devices really close together, like your phone talking to your smartwatch or
your laptop sharing files with your tablet. It's all about keeping things cozy
and connected within your personal gadgets' circle.
LAN (LOCAL AREA
NETWORK)
It is a network that connects computers, mobile phones, tablet, mouse, printer, etc.,
placed at a limited distance.
The geographical area covered by a LAN can range from a single room, a floor, an
office having one or more buildings in the same premise, laboratory, a school,
college, or university campus. The connectivity is done by means of wires, Ethernet
cables, fiber optics, or Wi-Fi.
METROPOLITAN AREA NETWORK (MAN)
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) is an extended form of LAN which
covers a larger geographical area like a city or a town. Data transfer rate in
MAN also ranges in Mbps, but it is considerably less as compared to
LAN.
Cable TV network or cable based broadband internet services are
examples of MAN. This kind of network
WIDE AREA NETWORK (WAN)
Wide Area Network (WAN) connects computers and others LANs and
MANs, which are spread across different geographical locations of a country
or in different countries or continents. A WAN could be formed by
connecting a LAN to other LANs via wired or wireless media. Large
business, educational and government organizations connect their different
branches in different locations across the world through WAN. The Internet
is the largest WAN that connects billions of computers, smartphones and
millions of LANs from different continents.
Bus Topology
each communicating device connects to a transmission medium,
known as bus. Data sent from a node are passed on to the bus and
hence are transmitted to the length of the bus in both directions.
That means data can be received by any of the nodes connected
to the bus.
In this topology, a single backbone wire called bus is shared
among the nodes, which makes it cheaper and easy to maintain.
STAR Topology
In a star topology, all devices are connected to a central hub or
switch. This hub or switch acts as the focal point for
communication within the network. Each device connects
directly to this central hub or switch, forming a star-like
structure, hence the name "star topology." It's like having a
central meeting point where everyone can connect and share
information easily.
