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Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Local Area Network

LAN stands for Local Area Network, is a group of computers located in the same room, on the same floor, or in the same building that are connected to form a single network. Local area networks (LANs) allow users to share storage devices, printers, applications, data, and other network resources.

Features of LAN’s :

  • Network size is limited to a small geographical area, presently to a few kilometers.
  • Data transfer rate is generally high. They range from 100 Mbps to 1000 Mbps.
  • In general, a LAN uses only one type of transmission medium, commonly category 5 coaxial cables.
  • A LAN is distinguished from other networks by their topologies. The common topologies are bus, ring, mesh, and star.
  • The number of computers connected to a LAN is usually restricted. In other words, LANs are limitedly scalable.
  • IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet is the most common LAN. They use a wired medium in conjuncture with a switch or a hub. Originally, coaxial cables were used for communications. But now twisted pair cables and fiber optic cables are also used. Ethernet’s speed has increased from 2.9 Mbps to 400 Gbps.

Wireless LANs (WLAN)

Wireless LANs use high-frequency radio waves instead of cables for communications.They have an Access Point or a wireless router or a base station for transferring packets to and from the wireless computers and the internet.

Most WLANs are based on the standard IEEE 802.11 or WiFi.

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