Types of Computer Network
In a computer network, computers and other network devices are connected to each other based on the size of their network. Which share each other’s data, information, and resources, and maintain communication.
The types of Computer network can be easily understood by the diagram given below.
It is mainly of four types.
LAN Network
A local area network is a computer network that limits is a relatively small area. Most often a Lan is limited to a single room, building, and a single group of buildings, however, One Lan can be connected to other Lan’s over any distance only via telephone lines and radio waves.
In simple words, any number of devices connected together within a limited space can be called LAN. The connection can be either physical or virtual.
Example of LAN Network – Phones, computer’s and television are connected to a single network (Home network) only via cables, wifi, Bluetooth and hotspot, etc. Also, the Home Router is the very simplest example of a LAN device
MAN Network
The Metropolitan area network covers a larger area than the local area network (LAN) and a smaller area as compared to a wide area network (WAN). And it also easily connects two or more computers. It covers a broad geographical area and may serve as an ISP(Internet service provider).
Man is designed for those who need high-speed connectivity at any time for their work. and this network provides very fast connectivity but also hard to design and maintain a Metropolitan area network (MAN).
Examples of the Metropolitan area network …
- Cable tv network….
- Telephone networks…..
WAN Network
A wide area network is another category of the network that extends over a large geographical area, although it might be confined within the bounds of a state or a country.
A WAN could be a connection of LAN linking to other LAN via telephone lines and radio waves and may be limited to an enterprise or accessible to the public.
This technology is high speed but relatively expensive than other’s
There are two types of WAN—
- Switched WAN
- Point To Point WAN
Example of WAN Network– Internet is the main example of WAN In the modern era of computers and other high-end electronic devices, there are many types of modern communication and networking systems also. Similarly, the WAN or the “Wide Area Network” is one of the most popular methods of digital networking systems.
PAN Network
Personal Area Network.” A PAN is actually a network that is connected to devices, while it is used by only one person. It allows devices to communicate such as computers, tablets, smartphones, and smartwatches etc.
Example of PAN Network – PAN includes a number of different connections, such as Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth, that can be connected to a desktop computer. A personal router can be connected via Ethernet and a tablet via WiFi. Can communicate with a smartphone.
SAN Network
Storage Area Network is a network in which storage devices are connected through multiple computers. Each computer can easily access the network hard drives that are also SAN, as they are all directly connected with a computer that too like local disks. With this, individual hard drives can be used by multiple computers, which provides the help of sharing information with different machines.
Example of SAN Network – a large company has data in terabytes that has to be accessible by multiple machines that too in a local area network (LAN). In such a situation, a SAN network is created, that too instead of adding additional servers. Since only hard drives have to be added instead of complete computer systems, SANs provide an efficient way to increase network storage.
Wireless Network
A wireless network in which an area network (LAN) uses radio waves to connect devices such as laptops to the Internet and to your business network and its applications. When we connect a laptop to a WiFi hotspot in a cafe, hotel, lounge, or another public place, we are connecting to the wireless network at that time.
Example of Wireless network – Wi-Fi, Bluetooth.
VPN Network
VPN is stand for Virtual Private Network, it is a technology that creates secure connections in public networks such as the Internet and Wi-Fi networks. VPN is a most usefull technique to keep your network secure and protect your personal data from hackers.
VPN service is mostly used by people like businessmen, organizations, government agencies, educational institutions and corporations working online so that they can keep their important data safe from unauthorized users.
VPN protects all types of data, that is, what is necessary and what is not even necessary. Those who are common people and they use the internet for browsing, they can also use the VPN service through the VPN application on their phone or computer.