Today we will tell you in this blog what is WAN network and what are its advantages and disadvantages? And how many types are there?
Wide Area Network
The full form of WAN is a Wide Area Network. A wide area network (WAN) is a type of network suitable for communication over a very large geographical area (for example from one city to another, or from one country to another). A good example of a large area network is the Internet.

The Internet is the largest network and many local networks are interconnected. Wide network (WAN) is spread all over the country or all over the world. The coverage of this network is the highest among all the networks.
For example, if the offices of a company are in different cities and all the offices have a local network then we can connect all these offices in the local network. Connecting a large network can create a large network. In this way, we can connect all the computers in the local network of the city network to all the computers in the local area network of the city network.
Examples of the wide-area network:-
- Internet
- U.S. defense department
- Big banks
- Airline companies
- Cable companies
- Network providers
Advantages of WAN Network
There are some advantages of WAN which are given below:-
- WAN can cover most areas. This network can connect from one place to another and can also connect to the whole world which is called Internet.
- You can also share software resources and other resources with the help of this network.
- You can save everything on this network. Files and data on a computer called a server can also receive data from all other connected computers.
- This network has high bandwidth.
- Because WAN has made internet, today everyone is working online so anyone can do online business.
- These networks are spread all over the world and you can connect with anyone in the world. WhatsApp Facebook-like communication is possible. Apart from sending text messages, you can also chat with video.
Disadvantages of WAN Network
There are also some disadvantages of WAN which are given below:-
- If the network is very large then it is very difficult to maintain this network.
- These networks have more security issues than LAN networks and mainstream networks.
- It is so big and complex that it is very difficult to handle.
- The network is not very secure so we have to buy products like antivirus to make our network more secure.
Types of WAN technologies
Different types of WAN technologies:-
- Packet switching
- Overlay network
- Packet over SONET/SDH (PoS)
- Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)
- ATM
- Frame Relay
- TCP/IP protocol suite
- Router
Packet switching
When changing the package, the message is broken into smaller parts. These small parts of the message are called data packets and each data packet has its own source address and destination address.
And every data packet of the network is forwarded according to this address. When all the packages reach their destination they are all converted back to the original message. Let’s serve first) means pre-arrival packages will be sent in advance.
Overlay network
Overlapping networks are data communication technology that uses software to create a virtual network over another network (usually hardware and wired infrastructure). This is usually done to support applications or security features that are not available on the underlying network.
Packet over SONET/SDH (PoS)
Packet over SONET is a communication protocol primarily used for WAN transmission. It defines a point-to-point link communication method using optical fiber and SONET (synchronous optical network) or SDH (synchronous digital hierarchy) communication protocols.
Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)
MPLS is a network optimization routing technology. This shortcut redirects data from one node to another, avoiding time-consuming table searches by using long network addresses instead of tags.
ATM
ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) is a common transformation technology in early data networks and is often replaced by IP-based technology. ATM uses synchronous multiplexing to encrypt data in small static cells. On the other hand, today’s IP-based Ethernet technology uses variable packet sizes for data.
Frame Relay
Frame relay network forwarding is a method of data transmission between endpoints on a LAN or WAN. Determine the physical and data link layers of digital telecommunication channels using the packet conversion method. Each frame contains all the information needed to reach the destination.
Frame forwarding was originally intended to provide information about the ISDN infrastructure through telecommunications carriers but is now used in many other network contexts.
TCP/IP protocol suite
TCP/IP is a set of basic communication protocols used on the Internet today – for connecting network devices to another computer/device network. TCP/IP is Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol.
Router
A router is a networking device that is used to connect a local area network to a wide area network (WAN) commonly called a wide area network device. IP routers use IP addresses to determine where to forward packets. An IP address is a digital label assigned to each connected network device.
Conclusion:-
I hope you have liked this blog Wide Area Network, If any question is related to the network then definitely ask.