LAN, MAN, and WAN

It is impossible to imagine our lives without networks whether it be a social network, biological networks inside our bodies, or a computer network. The latter, through which we are connected right now too, is a key part of developing and nourishing social relationships in families, communities, and friends.  Social relationships are developed with personal connections or through social media which is also a part of computer networks. The computer networks however function with a dependence upon the internet speed. 

The three networks LAN, MAN, and WAN help to provide internet services for the users of the network. 

These networks are spread over an area and are designed in such a manner to provide connectivity in that area. But these three are not all the same and so it’s important to discuss the difference between LAN, MAN, and WAN.

Difference between LAN, MAN, and WAN

One of the most considerable differences in LAN, MAN, and WAN lies in the geographical area covered by them. Local Area Network or LAN operates over the smallest chunk of the area, a larger area is covered by Metropolitan Area Network or MAN in comparison to LAN, and Wide Area Network or WAN covers the largest area of all as its name suggests.

If we dive deeper, Local Area Networks have to depend upon the communication devices for transmission and the hardware. But in the case of MAN and WAN, this is not what happens unlike LAN because these two networks have to use communication hardware leased by public and private as they have to operate over a massively broad area.

What is LAN?

LAN is the abbreviation used for Local Area Network. LAN networks operate over a relatively smaller geographical area for example, in colleges, workplaces, or homes. This network is used by people for the transmission of resources or data like files and printers. The rate of data transfer is quite high in the Local Area Network and the congestion is less because it operates over a not-so-broad area.

The arrangement is utilized for connecting network devices or computer systems, say network topologies and star, bus, and ring. All of the network devices are connected to a singular transmission line in bus network topology. As the name suggests, the ring network topology connects the network devices in a circular arrangement. At the same time, the computers systems or network devices in the star topology are connected to a central node.

There are several benefits for the people given by the Local Area Network. The sharing of network-associated services, information sources, databases, and resources is facilitated by the use of LAN. The various organs in a department need communication for daily functioning smoothly and even the individuals utilize LAN for better communication. But as it is, the maintenance and set up of the Local Area Network requires skilled staff in the organization. It needs good handling as if any fault occurs in the server, the devices that are connected to the network could be affected by it.

What is MAN?

Metropolitan Area Network which is abbreviated as MAN operates a larger area as compared to the Local Area Network but a relatively smaller area in comparison to the Wide Area Network. Two or more computer systems which are in the different or same cities (depending upon the area covered) are connected through MAN. A larger area is covered by MAN and it is used to function as the Internet Service Provider of a place. Structuring and maintaining MAN in a location requires expertise. 

A common example of Metropolitan Area Network is the telephony network which provides a digital subscriber line to its customers at a high speed. Numerous links or networks have an interconnection between them in a metropolitan area and this is the chief characteristic of MAN.

 A Metropolitan Area Network functions on point-to-point connectivity.  A range of 5-50 kilometers is covered by the connection size of this network.  MAN involves sharing of the local resources. An important point to consider about MAN here is that the ownership of this network is by a network provider or a group. This is the reason why the costs are not much higher in the metropolitan area network and also a quite high internet speed is delivered through the network. 

What is WAN?

Wide Area Network is abbreviated as WAN and a broad geographical area is operated upon using WAN, for example, a state or even a country. So, the usual network range covered by WAN stands over 100 kilometers. When small networks comprising the local area networks and the metropolitan area networks are interconnected, it is called WAN. 

Transmission of data in the form of images, videos, messages, and voice messages over long distances is facilitated by WAN. The business corporations operating in different continents leverage the improved communication by WAN.

Wide Area Network is not necessarily owned by only private entities. Satellite Link or PSTN is the medium of communication that is utilized for the running of WAN. The long-distance over which the data is transmitted is the factor behind the wide-area network-facing unwanted noise or errors. The risk of security threat is also a possibility in the wide-area network due to its broad network. Viruses and malicious software can impact the working of WAN hence it is important to make sure that checks are in place to stop strangers from outside accessing the network. Only skilled staff with the requisite technical knowledge can set up and maintain the network as it is a complex process.

Conclusion

All of the three networks LAN, MAN, and WAN have a few common points and differences among them. The major difference between them is the geographical areas covered by them. While the WAN can operate over nearly a hundred thousand km, MAN operates over a relatively smaller area than WAN but more than LAN.