A network consists of two or more computers that are linked in order to share resources (such as printers and CDs), exchange files, or allow electronic communications. The computers on a network may be linked through cables, telephone lines, radio waves, satellites, or infrared light beams. ... Local Area Network (LAN)
LAN(Local Area Network)
A local area network (LAN) is a group of computers and peripheral devices that share a common communications line or wireless link to a server within a distinct geographic area. A local area network may serve as few as two or three users in a home office or thousands of users in a corporation's central office.
PAN(Personal Area Network)
A personal area network, or PAN, is a computer network that enables the communication between computer devices near a person. PANs can be wired, such as USB or FireWire, or they can be wireless, such as infrared, ZigBee, Bluetooth and ultrawideband, or UWB. The range of a PAN typically is a few meters.
MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)
A Metropolitan Area Network is a class of networks that serves a large geographical area between 5 to 50 kilometers in range. ... A WAN connects LANs and MAns, with an example of a WAN being the Internet.
WAN(Wide Area Network)
The best example of a Wide Area Network is the Internet itself. Other smaller examples of WANs are : A network of bank cash dispensers; A Company network with several branch offices geographically distant.
