lan and wan

A LAN, abbreviated from Local Area Network, is a network that covers a small geographical area such as homes, offices, and groups of buildings.

Whereas a WAN, abbreviated from Wide Area Network, is a network that covers larger geographical areas that can span the globe. An example of a widely used WAN is the Internet, which is a collection of tens of thousands of networks that connects tens of billions of devices.

local area Networks predominantly use Ethernet technology, which is a group of networking technologies that dictate how data is transmitted over the physical media, with the most common media being CAT# cabling. Local Area Networks can use both Layer 1 and Layer 2 devices; Layer 1 devices include HUB’s and repeaters and the Layer 2 devices that can be used are switches and bridge devices. While LANs use Layer 1 and Layer 2 devices, WANs operate using Layer 3 devices such as multi-layer switches and routers.   Read more..