What is the definition of local area network?

Answer 1

A Local Area Network (LAN) is any two or more computers connected together for the purpose of sharing resources.

In order to have networking work there are four requirements:

1. Phycical Connection between the two machines. (cables, fiber, wireless, etc.)

2. A Protocol (language) that both machines understand, usually TCP/IP.

3. A server process running on the machine that has the resource to be shared, like a printer or some files. Server processes can be running on all machines.

4. The proper client process running on the machine that wants to use the resource. Client processes can run on all machines.

Networking is divided into two worlds: Public and Private.

The Public network is the internet and best known as WWW.xx.com. These www.xx.com names are DOMAIN Names registered with an official registrar and assigned Public IP Addresses.

The Private world is any network ip address which is not public and they are assigned IP addresses like

• 192.168.x.x
• 172.16.x.x
• 10.x.x.x

We create a LAN (Local Area Network) when our router assigns any of the above addresses to the systems which are connected to it.

The Private (LAN) addresses are not accessible to the Public systems and provide a measure of security to all attached systems.

--A computer network that spans a relatively small area. Most LANs( Local Area Network) are confined to a single building or group of buildings. However, one LAN( Local Area Network) can be connected to other LANs over any distance via telephone lines and radio waves. A system of LANs connected in this way is called a wide-area network (WAN).

Most LANs connect workstations and personal computers. Each node (individual computer ) in a LAN has its own CPU with which it executes programs, but it also is able to access data and devices anywhere on the LAN. This means that many users can share expensive devices, such as laser printers, as well as data. Users can also use the LAN to communicate with each other, by sending e-mail or engaging in chat sessions.

There are many different types of LANs Ethernets being the most common for PCs. Most Apple Macintosh networks are based on Apple's AppleTalk network system, which is built into Macintosh computers.

The following characteristics differentiate one LAN from another:

# topology : The geometric arrangement of devices on the network. For example, devices can be arranged in a ring or in a straight line.

# protocols : The rules and encoding specifications for sending data. The protocols also determine whether the network uses a peer-to-peer or client/server architecture.

# media : Devices can be connected by twisted-pair wire, coaxial cables, or fiber optic cables. Some networks do without connecting media altogether, communicating instead via radio waves.

LANs are capable of transmitting data at very fast rates, much faster than data can be transmitted over a telephone line; but the distances are limited, and there is also a limit on the number of computers that can be attached to a single LAN.

:

The Local Area Network (LAN) is by far the most common type of data network. As the name suggests, a LAN serves a local area (typically the area of a floor of a building, but in some cases spanning a distance of several kilometers). Typical installations are in industrial plants, office buildings, college or university campuses, or similar locations. In these locations, it is feasible for the owning Organisation to install high quality, high-speed communication links interconnecting nodes. Typical data transmission speeds are one to 100 megabits per second.

Answer 2

A local area network (LAN) is a computer network covering a small physical area, like a home , office, or small group of buildings, such as a school, or an airport .The range of LAN network can be from few meters to 100 meters. Another network which is similar to LAN is PAN (personal area network) with range up to 20 meters.

For Further Detail visit :- http://www.mdofpc.com/onlinestore/.

Answer 3

supplies networking capability to a group of computers in close proximity to each other such as in an office building, a school, or a home.