COMPUTER EDUCATION 10: What are the types of Computer Network?

What are the types of Computer Network?

One way to categorize the different types of computer network designs is by their scope or scale. For historical reasons, the networking industry refers to nearly every type of design as some kind of area network.

Common types of area networks are:

Personal Area Network (PAN)

⇒ A personal area network (PAN) is a computer network for interconnecting devices centered on an individual person's workspace. A PAN provides data transmission amongst devices such as computers, smartphones, tablets and personal digital assistants.

⇒ PANs can be used for communication amongst the personal devices themselves, or for connecting to a higher level network and the Internet (an uplink) where one master device takes up the role as gateway.

⇒ A PAN may be carried over wired computer buses such as USB.

2. Local Area Network (LAN)

A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that interconnects computers within a limited area such as a residence, school, laboratory, university campus or office building.
By contrast, a wide area network (WAN) not only covers a larger geographic distance, but also generally involves leased telecommunication circuits.

3. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

→ A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a computer network that interconnects users with computer resources in a geographic area or region larger than that covered by even a large local area network (LAN) but smaller than the area covered by a wide area network (WAN).

→ The term MAN is applied to the interconnection of networks in a city into a single larger network which may then also offer efficient connection to a wide area network.It is also used to mean the interconnection of several local area networks in a metropolitan area through the use of point-to-point connections between them.

4. Wide Area Network (WAN)

A wide area network (WAN) is a telecommunications network or computer network that extends over a large geographical distance/place. Wide area networks are often established with leased telecommunication circuits.