Kinds of computer networks

3.  Is the smallest network which is very personal to a user. This may include Bluetooth
enabled devices or infra-red enabled devices. It has connectivity range up to 10 meters.
 PANs can also connect laptops, tablets, printers, keyboards, and other computerized
devices.
 PANs can be used for communication among the personal devices themselves, or for
connecting to a higher level network and the Internet where one master device takes up
the role as gateway.
 Initial PAN architecture was designed by Thomas Zimmerman of the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab, but after that IBM’s Almaden Research Lab
developed PAN concept.

4. Wired connection methods include USB and FireWire.
Wireless connection methods include
Bluetooth (the most common), WiFi, IrDA, and
Zigbee.

6.  A small home built office.
 Connection of several types of network devices to a personal computer such as mouse, keyboard, printers,
speakers, etc.
 Connection of multiple devices to your Smartphone device such as smartwatches, headphones, speakers,
etc.
Advantages
 It is easy to install.
 Maintenance cost remains around zero (0).
 The quality is good.
 It is flexible and portable.
 Easily managed.
 This network is considered to be secure.
 There is no loss of data or personal information.
Disadvantages
 The coverage area/range is less.
 Data transmission is slow
 If WPAN (Wireless Personal Area
Network) is used then its devices are
relatively expensive.

7.  A computer network spanned inside a building and operated under single administrative system is generally
termed as Local Area Network (LAN).
 LAN provides a useful way of sharing the resources between end users. The resources such as printers, file
servers, scanners, and internet are easily sharable among computers. LAN covers an organization offices,
schools, colleges or universities.
 LANs are composed of inexpensive networking and routing equipment along with device that can connect
and communicate through Ethernet. It mostly operates on private IP addresses and does not involve heavy
routing.
 A LAN connection is a high-speed connection to a LAN. Most connections are either Ethernet (10 Mbps) or
Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps), and Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps) connections. LAN can be wired, wireless, or in
both forms at once.
 In the 1960s and 1970s, networks were ad hoc hodgepodges of technologies with little rhyme and less
reason. But then Robert "Bob" Metcalfe was asked to create a local-area network (LAN) for Xerox's Palo Alto
Research Center (PARC). His creation, Ethernet, changed everything.

9.  Home Network
 Office Network
 Public Network
 Offline Network
Advantages
 Resource Sharing
 Software Sharing
 Convenient Communication
 Centralized Data
 Improved Security
 Internet Sharing
 Computer Identification
Disadvantages
 Implementation Cost
 Policy Violations
 Security
 Maintenance
 Area Coverage
 Server Crashes
 Malware Spreading

10.  A MAN is larger than a local area network (LAN) but smaller than a wide area network (WAN). MANs do not
have to be in urban areas; the term "metropolitan" implies the size of the network, not the demographics
of the area that it serves.
 The Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) generally expands throughout a city such as cable TV network. It
can be in the form of Ethernet, Token-ring, ATM, or Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI).
 Backbone of MAN is high-capacity and high-speed fiber optics. MAN works in between Local Area Network
and Wide Area Network. MAN provides uplink for LANs to WANs or internet. For example, MAN can help an
organization to connect all of its offices in a city.
 MANs typically combine the networks of multiple organizations, instead of being managed by a single
organization.
 This MAN provides coverage of between 10 to 50 km using a wide network, making it ideal for building a
connection between offices in a single city, factories/agencies, and the corporate headquarters within its
ability to reach.

12.  A network between branches
 A network of a local ISP
 A network on a university campus
 A municipal government network
Advantages
 High Speed
 Internet sharing
 High Security
 Less expensive
 Sending Local Emails
 Conversion of LAN to MAN is Easy
Disadvantages
 Internet Speed Difference
 Difficult To Manage
 High risk of hacking
 Technical Staff Requires to Set up
 Need More wires

13.  The Wide Area Network (WAN) covers a wide area which may span across provinces and even a whole
country. Generally, telecommunication networks are Wide Area Network. These networks provide
connectivity to MANs and LANs. Since they are equipped with very high speed backbone, WANs use very
expensive network equipment.
 WAN may use advanced technologies such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Frame Relay, and
Synchronous Optical Network (SONET). WAN may be managed by multiple administration.
 A wide-area network (WAN) is a collection of local-area networks (LANs) or other networks that
communicate with one another. A WAN is essentially a network of networks, with the Internet the world's
largest WAN.
 The first known WAN was created by the U.S. Air Force in the late 1950s to interconnect sites in the Semi-
Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) radar defense system. An enormous network of dedicated phone
lines, telephones, and modems linked the sites together.
 The foundation of the IP-based Internet started with the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network
(ARPANET), the first wide-area packet-switching network with distributed control and the first network to
implement TCP/IP protocol suite.

15.  The Internet
 National banking network
 Transnational business networks
 Military satellite networks
 Pay TV networks
Advantages
 Area Coverage
 Centralized Data
 Updated Files
 Message Exchange
 Increased Bandwidth
 Assured Uptime
Disadvantages
 Security
 Need of Security Solutions
 Installation Costs
 Disconnection Problems
 Troubleshooting Issues
 Maintenance Issues

16.  A network of networks is called an internetwork, or simply the internet. It is the largest network in
existence on this planet. The internet hugely connects all WANs and it can have connection to LANs and
Home networks.
 Internet uses TCP/IP protocol suite and uses IP as its addressing protocol. Present day, Internet is widely
implemented using IPv4. Because of shortage of address spaces, it is gradually migrating from IPv4 to IPv6.
 Internet enables its users to share and access enormous amount of information worldwide. It uses WWW,
FTP, email services, audio, and video streaming etc. At huge level, internet works on Client-Server model.
 Internet uses very high speed backbone of fiber optics. To inter-connect various continents, fibers are laid
under sea known to us as submarine communication cable.
 Internetworking uses the internet protocol. The reference model used for internetworking is Open System
Interconnection(OSI).

17. Extranet
 An extranet is a communication network based on the internet protocol such as Transmission Control
protocol and internet protocol.
 It is used for information sharing. The access to the extranet is restricted to only those users who have login
credentials.
 An extranet is the lowest level of internetworking. It can be categorized as MAN, WAN or other computer
networks.
 An extranet cannot have a single LAN, at least it must have one connection to the external network.
Intranet
 An intranet is a private network based on the internet protocol such as Transmission Control protocol and
internet protocol. An intranet belongs to an organization which is only accessible by the organization's
employee or members.
 The main aim of the intranet is to share the information and resources among the organization employees.
An intranet provides the facility to work in groups and for teleconferences.

18. Advantages
 Communication
 Access To Resources and Instant
Information
 E-commerce, Digital Banking & Payments
 Entertainment & Lifestyle
 Online Education & Distant Learning
 Video Conferencing & Screen Sharing
 Online Services, booking & Schedule and
Job Application
Disadvantages
 Money Frauds
 Cyber Crime
 Fake News and Spread of illegal And
Unethical material
 Virus & Hacking Attacks
 Not a safe place for Children
 Addiction & Causes Distractions

20.  Ethernet is a communication standard that was developed in the early ’80s to network computers and other
devices in a local environment such as a home or a building.
 This local environment is defined as a LAN (Local Area Network) and it connects multiple devices so that
they can create, store and share information with others in the location. This technology was invented by
Bob Metcalfe and D.R. Boggs in the year 1970. It was standardized in IEEE 802.3 in 1980.
 Ethernet connector is network interface card equipped with 48-bits MAC address. This helps other Ethernet
devices to identify and communicate with remote devices in Ethernet
 Ethernet is a wired system that started with using coaxial cable and has successfully progressed to now
using twisted pair copper wiring and fiber optic wiring..
 Traditional Ethernet uses 10BASE-T specifications. Ethernet provides transmission speed up to 10MBps
Ethernet follows Star topology with segment length up to 100 meters. All devices are connected to a
hub/switch in a star fashion.

21.  To encompass need of fast emerging software and hardware technologies, Ethernet extends itself as Fast-
Ethernet. It can run on Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP), Optical Fiber, and wirelessly too. It can provide speed
up to 100MBPS. This standard is named as 100BASE-T in IEEE 803.2 using Cat-5 twisted pair cable. It uses
CSMA/CD technique for wired media sharing among the Ethernet hosts and CSMA/CA (CA stands for
Collision Avoidance) technique for wireless Ethernet LAN.
 Fast Ethernet on fiber is defined under 100BASE-FX standard which provides speed up to 100MBPS on fiber.
Ethernet over fiber can be extended up to 100 meters in half-duplex mode and can reach maximum of 2000
meters in full-duplex over multimode fibers.

22.  After being introduced in 1995, Fast-Ethernet retained its high speed status only for three years till Giga-
Ethernet introduced. Giga-Ethernet provides speed up to 1000 MBps. IEEE802.3ab standardizes Giga-
Ethernet over UTP using Cat-5, Cat-5e and Cat-6 cables. IEEE802.3ah defines Giga-Ethernet over Fiber.
 The maximum length of this system can be up to 70km, therefore most universities and companies use it.
Advantages
 Faster
 Less Latency
 Better Bandwidth
Disadvantages
 All Components Need to Be Compatible
 It's More Expensive

23.  Coaxial cable (which is not very common except in older
installations)
 Twisted pair
 Alexander Graham Bell invented twisted pair wiring in 1881
 Category 5 and 5e cables are both still used in many
existing applications but handle the lower speeds
between 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps but are more susceptible
to noise.
 Category 6 with speeds up to 1 Gbps.
 CAT6a and CAT 7 with speeds up to 10 Gbps.

24.  Fiber optic
 Fiber optic cable uses glass or plastic optical fiber as a conduit for light pulses to transmit data. It has
allowed Ethernet to travel farther distances at higher speeds.
 Fiber optic cables use several different types of connectors that vary depending on your application
needs. Some of the different types are SFP (Small Form Pluggable or Small Factor Pluggable) and SC
(Subscriber Connector, also known as Square Connector or Standard Connector).
 To use fiber optic in an Ethernet network that utilizes twisted pair Ethernet cabling, “Ethernet to Fiber
Converter” is needed to allow the network to take advantage of the higher speeds of fiber optic and
lengthen the distance that the Ethernet network can reach.

25.  Virtual LAN is a solution to divide a single Broadcast domain into multiple Broadcast domains. Host in one
VLAN cannot speak to a host in another. By default, all hosts are placed into the same VLAN.
 Is a custom network which is created from one or more local area networks. It enables a group of devices
available in multiple networks to be combined into one logical network. The result becomes a virtual LAN
that is administered like a physical LAN. The full form of VLAN is defined as Virtual Local Area Network.