There are three main types of private networks: local area networks (LANs) which connect computers within a single organization up to 100-1000 users with data transfer speeds up to 10 Mbps; metropolitan area networks (MANs) which connect multiple LANs within a large geographical area like a city using higher speed links; and wide area networks (WANs) which are the largest networks connecting LANs and MANs across large distances like countries or continents with the largest being the Internet.

1. Types of Networks
Different types of (private) networks are
distinguished based on their size (in terms of the
number of machines), their data transfer speed, and
their reach. Private networks are networks that
belong to a single organization. There are usually
said to be three categories of networks:
 LAN (local area network)
 MAN (metropolitan area network)
 WAN (wide area network)

2. LAN
 It's a group of computers
which all belong to the same
organization.
 Data transfer speeds is up to
10 Mbps.
 A local area network can
reach as many as 100, or
even 1000, users.
LAN provides two different
operating modes
1. Peer-to-peer network
2. Client/server network

3. MAN
 Is collection of LANs with the same
geographical area, for instance a city.
 Is a network of computers located at
different sites within a large physical area,
such as a city.
 MAN often acts as a high speed
network(although not as fast as LAN) to
allow sharing of regional resources.
 MAN can defined as a group of computers
and network devices connected together
within a large physical area.
 A MAN is made from switches or routers
connected to one another with high-speed
links

4. WAN
 Is the largest network of all network types.
 The internet is the largest WAN in the world.
 WAN generally covers large distances such as states, countries or
continents.
 WAN is group of MANs or LANs or the mixture of both network.
 An example in the society using WAN is the banking organization.

5. Differentiate between the three
types of computer networks