Networks play an extremely important role in today's business, school, and home communications needs. Designed for communication, networks allow data transfer .
between two or more computers over long distances. Installing a network in a home, .
school or business would be a vital move because it will allow a user to transfer .
information via the network instead of being physically transferred. In turn allocating .
more useful time for other important factors in the days assigned task. Knowing which .
network to install is essentially the most important factor when making the transition to a .
communication based network. Several different types of networks exist in technology .
today but the three major types of networks are LANS, MANS, and WANS.
LANS (Local Area Network) would be considered the smallest of the three and its .
primary use would be for home, school, and businesses. LANS, being the basic building .
block of any computer network, can range from two computers being connected by a .
cable to the complexity of hundreds of connected computers and peripherals throughout a .
major corporation. Local Area Networks provides organizations with abilities essential .
for today's business needs. For example, a LAN gives access to important data bases that .
host email, printer, mass storage servers and other important aspects needed in today's .
growing industry. The distinguishing feature of a LAN would be its confinement to a .
limited geographic area and its size. Primarily used in single buildings due to limited size .
and structure, Local Area Networks would not be your answer for all networking needs .
due to deprivation of signal over long distances.
MANS (Metropolitan Area Network) would be consider the second largest .
network used. Metropolitan Area Networks would be considered the basic backbone of .
local area networks. Defined as a data network intended to serve an area the size of a .
large city, Metropolitan Area Networks are used to connect an unlimited amount of .
