Networking Essentials - Local Area Network (LAN)
A local area network,
or LAN is the most common type of network.
A LAN connects a group of
devices that are physically close to each other.
The keyword in LAN is local.
For example, all devices in a home or
school or a corporate office are connected to a LAN.
LANs are like your local neighborhood streets,
but instead of connecting houses they connect devices.
Lans can work alone,
disconnected from other networks,
or they can connect to
other networks or even the Internet.
A LAN can connect one or two devices,
or many thousands larger LANs,
require special networking hardware that ensure that
the network is powerful
enough to support all of its devices.
Sometimes LANs get so big they need
to be broken up into multiple LANs,
or virtual LANs called VLANs.
Some devices such as
printers are permanently associated with a LAN while
devices like phones and laptops can
leave or join LANs any time the user wishes.
Homes usually have one network or LAN and are connected
to the Internet through
an Internet service provider or ISP.
LANs use routers to connect network devices
to their ISP and ultimately to the Internet.
Many LANs now have wireless capabilities so that
Wi-Fi connections can be
used instead of wired connections.