Types of Networks

There are five types of Networks:

• Local Area Network(LAN)
• Wide Area Network(WAN)
• Metropolitan Area Networks(MAN)
• Wireless Network
• Internetwork

1. Local Area Network
    A local area network (LAN) is usually privately owned and links the devices in a single office, building, or campus. Depending on the needs of an organization and the type of technology used, a LAN can be as simple as two PCs and a printer in someone’s home office; or it can extend throughout a company and include audio and video peripherals. Currently, LAN size is limited to a few kilometers. 
2. Wide Area Network 
   A wide area network (WAN) provides long-distance transmission of data, image, audio, and video information over large geographic areas that may comprise a country, a continent, or even the whole world. A WAN can be as complex as the backbones that connect the Internet or as simple as a dial-up line that connects a home computer to the Internet. We normally refer to the first as a switched WAN and to the second as a point-to-point WAN. The switched WAN connects the end systems, which usually comprise a router ( internet working connecting device) that connects to another LAN or WAN. The point-to-point WAN is normally a line leased from a telephone or cable TV provider that connects a home computer or a small LAN to an Internet service provider (lSP). This type of WAN is often used to provide Internet access. 

3. Metropolitan Area Networks A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a network with a size between a LAN and a WAN. It normally covers the area inside a town or a city. It is designed for customers who need high-speed connectivity, normally to the Internet, and have endpoints spread over a city or part of the city. A good example of a MAN is the part of the telephone company network that can provide a high-speed DSL line to the customer. Another example is the cable TV network that originally was designed for cable TV, but today can also be used for high-speed data connection to the Internet.

4. Wireless Networks
    The fastest-growing segment of the computer industry is mobile computers such as notebook computers and personal digital assistants (PDA). The wireless networks are becoming increasingly important because the wired connection is not possible in cars or airplanes. Wireless networks can exist on trucks, buses, taxies, etc. They are used where the telephone systems are destroyed in the event of disasters such as fires, floods, and earthquakes, etc. wireless LAN is another example of wireless networks.  

5. Inter-Networks
   Today, it is very rare to see a LAN, a MAN, or a LAN in isolation; they are connected to one another. When two or more networks are connected, they become an internetwork or internet.