CGTC FAQs: Academic Support

There are tons of networks in IT so lets share a few of the basic networks. The networks are WAN, LAN , and MAN. Let's breakdown these networks to tell the difference between the three. WAN which stands for Wide-Area-Network is a network of linking local area networks(LAN) across a vast area ranging from cities to countries. The purpose for WAN is connect data centers, users, and enabling global communication and resource sharing. Now we have LAN which stands for Local-Area-Network. This network specializes with connecting devices within a limited space. Unlike WAN this network can only be accessed in a much smaller range. Examples can be a home Wi-Fi, personal hotspot and school campus internet. The components for LAN consists of router, switches, cables(Ethernet), access point, computers, printers, and phones. The general purpose for LAN is to share resources like files, printers, and internet. In addition, LAN can help with data exchange and user communication. Lastly we have MAN(Metropolitan Area Network) this network is used to connect users across a city or much larger areas. It is like LAN but much bigger in a sense. MAN helps with interconnections between LAN's for resource sharing, share data, and provide high speed connectivity. Examples of MAN would be a university connecting between multiple campuses, a city-wide free Wi-Fi network. An advantage of MAN is that there is cost in savings, high speed and bandwidth and resource sharing. On the other hand the downsides for this network are security risks, cost and complexity, and technical expertise.