Difference Between LAN, MAN, WAN Computer Networks, Definitions

July 7, 2021February 21, 2022 CS Electrical And Electronics

Hello guys, welcome back to my blog. In this article, I will discuss the difference between LAN, MAN, WAN computer networks, definitions, what is LAN, what is MAN, what is WAN, etc.

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Difference Between LAN, MAN, WAN

The category of a network is determined by its size, its ownership, the distance it covers, and its physical architecture. There are three categories of computer networks. They are

01. Local Area Network (LAN)

02. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

03. Wide Area Network (WAN)

Local Area Network (LAN)

A local area network is generally a privately owned network within a single office, building, or campus, spanning a distance of a few kilometers. LANs are designed to share both hardware and software resources. LANs have data rates of the order of several Gigabits per second (Gbps). LAN uses star, ring, or bus topology.

Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

A metropolitan area network is designed to cover an entire city. Communication is over moderately inexpensive media. MANs are usually owned by cable television companies. MANs permit users to have access to hardware and software resources.

Wide Area Network (WAN)

A Wide Area Network (WAN) is huge compared to a LAN or a MAN. A WAN spans across cities, states, countries, or even continents. For instance, a WAN could be made up of a LAN in India, another LAN in the US, and a third LAN in japan, all connected to form a big network of networks. The technical specifications of a WAN differ from that of a LAN, although in principle, a WAN looks like a very big LAN.

Difference Between LAN, MAN, WAN

	LAN	MAN	WAN
Acronym	Local Area Network	Metropolitan Area Network	Wide Area Network
Physical Area	LANs span a physically limited area, generally less than two to three kilometers.	MANs span the area of a township.	WANs span entire countries. They operate over the international telephone network, where distances are great.
Data rate	LANs provide high data rate communication (usually several Gbps).	MANs provide high data rate communication.	The data rate is generally less (usually below 1 Mbps).
Media	Communication is over inexpensive media such as coaxial cable or twisted pair.	Communication is over moderately inexpensive media (generally an installed CATV system using coaxial cable).	Communication is over telephone lines, microwave links, or satellites.
Ownership	LANs are usually owned by the user.	MANs are usually owned by cable television companies.	WANs are usually owned by licensed or government agencies.
Reliability	LANs are more reliable.	Reliability is between that of LAN and WAN.	WANs are less reliable.
Resource sharing	LANs permit users to have access to many common hardware and software resources.	MANs permit users to have access to hardware and software resources.	WANs permit users to have access to software resources only.
Subnet	In the case of a LAN, the cable and the hosts form the network. There is no subnet.	In the case of a MAN, the cable and the hosts form the network. There is no subnet.	In the context of WAN, subnet refers to the collection of routers and transmission lines owned by the network operator. The hosts are not part of the subnet.
Type of network	LANs are broadcast networks because all the hosts share a single transmission medium.	MANs are broadcast networks.	WANs are point-to-point networks because all the hosts do not share a single transmission medium.
Medium access	An arbitration mechanism is needed to resolve conflicts when two or more machines want to transmit.	An arbitration mechanism is needed.	An arbitration mechanism is not needed. Instead, the switching function is used for interconnecting computers compared to LANs.

This was about the difference between LAN, MAN, WAN computer networks. I hope this article “Difference Between LAN, MAN, WAN” may help you all a lot. Thank you for reading.

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