Frequently Asked Questions - The Internet FAQ Site

Using a local area network (LAN) at the wire-speeds of Gigabit or even multi-Gigabit with trivial latencies is much faster that riding on a wide area network (WAN), which at best (OC-3 @ 155.52 Mbps and really expensive) is still below LAN capabilities.

However, you could still deploy a well-designed Point-to-Point T1, Bonded-T1 or T3 WAN connection -- which is more affordable -- and possibly use hardware-assisted NICs to offload the TCP and iSCSI traffic while still delivering an acceptable performance. If your T lines are Point-to-Pop instead, you may experience performance issues due to the nature of the connection.

IP storage applications that use WANs are generally for mirroring, replication, snapshot or DFS requirements that are part of an organization's DR planning. In the past three years, purpose-built appliances that accelerate and optimize WAN connections have provided a vast, high-speed cache along with intelligent algorithm to shrink the packets and improve the performance.

A LAN (local area network) is a group of computers and network devices connected together, usually within the same building

A WAN (wide area network), is not restricted to a geographical location, although it might be confined within the bounds of a state or country. A WAN connects several LANs, and may be limited to an enterprise (a corporation or an organization) or accessible to the public. The technology is high speed and relatively expensive. The Internet is an example of a worldwide public WAN.

A LAN is a group of computers and network devices connected together, usually within the same building, or behind a router/switch.
A WAN is not bound to a single location. A WAN connects multiple LANs and may or may not be limited to a specific corporations. Restrictions may be set on both WANs and LANs regarding security from the public.

A great example of a WAN is the internet. Connecting MANY LANs,countries,and companies.

The main difference is their range. According to some definitions, the LAN has a range under 1 km, while WAN has a range of more than 100 km.

a WAN is simply involves more distance than a LAN - A LAN is typically in a
building, and a WAN typically spans multiple cities/countries.

LAN is for a small group of computers or network devices with restriction. WAN is for a larger group of computers or network devices without any restriction.

LAN is a type of network which connects the computers within a building or within an area of 1 km. WAN is another type of network which connects the systems in wide area like within state or country. It is not restricted to a particular area. It can even connect several LANs within its network.

Both are computer networks but the distance that a WAN(Wide Area Network) covers is always much greater than the distance a LAN(Local Area Network) can cover. One can say that a LAN is a smaller component of a WAN. The largest and best known WAN is the Internet while an example of a LAN could be your college network or the network within your office.

A WAN( Wide area network)in teh simple term is when a big company like GM want every one on the same network they have a network the goes over the internet and then connect to the other companies , and a LAN( LOCal area network is just one company and all the computer are connect in one building

Lan is the invidual network that are used in the campuses .The wan is the total interconnection of lan.

There are two basic types of network, the LAN and WAN. LAN stands for Local Area Network and WAN stands for Wide Area Network. There are obvious differences between the two network types.
To begin with Local Area Networks. They are smaller networks, usually within an office base. Connections between the workstations are physical, with cables, and all the office resources are shared and distributed between the network workstations. The most common type of LAN is that of Ethernet. This is a family of frame-based computer networking technologies for LANs.
WAN, or Wide Area Networks, are broader geographic networks, like one city to another. They are more of a collection of interconnected LAN networks. Other WANs, provided by service providers, connect local networks to the Internet. In actual fact the Internet is more a specific Internetwork, not a straight WAN

While LANs are smaller, collectively they can be linked to create the WAN. This really is done using a series of routers, and bridges, which are basically network hardware devices which enable interconnectivity between separate LANs. With the option of expanding into small-scale WANs.
The real contrasting features of LANs in comparison to WANs is that of their data transfer rate, need for leased lines, and geographical range. LANs are faster, with 10Gbit data transfer rates. Likewise, as has been mentioned, LANs encompass a smaller geographical area. WANs also rely on common carriers, while LANs do not.
Aside from these differences users of a LAN will more likely need password validation as it will have specific user rights. While smaller WANs might also have this, it is less likely. LAN networks will generally be more private than WAN networks, and will have some sort of networking software and probably a network administrator. Hardware resources are shared on a LAN, while with a WAN the focus is more on communications.
The Network topology of LANs is often peer-to-peer. That is to say, each client shares is resources with other workstations in the network. WAN networks will operate on a more client-to-server basis with interconnected LANs. Really, all this means is that the resources are requested from a central server.
And one other big difference? Well, the cost to set up a LAN in relation to a WAN. A single LAN network will be cheaper to set up than that of a larger WAN, with more workstations and more hardware connection requirements with the need for a leased line. In essence, one big LAN in comparison to a small WAN will be the cheaper option.
So, the differences between LANs and WANs are indeed greater than just that of size. There are differences in network topology, hardware requirements, software requirements as well as technical specifications and cost.

LAN and WAN were the original categories of area networks.LAN - Local Area Network
WLAN - Wireless Local Area Network

a WAN is simply involves more distance than a LAN - A LAN is typically in a
building, and a WAN typically spans multiple cities/countries.

LAN - A local area network (LAN) is a computer network covering a local area, like a home, office, or group of buildings in close proximity to each other. Current LANs are most likely to be based on switched IEEE 802.3 Ethernet, or on Wi-Fi technology running at 10, 100 or 1,000 Mbit.

In general a local area network is made up of devices in local proximity to each other and has finite distance limitations. The LAN can be either wired or wireless but is only at a single location.

WAN - A wide area network or WAN is a computer network covering a broad geographical area. Contrast with personal area networks (PANs), metropolitan area networks (MANs) or local area networks (LANs) that are usually limited to a room, building or campus. The largest and most well-known example of a WAN is the Internet.

WAN is simply involves more distance than a LAN.LAN is for a small group of computers or network devices with restriction. WAN is for a larger group of computers or network devices without any restriction.

A LAN (local area network) is a group of computers and network devices connected together, usually within the same building
A WAN (wide area network), is not restricted to a geographical location, although it might be confined within the bounds of a state or country.

LAN is for a tiny group of computers or network devices with restriction. WAN is for a larger group of computers or network devices without any restriction.

LAN is for a small group of computers or network devices with restriction. WAN is for a bigger group of computers or network devices without any restriction.

The main difference is their range. According to some definitions, the LAN got a range under 1 km, while WAN has a range of more than 100 km.

Local Area Network (LAN)- Networks which serves a small geographical area, normally in a building, in adjacent buildings across a street are called LAN. These are suitable for linking computers, work stations and peripheral devices in a building or group of buildings for a small organization.
Most local area networks aim at office automation. Typical speeds at which data can be transmitted from 1 to 20 Mega bytes per second.

A Wide Area Network (WAN) refers to two or more geographically dispersed computers linked by telephone system, microwave or satellite communications. Compared to LAN a WAN usually involves the services of a public telecommunications authority. WAN is usually used by large organizations and government agencies because of the high costs involved in building and maintaining them.

The main difference is their range. According to some definitions, the LAN has a range below 1 km, while WAN has a range of more than 100 km.

The main difference is their range. According to some of definitions, the LAN has a range under 1 km, while WAN has a range of more than 100 km.

LAN is for a tiny group of computers or network devices with restriction. WAN is for a larger group of computers or network devices without restriction.

The main difference is their range. According to definitions, the LAN has a range under 1 km, while WAN has a range of more than 100 km.

LAN stands for local area network and Wan stands for wide area network.The main difference is their range. According to some definitions, the LAN has a range under 1 km, while WAN has a range of more than 100 km.