▷ What are lan, man and wan networks and what are they used for

If anything has changed during these years, it is the evolution of technology. Thanks to the means currently available, the implementation of new technologies has exploded in practically all areas of knowledge. And with it of course the data transmission networks. The creation of LAN, MAN and WAN networks is something necessary in today's society, since thanks to them we will be able to carry out transmissions and exchange of data wherever we are.

Index of contents

Virtually everyone is interconnected thanks to networks and the internet. What was previously a practice restricted to large companies to communicate point to point, today it is necessary so that all of us are within reach of information from virtually any point on the planet. In this, LAN, MAN and WAN networks play a fundamental role. Today we will explain what these types of networks consist of, what is their extension and use.

LAN, MAN and WAN network topology

Speaking of networks, we are obliged to talk about network topologies. Network topologies is the way in which the nodes interconnect to carry out data exchange. Each of the topologies is purpose-oriented and will offer certain advantages and disadvantages depending on their use. Where we can best see this type of topology is in a LAN network, due to its smaller extension. In MAN and WAN networks this aspect is difficult to see and especially to define, since, due to their extension, there are a large number of topologies interconnected with each other to form the concept of global network.

Normally, a MAN or WAN network usually works in a network topology with a meshed structure. In this way the nodes will be interconnected to each other providing redundancy in the routing of packets. In this way we will ensure that there are many alternative ways so that, if a transmission route fails, it is possible to do it elsewhere. We can say that this is the Internet network.

In any case, the most used network topologies will be the following:

BUS

The first available configuration is the bus topology. This is characterized by being composed of a central cable or trunk from which the different nodes to which the data must arrive hang. In case of trunk failure, the part of the network connected afterwards will be unusable. Coaxial cable or fiber optic cable is normally used for this trunk, and it is possible to connect other branches to it in order to form a tree-shaped network.

Ring

Basically it is a bus-shaped network that closes on itself. In this case, if a part of the trunk breaks, we can access the rest of the nodes through the other half ring. These types of networks can use almost any type of network cable and are used for Token Ring networks

Star

It is currently the most commonly used. This topology consists of a central element that can be a hub or switch that serves as a bridge for the other terminals or nodes connected to it. With this structure each element of the fault can be isolated from others, although if the central element fails the entire network will fall

Mesh

This is the most secure topology, but considerably more complete and expensive than the rest. It is about uniting all the elements of the network with each other, forming a structure in which there are more than two ways to access each node at all times. This network is used by MAN and WAN networks so that a large sector of the network never falls in case of failure of any element.

Red lan

A LAN or Local Area Network is a communications network built by interconnecting nodes using cables or wireless means that operate through medium access software. The scope of connection is limited by physical means, be it a building, floor or room.

In each LAN network there are a series of elements shared and available to users who are connected within this internal network. Only they can dispose of these resources without intervention or external access.

In theory, LAN networks should provide a high transmission speed, from 10 Mb / s to 10 Gb / s. In addition, the error rate should be as low as possible, on the order of 1 wrong bit for every 100 million bits sent.

Another characteristic that a LAN network must have is to provide the possibility of being managed by the user to which it belongs. Every LAN network must be made up of the following elements:

• Transmission / modulation mode: can be through baseband or broadband. Media Access Protocol: CSMA / CD, FDDI, Token Passing, TCP, TDMA. Physical support: UTP cables, fiber optics or coaxial cable. Topology: bus, ring, star and mesh

MAN Network

The term MAN comes from " Metropolitan Area Network " or in Spanish, metropolitan area network. This type of network is the intermediate step between a LAN network and a WAN network, since the extension of this type of network covers the territory of a large city. MAN networks are high-speed networks capable of covering a relatively large geography, although never exceeding the dimensions of a city.

The topologies that are used in this type of network are generally meshed with some elements configured in the form of backbone networks, which normally derive in smaller subnets. It mainly uses connections using twisted pair cables and increasingly using fiber optics.

A MAN network can reach speeds of up to 10 Gb / s (Gigabit per second) with the use of fiber optics.

WAN network

A WAN network is defined as a network with coverage without a predefined limit, as is the case with the MAN network. This is why both topologies and infrastructures cannot be strictly defined, as these networks rely on the means provided by telecommunications operators in different countries. When it is necessary to interconnect several countries it will be necessary to establish direct communication between different media, which makes this network a worldwide extension.

As is normal, in this type of network the technologies used can be practically any of those existing in each country. Although to get the best possible performance, the packet switching method is used, since in this way the routing of the information can be adapted by any type of standard that it passes through.

Internet is a WAN Network that provides worldwide coverage using the IP protocol. Another clear example of a WAN network is ISDN, which is used for voice and data communication.

Technologies used in a LAN, MAN and WAN network

The following technology standards have been used for a metropolitan area network:

Bonding EFM

Adopted and certified in 2004, it is a technology that enables Ethernet services over distances of approximately 5 km and at very low latencies, between 1 and 5 milliseconds. It uses packet switching using twisted pairs. It can be used for the transport of video, voice and data.

SMDS

SMDS or Switched Multi-megabit Data Service, is the service implemented in the United States. It is capable of providing non-connection-oriented services, that is, without the need to establish a session and a closed circuit for transmission.

The documents that define it are TA 772, 773, 774 and 775. These provide the generic, physical, operational, administration, network, and pricing requirements for the interconnected elements. With SMDS, local area networks are interconnected by means of a general national extension network in trunk form.

As for the data format, and access from the subscriber's point of view, it is identical to the 802 standard defined by IEEE for MAN networks, and the network interface is called SIN or Suscriber Network Interface.

FDDI

It is the acronym for Fiber Distributed Data Interface or data interface distributed by fiber. This technology is the most widely used in the 100 Mb / s era and is also used in Europe and is a set of ISO and ANSI standards for data transmission in wide area networks such as MAN using fiber optic cables.

It currently operates under the IEEE 802.8 standard of the European body and ANSI X3T9.5 of the American one. This network is made up of a Token Ring or double fiber optic ring topology to ensure data transmission in both directions. It also has a copper wire implementation called CDDI.

Fast Ethernet technologies at 100 Mb / s or also called 100BASE-FX and 100 BASE-TX are based on FDDI. Theoretically they have the capacity to connect up to 500 nodes (1000 MAC accesses in double ring configuration) with a separation of up to 2 KM between nodes. This makes the total extension of a ring can be up to 100 KM or 200 if we consider that it is two-way.

The media access protocol was improved from the 802.5 standard to provide the ability to use multiple tokens. This improves information routing, providing nodes with the ability to simultaneously work with multiple tokens.

Fast ethernet

This standard is directly derived from the previous one, in fact, some technologies are directly inherited from FDDI. This standard is controlled by IEEE 802.3, and is capable of working at 100Mb / s.

The standard emerged due to the need to improve the speed of transmissions between equipment, due to the improvement in hardware technology and the ability to transmit multimedia data of higher quality and size. Thanks to this standard, in the following years other evolutions of it emerged that multiplied by ten the previous one. Until we are today at 10Gb / s

The support standards for this technology are, for copper 100BASE-TX, 100BASE-T4 and 100BASE-T2. And for 100BASE-FX, 100BASE-SX and 100BASE-BX fiber optics

Gigabit ethernet

It is the evolution of the Ethernet standard to provide greater transmission speed to networks. In this case the speed increases to 1000Mb / s. It operates under the IEEE 802.3ab and 802.3z standard.

Thanks to the implementation of higher performance UTP cables and also using fiber optics, it was possible to increase the speed to 1000Mb / s. The standards that operate for this mode are 1000BASE-SX, 1000BASE-LX, 1000BASE-EX, 1000BASE-ZX, 1000BASE-CX

10Gigabit Ethernet

Finally, this is the standard currently used for data transmissions on LAN, MAN and WAN networks. It is under the IEEE 802.3ae standard and is capable of speeds of 10Gb / s.

The transmission medium used is, of course, fiber optic and twisted pair UTP cables of category 6 and up. The standards that operate in this Ethernet mode are 10GBASE-CX4, 10GBASE-LX4, 10GBASE-LR, 10GBASE-ER, 10GBASE-LRM, 10GBASE-T, among others.

Conclusions and news

Without a doubt, communication technologies have advanced dramatically in the last ten years. Currently we have a transmission speed of up to 10 Gb / s in the most advanced networks, and available in large companies with large resources.

But this remains there, since the brands themselves approach the home user with routers and switches capable of working at these speeds and at relatively affordable prices. It is a matter of time to have normal household equipment capable of working at these speeds without the need to purchase high-end hardware for this.

Although it is true that there is still much to do, especially in population centers where it is not even possible to have ADSL. This occurs because the general public and the source of income is not precisely in this small nuclei but in the big cities, so friends, improve the general infrastructure so that everyone can enjoy at least a stable data connection.

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