Network Basic

WAN

Networks which connect machines in larger geographic areas are known as Metropolitan Area Networks and Wide Area Networks also known as long haul networks, operate over the entire world with speeds in the range of 9.6 kbps to 45 Mbps.

To build a large network, smaller networks are interconnected. A wide area network or WAN,  spans a large geographical area, often a country or continent. It contains a collection of machines intended for running user.

The computers of a wide area network can be linked by dedicated telephone lines, satellite, or the Internet. A WAN is a typical combination  of LAN’s, MAN’s  that are often connected through public networks such as the telephone system. They can also be connected through leased lines or satellites.

Computers in a WAN are termed hosts. These hosts are connected by a communication subnet. The job of this subnet is to carry message from host to host. Just as the telephone system carries words from speaker to listener.