CATEGORIES OF NETWORKS

Muhammad Naveed Arif

Enrollment # UW-16-CS-BS-013
Email: uw-16-cs-bs-013@student.uow.edu.pk
Course: Computer Networks (CS-312)

INTRODUCTION:
Networking is referred to connecting multiple computers electronically for the purpose of sharing
information. Resources such as files, applications, printers, etc. are common information shared on
network. Basically network consists of hardware components such as computers, routers, hubs,
switched, and other network devices which can form an infrastructure. These devices plays an important
role in sharing from one place to another.

There are multiple ways of connecting devices or different types of networks available. In this report
we’ll discuss LAN, WAN and MAN in detail, these are the most commonly used network categories. We
will discuss topologies, protocols, transmission medium and advantages and disadvantages used in
different categories of networks. [1]

CATEGORIES OF NETWORKS:
Today when we speak of networks we generally refers two primary categories Local-Area
Networks (LAN) and Wide-Area Networks (WAN). The category into which a network falls is determined
by its size. LAN normally covers small area while a WAN is large can be worldwide. Networks of a size in
between are normally referred to as Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) and spans tens of miles

LOCAL AREA NETWORK (LAN)

LAN is a collection of devices connected together in a small area such as building, office, campus, etc. it
can be small or large, ranging from home network with one user to an enterprise network of hundreds
of users and devices in an office or school. It enable local users to share information through file servers,
print documents through centralized printers, do transactions through central servers and connect to
outside networks in a secured manner through a firewall routers.

Computers and devices in LAN are connected through Switches, Hubs, Network Adapter, cables, and
optic fibers. In modern LAN computers are connected in wireless mode. [2]
 Figure-1: LAN

Figure-1 represents the LAN connection. The devices are connected through Switch. PC-1 PC-2 and PC-3
shares the same printer and a server and can also communicate with each other.

TOPOLOGIES:
Topology is the physical and logical arrangement of a network. The physical arrangement of
a network refers to how the workstations, servers and other equipment joined together with
cables and connectors. There are three main topologies of LAN which are primarily used bus,
ring and star topology.

• BUS TOPOLOGY
In a bus topology stations are arranged along with the single length of cable which can
be extended at ends. Figure 2 represents Bus Topology.

• RING TOPOLOGY
In a ring topology each node connects to exactly two other nodes, forming a single
continuous pathway for signals through each node – a ring. Data travels from node to
node, with each node along the way handling every packet. Figure 3 represents bus
topology.

• STAR TOPOLOGY
In a star topology each node is connected with the central node which can be hub or
switch. For communication each node send to central node and then central node sends
it to the destination. Figure-1 uses the star topology.
PROTOCOLS:
Each network has its own rules and standards. Therefore protocols are used in network
technology to govern network to network communication. There are many protocols used
in LAN but Ethernet, and token ring are most commonly used.

TOKEN RING:
Unlike Ethernet, Token Ring uses a ring topology whereby the data is sent from one
machine to the next and so on around the ring until it ends up back where it started. It also
uses a token passing protocol which means that a machine can only use the network when it
has control of the Token, this ensures that there are no collisions because only one machine
can use the network at any given time. [3]

ETHERNET
Ethernet is one of the most widely used LAN technology. The reason behind its wide
usability is its simplicity. It is easy to understand, implement and maintain. And also it is
cheaper than token ring.

Original Ethernet uses coaxial cable as a shared medium while newer Ethernet uses fiber
optics and twisted pair links in conjunction with switches. Ethernet data transfer rates have
been increased from 2.94Mbps to 400Gbps. Systems communicating over Ethernet transfer
data in form of frames and each frame contains source and destination addresses, error
checking data so that damaged frames can be detected and discarded.

Ethernet is widely used in homes and industry, and interworks well with wireless Wi-Fi
technologies. The Internet Protocol is commonly carried over Ethernet and so it is
considered one of the key technologies that make up the Internet. [4]

TRANSMISSION MEDIUM
 Coaxial cable, Twisted pair cable, fiber optics are the commonly used transmission mediums
used in Wired Local Area Network (LAN).

ADVANTAGES
LAN is an inexpensive transmission media which provides a high speed transfer rate.
Network data transmission is independent of the connected devices rates, making it accessible
for the one-speed device to send data to another speed device.

DISADVANTAGES
LAN used to connect devices within a small geographical area which is its disadvantage. And
also it is not much secure, if it is not properly maintained unauthorized users can access the
data.

METROPOLITAN AREA NETWORK (MAN)

MAN covers a large geographical area than the LAN and smaller than the WAN. It can also be a superior
version of LAN network which connects cities or districts. As LAN covers small area of network MAN is
designed to connect two cities or villages together through it. The area covered by MAN is generally 5-
50 KM. it may be small as a group of buildings in a campus to as large as a city.[5]

MAN can also be considered as a group of two or more Local Area Networks LANs together. Because
MANs are smaller, they are usually efficient than WANs, since data doesn’t travel over large distance.
MANs typically combine the networks of multiple organizations, instead of being managed by a single
organization.

They provide uplinks for connecting LANs to WANs and Internet.

Figure-4: MAN

In Figure-4 there are multiple LANs which are connected with each other and form a MAN and further
more MAN is connected to the internet, as we said before that MAN also provide uplinks for connecting
LANs to WANs and Internet

TOPOLOGIES
Star and Bus Topologies are commonly used in MAN network.
 TRANSMISSION MEDIUM
Fiber optical cable and twisted pair cables are used for connectivity for communication
through MAN networks.

PROTOCOLS:
Protocols used in MAN are:

 RS-232
 X-25

 Frame Relay
 ATM

ADVANTAGES
• it is very efficient and swift for communication over fiber optic cable for interconnection
of networks in cities.
• It serves many villages and cities and thus provides great inter-connectivity at a low cost.
• It works on ring or bus topology with a protection link, thus data can be transmitted or
received simultaneously over nodes and if one link fails the other will keep the network
live.
DISADVANTAGES:
• Depending upon the distance between two nodes, the cable length required for inter-
connection differs every time. Thus greater will be the cable length, the more will be the
cost of the network.
• Security is a big concern for this network as for such a big distance anyone can hack the
network.
We can’t put security at each level of the network, hence it becomes easier for
unwanted people to access it for their own benefits.

WIDE AREA NETWORK (WAN)

WAN is widely used in long-distance communication systems, which can be worldwide. Since WANs are
not tied to a specific location, they allow localized networks to communicate with each other across the
long distances. WAN networks are complex in nature. However they are used for mobile networks as
they cover long distances.

TRANSMISSION MEDIUM AND TECHNOLOGY:

Fiber optics is generally used as a transmission medium in wired WAN, as it covers long
distances so high speed transmission medium is needed and fiber optics is fast enough
to deliver large amount of data in short time.

Routers are used in WAN network for communication as they provide the shortest path
for communication over long distance using routing tables. Routers also provide a
secure and fast rate of transmission.
 Different types of data need to be transmitted over the network like image, voice, video
and data files. Therefore the routers use packet switching technique for sending and
receiving data between nodes. Switches and bridges are devices used for connectivity
other than routers.

“Routers have routing tables by which they learn the host and destination address for
delivery of the data packet and that in turn is the shortest path for transmission. By
following this mechanism a source end router will communicate with the far end
destination router and exchange the data packets.

Routers and switches have internal memories. Thus when a data packet has arrived at a
switch node for delivery, it uses to store and forward the technique for data
transmission.

If a media is busy then the node (switch or router) stores the data packets and queues it
and when it finds the link free, it then transmits it further. Therefore, packet switching
uses data store, queuing and forward technique in the case when the link is found
busy.”[5]

MAN

Figure 5: WAN
FIGURE 5 REPRESENTS WAN STRUCTURE. THERE ARE MULTIPLE LANS AND A MAN IS CONNECTED TOGETHER TO
FORM A WAN.

TOPOLOGIES
Topologies used in WAN are:
  Point to Point Topology
 Point to Multipoint Topology  Full mesh Topology

POINT TO POINT TOPOLOGY:

Point to point allows to send and receive Ethernet frames to each other as if they
are connected directly. Point-to-point topology is transparent to the customer network
and acts as if there are physical connections between remote sites. Typical dedicated
leased lines connections are offered with this kind of setup, such as an E1 or T1 line. But
with MetroE, service providers offer what is called an Ethernet Line Service or E-Line
where two customer premise equipment (CPE) devices can exchange Ethernet frames,
similar in concept to a leased line.[6]

POINT TO MULTIPOINT:
In point to multipoint topology central site device is required that sends frames
to each remote site. But a remote site can only sends data to the central site. Where the
central site is the root and other are leaves. Leaves can send data to the root and then
root transfer it to the destination node. This topology is also known as Hub and Spoke
or Partial Mesh topology. [6]

FULL MESH TOPOLOGY:

In full mesh topology all the connected devices in a WAN can communicate with each other,
and send and receive Ethernet frames without having to be dependent on central hub.
[6]

PROTOCOLS:
• Asynchronous Transmission Mode (ATM)
• Bandpass Access
• Frame Relay
• Point to Point Protocol
• SONET (Synchronous Optical Networking) and SDN (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy)
X.25

ADVANTAGES:
• WAN covers large geographical area. Hence the large scale industries can be connected
to one single network.
• N number of devices can be connected over a network for sharing information.
• Another advantage of WAN is that it allows data to be centralized. It provides the facility
of sharing the data to all the connected devices in a network. For example, “through
WAN connection all office branches can share the data through the head office server.
You can get back up, support, and other useful data from the head office and all data are
synchronized with all other office branches.”
 DISADVANTAGE:
• WAN faces more security problem as compare to LANs and MANs. One of the key
disadvantages of WANs is a security issue when many different people have the ability
to use information from other computers.
• As it faces security issue, therefore it is a basic need of WANs to use firewalls and
antivirus software to protect data transfer on the internet which can be accessed and
changed by hackers. Also, some people can inject a virus into the computers so antivirus
software is also needed to install.
• A WAN network covers a large geographical area, it is very expensive to setup in the
initial stage. It may involve purchasing different networking devices, i.e routers,
switches, and extra security software.
• A WAN network covers large geographical areas, so fixing the problem in a network is a
very difficult job. Most of WANs wires go into the sea and if those wires get broken. It
involves a lot of hard work to fix those lines under the sea.
• Once set up, maintaining a WAN network is a full-time job which requires high tech skills
of network supervisors and technicians.

CONCLUSION:
In this report we have discussed LAN WAN and MAN computer network categories. All of these three
types of networks have their own significance in different fields.

MAN networks are very rear in use as they have lots of security issues and installation costs are high.
Nowadays LAN netwroks are widely used for local level communication in offices, hospitals, and
universities while WAN is used in mobile and LTE long distance communications where the connectivity
is based on the fiber cables. LAN networks are cheap as compare to WAN and MAN and are efficient
then WAN because it covers short distance. While WAN networks large number of devices are
connected so that overall cost increases.

REFERENCES
[1] (PDF) INTRODUCTION TO NETWORKING. [online] Available
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[Accessed 19 October 2021].
[2] Types of Network | Introduction and Different Types of Network. [online] EDUCBA. Available at:
https://www.educba.com/types-of-network/ [Accessed 19 October 2021].
[3] E. Aboelela, “Token Ring,” in Network Simulation Experiments Manual, Elsevier, 2003, pp. 19–
36.
[4] Wikipedia contributors, “Ethernet,” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 01-Oct-2021. [Online].
Available:
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ethernet&oldid=1047470545 [Accessed: 23 Oct-2021].
[5] ] Softwaretestinghelp.com. ‘lan-wan-man in networks’ [Online]. Available:
https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/lan-wan-man-networks/ [Accessed: 24-Oct 2021].
[6] “The different wide area network (WAN) topologies,” Study-ccna.com, 27-Sep-2021. [Online].
Available: https://study-ccna.com/wan-topologies/ [Accessed: 24-Oct-2021].
[7] Local Area Network, lasertest, and proxy premium, “Wide Area Network,”
Computernetworktopology.com, 13-May-2020. [Online]. Available:
https://computernetworktopology.com/wide-area-network/ [Accessed:
24-Oct-2021].