The WAN or Wide Area Network consists of a collection of LANs and WANs, and can thus extend

across an entire country and internationally.

· The SAN or Storage Area Network: it has high performance, which is mainly intended for the
transfer of data between computer servers and resources dedicated to storage.

Note that these different types partly overlap. The user of a WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) is
at the same time part of a WAN or a GAN (Global Area Network) as soon as he is connected to the
Internet.

What are the main functions of a computer network?

Functions

Its main function is to provide participants with a platform for the exchange of data and common use
of resources. This function is undoubtedly the most important: In a company, each office is equipped
with its own computer. Without computer networking, it would be very complicated for a team to
collaborate on a project, because there would be no common space to store and share resources.

Also, in many offices there is only one or a few printers, which are used by everyone. Without
suitable infrastructure, each computer would have to be connected to the printer, which would be
very tedious. A computer network cleverly solves this problem, since all computers are connected to
the printer through a central node.

Benefits

The computer network thus makes it possible to carry out a number of operations, such as sharing
data between different users, sharing physical resources such as the printer, using certain
applications without having to install them on one's own computer, searching of information thanks
to the Internet, communication between distant people, etc. We can thus set up a computer network
from different computers (regardless of the brands), peripherals such as the printer, cables, a
network card, connectors allowing the equipment to be linked together.

Computer networks therefore generally offer the following advantages:

· Data sharing

· Sharing of physical resources: printers, etc.

· Application and software sharing