Differences between LAN, MAN, and WAN

Basis LAN MAN WAN

MAN stands for

LAN stands for local
Full-Form metropolitan area WAN stands for wide area network.
area network.
network.

Operates in small areas Operates in large

Geographic
such as the same areas such as a Operates in larger areas such as country or continent.
Span
building or campus. city.

While WAN also might not be owned by one organization.

Internet, they do not have centralized management.
Private global networks are built with technologies - hardware and software -
designed and used in the global Internet. That is why they are called intranets.
MAN’s ownership
LAN’s ownership is Intranet networks use their own wired or wireless connection routes for the
Ownership can be private or
private. transmission medium or rent them from a telecommunications company. It is
public.
significantly cheaper to use the Internet as a transmission medium when building
a private network. VPN (Virtual Private Networks) technologies are applied,
which guarantee high security and isolate the private network from the public one
by encrypting the exchanged data. Such networks are commonly called extranets.

A workgroup will be
able to share common The regional The connections between the local networks within the global network are made
Мain purpose resources such as files, sources are often with the help of a gateway. A gateway is a router that determines which packets
printers, applications, shared in MAN of information to take to reach their destination.
and more.

While the
Transmission The transmission speed transmission speed
Whereas the transmission speed of a WAN is low.
Speed of a LAN is high. of a MAN is
average.

There is a
Propagation The propagation delay moderate
Whereas, there is a long propagation delay in a WAN.
delay is short in a LAN. propagation delay
in a MAN.

While there is
There is less congestion
Congestion more congestion in Whereas there is more congestion than MAN in WAN.
in LAN.
MAN.

While MAN’s
Design & LAN’s design and design and Whereas WAN’s design and maintenance are also difficult than LAN as well
Maintenance maintenance are easy. maintenance are MAN.
difficult than LAN.

Fault There is more fault While there is less

In WAN, there is also less fault tolerance.
tolerance tolerance in LAN. fault tolerance.
 In a bus network, all computers are connected in
series along a cable called a backbone.
Since the network has a beginning and an end, a
terminator must be added at both ends of the
network. The terminator protects the line from
In a "circle" network, all devices are connected the to
so-called "Signal
each other to form bounce".
a closedIfcircle.
there is no these
Today,
networks are not as popular as in the past. terminator, the signal, reaching the end of the
line, bounces and returns, which interferes with
Communication
the remaining sent signals. One end of the rail
must information
Information travels in only one direction, so when be grounded (but tonota specific
is sent both!). computer, it must
pass through each computer that precedes theThe terminator
recipient. Whenisit connected to the freethe
receives information, endcomputer
of
checks if it is for him. We usually associate thethe T-connector
circular topology of
withthethenetwork cardarchitecture
Token Ring of the first- the
so-called "Control token", with only the stationand last the
holding computer connectedthe
token transmitting toinformation.
the bus.

Communication

In this topology, each station sends its messages

simultaneously to all other stations. Of all the messages
on the network, the station selects and "catches" only
those that are intended for it. All messages that are not
addressed to the network card are ignored. Only one
computer can send information at a time. Everyone else
is "waiting" their turn. If two computers try to send
information to the bus at the same time, a conflict
arises.
 Star topology - it has a central node (network hub) to which all
computer systems are connected, each through its own environment.
Thus, each computer can transmit independently, without regard to
others. Interruption of an environment affects only the specific node
and does not interfere with others. Such a network is vulnerable to
failure of the central device - then the whole network stops. This
topology is typical of modern small local area networks and corporate
networks, where each of the remote offices is connected only to the
exchange.

Star topology
Differences between Star Topology and Bus Topology:

S.NO. Star Topology Bus Topology

Bus topology is a topology where each device is

Star topology is a topology in which all devices are connected to a connected to a single cable which is known as the
1. central hub. backbone.

In a Bus topology, the failure of the network cable will

2. In star topology, if the central hub fails then the whole network fails. cause the whole network to fail.

Bus topology can not effectively manage a terminator’s

Management of high traffic and performance of the network is high amount of traffic as if there is high traffic then the
3. highly dependent on the capacity of the central hub. performance of the network is affected.

Bus topology has a terminators at both ends of the

4. Star topology does not have any terminator. network.

Star topology has a high implementation cost because of the central

5. hub and extra wires required for connection. Bus topology is less expensive than a star topology.

6. Data transmission is faster in a star topology. In a Bus topology, the data is transmitted slower as
 S.NO. Star Topology Bus Topology

compared to a star topology.

In star topology the communication between nodes is done through

a central hub, a message from the sender node reaches the central In a Bus topology, the data from a sender device to a
7. hub first then it is transmitted to the receiver node. receiver device is sent directly.

Expansion of network i.e. addition of new node is

8. Expansion is easier. difficult.

9. Fault identification and isolation are relatively easier. Fault identification and isolation are not easier.

10. Chances of data collision are less, Data collisions occur frequently

From an administrative point of view, a network can be organized in one of the following two
ways:
• As a peer-to-peer network;
• As a server based network.
The characteristics of peer-to-peer networks include:
-They do not have a computer that functions as a dedicated server.
-Every computer on a network is a server and also a client.
-Lack of control over network security settings.
Peer to peer networks have advantages and disadvantages over client server networks, which are as
follows:

Advantages:
- The cost required for its implementation is much cheaper, because it does not require a server with
high specifications to be able to serve all customers
- Each computer on the network acts as a client and also a server, so all computers have the same
rights.
- The continuity of the network does not depend on the server computer.
Фиг. Равноправна локална мрежа - Does not require an operating system or a special server application.
- No special administrator is needed to take care of the network.
- Easy network installation.
- Between computers on a network, they can share hardware such as a hard disk drive, drive, fax /
modem, printer, or other equipment that is connected to a network.
- If a computer has a problem, it will not affect the network or other computers.
Disadvantages:
- Low level of network security, vulnerable to external attacks. Because without a server, network
security is determined by each user on each computer.
- Backup is also performed on each computer.
- Troubleshooting (identifying problems) on the network is more difficult because all computers are
connected to a network communication system.
- It is difficult to scale, as this type of network is not suitable for large-scale use
- Uncontrolled use of resources.

In this type of network, there is a host computer called a server that serves the
network. It stores information and resources and makes them available to other
computers on the network. The other computers on the network are customers.
Installing a server allows you to move to centralized management of all
computers on the network. It allows other users to log in to the network with a
unique username and password.