

Wide area networks-LANs in different locations can be connected by high-speed fiber-optic, satellite, or leased phone lines to form a wide area network (WAN).LANs built from the same components as are used in office networks are also common at home. A LAN is formed from computers and components in a single office or building. Local area networks-The smallest office network is referred to as a local area network (LAN).Several types of networks exist, from small two-station arrangements, to networks that interconnect offices in many cities:


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Multiple users can share access to software and data files.Electronic mail (email) can be sent and received.A single Internet connection from top ISPs can be shared among multiple computers.In addition to reducing hardware costs by sharing expensive printers and other peripherals among multiple users, networks provide additional benefits to users: You can share or access many different types of devices over a network, but the most common devices include the following:Įntire drives or just selected folders can be shared with other users via the network. And, sharing of the device can be controlled through passwords, further differentiating it from a switchbox. Users can change the sequence of print jobs, hold them, or cancel them. Thus, a USB switchbox for sharing a single printer between two or more computers doesn’t qualify as a network device because the switchbox-not the computers-handles the print jobs, neither computer knows when the other one needs to print, and print jobs can potentially interfere with each other.Ī shared printer, on the other hand, can be controlled remotely and can store print jobs from different computers on the print server’s hard disk. Intelligently sharing means that each computer that shares resources with another computer or computers maintains control of that resource. A network can be as small and simple as two computers that share a printer or as complex as the world’s largest network: the internet. Learn about the glue that holds our networks together in this LAN primer.Ī network is a group of two or more computers that intelligently share hardware or software devices with each other.
