{"id":962,"date":"2021-09-22T09:05:16","date_gmt":"2021-09-22T09:05:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/matob.web.id\/news\/?p=962"},"modified":"2021-12-07T04:41:29","modified_gmt":"2021-12-07T04:41:29","slug":"what-is-a-lan-network-definition-topology-advantages-and-disadvantages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matob.web.id\/news\/what-is-a-lan-network-definition-topology-advantages-and-disadvantages\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a LAN Network? Definition, Topology, Advantages, and Disadvantages"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is :LAN? In the following article, Matob<\/a> will explain the definition, topology, and also the advantages and disadvantages of the network.<\/p>\n

Network refers to the set of devices (nodes) connected by communication links.\u00a0A node can be a computer, printer, or other device capable of sending and\/or receiving data generated by other devices on the network.<\/p>\n

Networks are categorized into three types such as Local Area Network (LAN), Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN). And in this article, Matob<\/a> will cover all about Local Area Networks (LANs)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What is LAN?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

LAN is a\u00a0computer\u00a0network\u00a0that connects computers in a limited area such as an office space, school, college or university.<\/p>\n

A local area network, commonly called a LAN or Local Area Network, is a privately owned network, which provides a useful way to share resources between end users.\u00a0Resources such as printers, file servers, scanners, and the internet, are easily shared among other computers connected to the network<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"LAN
LAN network schematic example<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

LANs are distinguished from other types of networks by three characteristics:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Transmission technology used<\/li>\n
  2. Size of the network<\/li>\n
  3. Topology of the network<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    <\/span>Transmission Technology on LAN<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    LANs use Wi-Fi or Ethernet to connect computers and devices on a network.<\/p>\n

    Wi-Fi LAN operates one or more\u00a0wireless\u00a0access points<\/em>\u00a0that connect to devices within the coverage area.\u00a0These access points<\/em>\u00a0control the network traffic flowing to and from the connected devices.\u00a0Usually the\u00a0access point<\/em>\u00a0is a device called a\u00a0wireless<\/em>\u00a0router.<\/p>\n

    Ethernet LAN consists of several devices connected to each other using an Ethernet cable (RJ-45) which is also often called a LAN cable or UTP cable\u00a0(Unshielded Twisted\u00a0<\/em>Pair<\/em>\u00a0).<\/p>\n

    \"ethernet<\/p>\n

    Although Ethernet and Wi-Fi are commonly used in most home, school and office based local area networks, due to their low cost and high speed, you can also set up a LAN with fiber optic which is more expensive and provides better communication speed compared to Ethernet LAN or Wi-Fi LAN.<\/p>\n

    Early generation LANs generally run at speeds of 10 to 100 Mbps but newer LANs can operate at speeds up to 10 Gbps.<\/p>\n

    <\/span>LAN Network Size<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    LANs are limited in size, although they can fit one or two devices up to a thousand devices.\u00a0Some devices such as printers, scanners and other servers remain permanently connected to the LAN while mobile devices such as computers, laptops, and phones may be connected and disconnected from the network at any time (not permanently).<\/p>\n

    Hotspot belonging to a cafe still falls into the LAN category even though in one day there are a total of a thousand devices that go in and out of the network.<\/p>\n

    The size of the LAN depends on the transmission technology used in the network.\u00a0For example, the range of a Wi-fi LAN can be the actual coverage area of \u200b\u200ba wireless broadband router while the size of an Ethernet LAN can be calculated according to the size of the cable.<\/p>\n

    In either case, however, the Local Area Network can be expanded to cover much greater distances if needed, by linking together multiple\u00a0access points<\/em>\u00a0or cables using switches or hubs.<\/p>\n

    The size of local area networks is smaller than Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN) and Wide Area Networks (WAN).<\/p>\n

    <\/span>LAN topology<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Various network topologies are\u00a0possible to form a LAN but generally use the following three main topologies:<\/p>\n

    Bus topology<\/strong>\u00a0: All devices are connected to a backbone cable called a bus.\u00a0Bus networks are relatively inexpensive and very easy to install for small networks.\u00a0Ethernet systems use a bus topology.<\/p>\n

    Ring Topology<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0: All devices are connected to each other in the form of a closed loop, so that each device is directly connected to the device next to it.\u00a0Ring topologies are relatively expensive and difficult to install, but they offer high bandwidth and can cover long distances.<\/p>\n

    Star topology<\/strong>\u00a0: All devices are connected to a central hub device.\u00a0Star networks are relatively easy to install and manage, but data flow bottlenecks can occur because all data must pass through the hub.<\/p>\n

    These topologies can also be mixed for better performance.\u00a0For example, a bus-star network consists of a high-bandwidth bus, which connects a collection of slower-bandwidth star segments.<\/p>\n

    <\/span>LAN Characteristics<\/strong><\/h2>\n