What Is LAN Used For?

A local-area network (LAN) connects the computer hardware in a localized area such as an office or home. Typically, LANs use wired connections to link the computers to each other and to a variety of peripheral devices such as printers. Devices connected to a LAN are able to access data from any machine that's connected to the network. LAN users can communicate with each other by chat or email.

Characteristics

LANs are distinguished by several characteristics that help identify one LAN from another. The geometric placement of machines connected to a LAN, known as the network's topology, refers to the how the devices are connected to the network. A LAN's media characteristic refers to the physical connections of the devices to the network. Typically, devices connect to a LAN through coaxial cables, twisted-pair wire or fiber optic cables. A network's protocols govern the specifications for sending data on the LAN. These protocols determine whether the network is a client/server or peer-to-peer LAN.

Client/Server and Peer-to-Peer LANs

A client/server LAN, sometimes called a two-tier LAN, is made up of powerful computers, known as servers, given the task of managing disk drives, printers and network traffic. The clients in this type of LAN are the personal computers, or workstations, that run applications.  equally in the running of the LAN. While peer-to-peer LANs are simpler to set up, they do not perform as well under heavy workloads, which is what client/server LANs are specifically designed to handle.

Capabilities

Generally, LANs transfer data at much faster rates than telephone line connections, but are limited in the number of computers they can support and the distances they can transfer data. LANs can connect to other LANs over telephone lines, satellites or radio waves, creating what's known as a wide-area network (WAN). The world's largest WAN is the Internet. Generally, LANs involve a lot of wires and cables that can prove to be a nuisance. Wireless LANs (WLANs) carry out the same functions as a LAN, but without the clutter.

WLANs

WLANs use radio waves to transmit data instead of cables and wires. A common standard used in WLANs is Wi-Fi technology, which is based on the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers' 802.11 standards for wireless data transferring. As of the date of publication, the 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g and 802.11n standards are widely used in WLANs. The Wi-Fi standards support the same types of interfaces used in LANs, including printing and accessing the Internet, as long as the devices support WLAN technology.