LAN information and comparisons
| Stands For: | Local Area Network |
| Covers: | Local areas only (e.g., homes, offices, schools) |
| Definition: | LAN (Local Area Network) is a computer network covering a small geographic area, like a home, office, school, or group of buildings. |
| Speed: | High speed (1000 mbps) |
| Data transfer rates: | LANs have a high data transfer rate. |
| Example: | The network in an office building can be a LAN |
| Technology: | Tend to use certain connectivity technologies, primarily Ethernet and Token Ring |
| Connection: | One LAN can be connected to other LANs over any distance via telephone lines and radio waves. |
| Components: | Layer 2 devices like switches and bridges. Layer 1 devices like hubs and repeaters. |
| Fault Tolerance: | LANs tend to have fewer problems associated with them, as there are smaller number of systems to deal with. |
| Data Transmission Error: | Experiences fewer data transmission errors |
| Ownership: | Typically owned, controlled, and managed by a single person or organization. |
| Set-up costs: | If there is a need to set-up a couple of extra devices on the network, it is not very expensive to do that. |
| Geographical Spread: | Have a small geographical range and do not need any leased telecommunication lines |
| Maintenance costs: | Because it covers a relatively small geographical area, LAN is easier to maintain at relatively low costs. |
| Bandwidth: | High bandwidth is available for transmission. |
| Congestion: | Less congestion |