What is a Computer Network and Its Types?

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COMPUTER NETWORKING

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A computer networking is a process of connecting two or more computers via physical cabling and networking components like hub, router, gateways etc for sharing data or information such as files, documents and resource such as printer, internet, disk storage. Processing load is the main objective of computer networking.

Computer Network

NEED OF COMPUTER NETWORK:

• Reduced cost and time : Computer network make it possible for reduce both cost and time in transferring data or information because computer can send data at very high speed.

• Fast communication : In this system information can be exchange at very high speed because networked computing devices interconnected to each other , so they exchange information easily.

• Reliability : It is easy to recover any file when any file deleted from one system because a file can have more copies on two or more computer of network.

• Network gaming : A lot of computer network games are available , which allows users to play from different locations like God Of War , NFS wanted , PUBG etc.

• Hardware sharing : A computer user can share devices such as printer, scanner, cd-rom drives etc. Without computer networks device sharing is not possible. 

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TYPES OF COMPUTER NETWORK

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Computer network is mainly classified into three types :

• LAN

• MAN

• WAN

LAN is short for Local Area Network. It is a group of computer situated in a localized area such as in the same room, on the same floor, or in the same building that are connected to form a single computer network. They consist of several nodes(computers) and all are connected together using a topology and cable that connects nodes. This network allows user to share information or resources in limited to a specific areas.

LAN

ADVANTAGES of LAN:

• Local area network allows for high speed exchange of essential information between key people in organization.

• It is easy to control and manage the entire Local Area Network (LAN) as it is available in one small region.  

• It allows sharing of expensive resources such as colored laser printers, high speed mass storage among a number of users.

DISADVANTAGES of LAN:

• In Local Area Network (LAN) some type of  security system must be implemented if it is important to protect confidential data.

• The financial cost of Local Area Network (LAN) is still high.

• The installation and management of a Local Area Network (LAN) requires far more technical and administrative skills than installing and managing several computers that are not networked.

WAN is short for Wide Area Network. It is a network which covers a large geographical area . It connects different smaller network such as Local Area Network (LAN) , metropolitan area network(MAN) . This network is used to connect cities, states, or countries. The transmission media used in Wide Area Network (WAN) are normally public systems such as telephone lines, microwave link and satellite links. Wide Area Network (WAN) connections include wired and wireless technologies.

WAN

ADVANTAGES of WAN:

• In Wide Area Network (WAN) network data or information  can be share over a large geographical area.

• In this network everyone use same data . This avoids the problem where some users may have older information than others, so in this network everyone get fresh information and updated all time.

• It also allows sharing of expensive resources and application software among distributed workstations or users.

DISADVANTAGES of WAN:

• In Wide Area Network (WAN) , there is no security of confidential data.

• The setting up a Wide Area Network (WAN) network can be more expensive than Local Area Network (LAN) and also network protection against hackers and viruses add more complexity and expenses.

• It is difficult to maintain the network. It requires skilled technicians and network administrators.

3. MAN is short for Metropolitan Area Network. It is larger than Local Area Network (LAN) but smaller than WAN. This network is designed to extend over an entire city. It is usually owned by single large organization.This types networks bridges a number of Local Area Network (LAN) with a fiber-optical links which act as a backbone, and provides services similar to what Internet Service Provider (ISP)  provide to Wide Area Networks(WAN) .
      

MAN

                        

ADVANTAGES of MAN:

• Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) provides higher security of data or information in comparison to WAN and requires fewer resources compare to WAN. This saves the implementation cost. 

• This networks also allows user to share information over large areas.

• Like Local Area Network (LAN) and Wide Area Network (WAN), it also offers centralized management of data and files and also helps in cost effective sharing of common resources such as printers etc. 

DISADVANTAGES of MAN:

• It is difficult to manage the network when it becomes large because more cable required for Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) in comparison to Local Area Network (LAN)  to connect from one place to another.

• It is also difficult to make the system secure from hackers.

• Like Wide Area Network (WAN) It is also difficult to maintain and troubleshoot the network. It requires skilled technicians and network administrators.

Conclusion:

In this article, we have thoroughly read about Computer Networking and its types with brief description of each of types of Computer Network with its main advantages and disadvantages. Types of Computer Network that we have read in this article are:

• LAN

• MAN

• WAN

                                                                                                                                             Please share!

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Tags: Computer Networking, Main types of Computer Networking, LAN, MAN, WAN, Needs of Computer networking, Advantages and Disadvantages of different types of Computer Networking

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