Local Area Network
A local Area Network (LAN) is a type of network typically used and connected in a small area, for instance, home, office, school or groups of building, in order to communicate with one another and share resource, such as printer or scanner. Those devices could be connected between each other by wired cable or wireless links, which is typically used as a standard LAN technology called IEEE 802.11. Usually, a local area network consists of computers and peripheral devices connected to a local domain server, which are used to share printers and other resources, such as disk storage, games or applications. Each LAN is either independent from any network or connects to other LANs, and, moreover, can additionally connect to Internet called Wide Area Network (WAN). In terms of practical use, a home network is typically individual LANs and multiple LANs, which refers to a home network setting up a guest network. In this paper, I will expound the main components making up a local area network (LAN), as well as technologies used to build a LAN.
Network Components of LANs
As mentioned in Cooper (n.d), the main role of a local area network is to connect computers or peripheral devices together in order to exchange data. Not only do LAN include computers and other devices, it requires six critical components to function of making up a local area network, which will be expounded as the following below.
• Network Adapter: is an important component of making up LANS, which is used to connect a network and convert computer data into electronic signals. In order to move data packet to and from network interface cards to different shared channels, network adapter associates with network access element named Media Access Control ...
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...s to translate the packet back into meaningful form and utilize it with suitable application.
Technologies Used to Build a LAN
According to Mitchell (2016), WiFi or Ethernet is a modern local area network used for connecting with different devices. Typically, a traditional Wi-Fi LAN operates a single or a few of wireless access points for providing a service to devices within the signal range. The role of access point is to manage networking traffic from connected devices. In terms of home LAN, the access point is wireless broadband routers to perform this role. A traditional Ethernet LAN comprises of one or more switches, hubs or routers, in which each device connects to by Ethernet cables. The network protocol used on LANs is Internet Protocol (IP) and, nowadays, almost networking operating systems have built-in contributing for the required TCP/IP technology.
In conclusion, a local area network is made up of computers and a myriad of devices, such as routers, servers, switches, and firewalls. In order for it to connect to the Internet, a router must be installed. Servers provide special functions such as printing, file sharing, etc. Switches connect the computers together from different parts of the network. Firewalls prevent unauthorized access. There are a host of other devices that may be used as well. These devices are hubs, gateways, repeaters, wireless access points,
Meanwhile, the advent of early PC’s and the recognition of the value in networking devices together gave rise to Local Area Networks. These LAN’s were developed from a business customer perspective, which placed more emphasis on costs and ease of use over reliability. There were a number of different competing LAN technologies, two of the most common being Token Ring (IBM) and Ethernet (everyone else). The triumph of Ethernet in the marketplace, to the extent where it is included in every PC, game console and some refrigerators, provides a consistent and relatively inexpensive way to build internal networks with relative ease.
Devices are needed to create a network and to run it affectively. For example, some common devices:
Generally speaking, typical scenario of communications networks interaction consists in a bunch of devices trying to communicate with each other by using the same medium. Home wireless networks, cellular networks, Ethernet environments are only a few examples of this setting.
When a home is connected to the Internet, residential communications infrastructure serves as the "last mile" of the connection between the home computer and the rest of the computers on the Internet. This section describes the Internet technology involved in that connection.
... access to what and in which sequence. The router connects the LAN to other networks, which could be the Internet or another corporate network so that the LAN can exchange information with networks external to it. The most common LAN operating systems are Windows, Linux, and Novell. Each of these network operating systems supports TCP/IP as their default networking protocol. Ethernet is the dominant LAN standard at the physical network level, specifying the physical medium to carry signals between computers, access control rules, and a standardized set of bits used to carry data over the system. Originally, Ethernet supported a data transfer rate of 10 megabits per second (Mbps). Newer versions, such as Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet, support data transfer rates of 100 Mbps and 1 gigabits per second (Gbps), respectively, and are used in network backbones.
When desktop computers and Local Area Networks (LAN) appeared in the 1980’s, they were small scale and being somewhat complex they required hands on technical skills, so were acquired in limited quantities. The low cash costs also meant they were often purchased without the approval of senior management.
The purpose of this paper is give a summary of the function and use of Routers in today’s information age. To cover the complete subject of routers and routing, would be beyond the scope of this research paper. However the basic definition of a router is “ A device used to connect networks of different types, such as those using different architectures and protocols. Routers work at the Network layer of the OSI model. This means they can switch and route packets across multiple networks. They do this by exchanging protocol-specific information between separate networks. Routers determine the best path for sending data and filter broadcast traffic to the local segment.”
In this modernize world, internet and network are very vital and important not only for individuals but also for companies, organization, institution, etc. Because of this, it is very important to make use of as many network devices available. We need to study more or at least to have a glimpse of information about the networking devices before we choose or start using it. There are many networking device out there that able for us to study but the chosen device for this report are hub, switch, router and repeater.
In this modern times a revolution is taking place. Quietly this revolution has started and grown that it involved the world. A revolution is a sudden change in the way people live (Merriam-Webster). The birth of computer networking started during the early 1970's and began to flourish during the late 1970's. Various manufacturers in the computer industry launched small minicomputers with enough computational power to cater the needs of several users. Because of the cheap prices of such computers, every department in sizable organizations can afford one. In order to interconnect minicomputers and allow swift transfer of information among them, a number of organizations started to install Local Area Networks. Because LAN Technology is both cheap and easy to install, an individual department can buy, install and operate a LAN for their minicomputers without seeking the help of the administration (Comer, 2007)
in order to generate the LAN protocol and wireless LAN interface. The access points that are used for the
In Local Area Network(LAN), Ethernet is a physical and data link layer technology. used to connect more than one computer systems to form LAN that comes with protocols that can control the passing information and to avoid two or more systems transmit simultaneous. Ethernet cable made up of several coaxial wire. The function of Ethernet is to deliver data between computers on the Internet.
Local Area Networks also called LANs have been a major player in industrialization of computers. In the past 20 or so years the worlds industry has be invaded with new computer technology. It has made such an impact on the way we do business that it has become essential with an ever-growing need for improvement. LANs give an employer the ability to share information between computers with a simple relatively inexpensive system of network cards and software. It also lets the user or users share hardware such as Printers and scanners. The speed of access between the computers is lighting fast because the data has a short distance to cover. In most cases a LAN only occupies one or a group of buildings located next to each other. For larger area need there are several other types of networks such as the Internet.
Have you ever needed to have more than one home computer for you and your family? Do you have two or more computers, but need to copy and/or share files and/or programs between them, but you don’t know how? Do all of your computers need Internet access, but you don’t want to have a phone line installed for each of them? Well, you can do all of this. I know, because this is what I did at my home. After doing research I found that there are several advantages for having your own Home Computer Network. Following, are several reasons to do this in your house.
Network (LAN), Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), and Wide Area Network (WAN). Instead LAN, PAN also can be built using either wired or wireless technology. In this assignment, i will focus on Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN) which is implemented IEEE 802.15 standard based on the smart home environment that would enable an elderly to stay in their home, instead of a health care center so that they can live independently. Therefore, this is the opportunity for us to explore, design and layout network infrastructure by using our background knowledge in data communication and computer networks.