Wide Area Network (WAN)

The geographical distribution of WAN spans greater distances and may extend over several thousand kilometers.It can operate nationwide or even worldwide. The computers and users in one location can communicate with other computers and users in other locations. Leased telecommunication lines, public communication systems such as telephone lines, fiber-optic cables, microwave links and satellite channels are used to links across regional, metropolitan, national or international boundaries and hence the overall communication cost of WAN is very high.Point-to-Point connection between two computers is used in WANs. The technologies used in WANs are SONET, ATM, MPLSand Frame Relay.The technology used for WAN is high speed and relatively expensive but it is most reliable and secure than Circuit switching or Packet Switching (Connection oriented).Sample protocols used for WANs are PPP,HDLC,SDLC,and HNAS.

The protocol used for a WAN is TCP/IPin combination with devices such as routers, switches, firewalls and modems.A wide area network may be privately owned or rented, but they are usually implemented with public (shared user) networks or an enterprise or a corporation or an organization which connects with several LANs.

At the end of each leased lines, a router connects the LAN on one side with a second router within the LAN on the other.The transmission rates in WANs usually range from 1200 bits per second to slightly over 1 Mbps. Nowadays, transmission rates are typically 2 Mbps, 34 Mbps, 45 Mbps, and 155 Mbps, 625 Mbps (or sometimes considerably more).More complex routing algorithms are used in WANs.

ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency of U.S. Department of defense) was first WAN. International airlines worldwide link their computers to form a WAN that facilitates booking of flight tickets on international flights. Internet is world’s most popular WAN. Extranets and VPS based segments are also WANs in themselves.

A WAN is usually formed by interconnecting multiple LANs and other types of networks togethereach of which may belong to different organizations so that users and computers in one location can communicate with users and computers in other locations. Due to a large distance in WAN, the error transmission rates are higher than LANs.

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