

The distance between hardware devices should be measured in order to determine the length of cables required. A router is also required to establish an internet connection for devices on the network. In order to connect devices wirelessly, a router is required to broadcast a wireless LAN.

A switch can extend the number of ports as the number of devices increases. Before building a Local Area Network, identify the number of devices, which determines the number of ports required. The first step in Local Area Network design is determining network needs. An Emulated Local Area Network enables routing and data bridging an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network, which facilitates the exchange of Ethernet and token ring network data. Local Area and Wide Area Networks differ in their range. This system of connected LANs is classified as a Wide Local Area Network or a metropolitan area network. LANs can interconnect with other LANs via leased lines and services, or across the Internet using virtual, private network technologies. Devices on a peer-to-peer local area network share data directly to a switch or router without the use of a central server. On a client-server local area network, multiple client-devices are connected to a central server, in which application access, device access, file storage, and network traffic are managed.Īpplications running on the Local Area Network server provide services such as database access, document sharing, email, and printing. Local area network architecture is categorized as either peer-to-peer or client-server. The function of Local Area Networks is to link computers together and provide shared access to printers, files, and other services. Physical network topology examples include star, mesh, tree, ring, point-to-point, circular, hybrid, and bus topology networks, each consisting of different configurations of nodes and links. Logical network topology examples include twisted pair Ethernet, which is categorized as a logical bus topology, and token ring, which is categorized as a logical ring topology. LANs can also include such network devices as firewalls, load balancers, and network intrusion detection. LANs generally consist of cables and switches, which can be connected to a router, cable modem, or ADSL modem for Internet access. LANs are categorized by the physical signal transmission medium or the logical manner in which data travels through the network between devices, independent of the physical connection. The Local Area Network layout, also known as Local Area Network topology, describes the physical and logical manner in which devices and network segments are interconnected. What are the Basic Layouts of Local Area Networks

Switches are ideal tools for increasing the number of LAN ports available on the network. A network switch connects to the router and facilitates communication between connected devices, but does not handle Local Area Network IP configuration or sharing Internet connections. Devices on a LAN, typically personal computers and workstations, can share files and be accessed by each other over a single Internet connection.Ī router assigns IP addresses to each device on the network and facilitates a shared Internet connection between all the connected devices. A LAN is a computer network that consists of access points, cables, routers, and switches that enable devices to connect to web servers and internal servers within a single building, campus, or home network, and to other LANs via Wide Area Networks (WAN) or Metropolitan Area Network (MAN).
