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Tech Differences

Know the Technical Differences

Difference Between LAN, MAN and WAN

intro imageThe Network allows computers to connect and communicate with different computers via any medium. LAN, MAN, and WAN are the three types of the network designed to operate over the area they cover. There are some similarities and dissimilarities between them.

One of the significant differences is in the geographical area they cover, i.e. LAN covers the smallest area; MAN covers an area larger than LAN and WAN comprises the largest of all.

Furthermore, LAN networks rely on the hardware and communication devices owned by them for the transmission. As against, this could not be possible in case of MAN and WAN which are obliged to use public, private, leased communication hardware as these networks are spanned across a magnificent area.

Content: LAN Vs MAN Vs WAN

  1. Comparison Chart
  2. Definition
  3. Key Differences
  4. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

BASIS OF COMPARISONLANMANWAN
Expands toLocal Area NetworkMetropolitan Area Network Wide Area Network
MeaningA network that connects a group of computers in a small geographical area.It covers relatively large region such as cities, towns.It spans large locality and connects countries together. Example Internet.
Ownership of NetworkPrivatePrivate or PublicPrivate or Public
Design and maintenanceEasyDifficultDifficult
Propagation DelayShortModerateLong
SpeedHigh ModerateLow
Fault ToleranceMore TolerantLess TolerantLess Tolerant
CongestionLess MoreMore
Used forCollege, School, Hospital.Small towns, City.Country/Continent.
AllowsSingle pair of devices to communicate.Multiple computers can simultaneously interact.A huge group of computers communicate at the same time.

Definition of Local Area Network

LAN or Local Area Network links network devices in such a way that personal computer and workstations can share data, tools and programs. Data transmits at a very fast rate as the number of computers linked are limited. LAN’s cover a smaller geographical area and are privately owned. One can use it for an office building, home, hospital, schools, etc. LAN is easy to design and maintain.

A Communication medium used for LAN has twisted pair cables and coaxial cables. It covers a short distance, and so the error and noise are minimized. LAN can be configured in the ring, bus and star topology. The ring topology is prevalent in the Token Ring LANs of IBM and bus is widespread in Token Bus and Ethernet LANs.LAN diagrammatic exampleIt is a broadcast network where the message is sent to all the connected hosts as all the host share the same transmission medium (wire). Broadcasting can be done in two ways statically and dynamically. In the static technique, the hosts are provided with a definite time slice for transmitting the information. While in the dynamic method the hosts can flexibly send the frame at any particular time.

Definition of Metropolitan Area Network

MAN or Metropolitan area Network covers a larger area than that of a LAN and smaller area as compared to WAN. It connects two or more computers that are apart but resides in the same or different cities. It covers a large geographical area and may serve as an ISP (Internet Service Provider). It’s hard to design and maintain a Metropolitan Area Network.MAN diagrammatic example It is costly and may or may not be owned by a single organization. The data transfer rate of MAN is moderate.

Types of MAN

MAN can be categorised into two types: DQDB and SMDS.

  • DQDB (Distributed Queue Dual Bus): It is considered as a dual bus configuration refers that each host in the network would be linked to the two backbone network lines.
  • SMDS (Switched Multimegabit Data Services): SMDS connects different LANs and permits packets to transfer to any other LAN on the SMDS. It is a high-speed MAN which uses packet switching as a datagram service.

Definition of Wide Area Network

WAN or Wide Area Network is a computer network that spans over a large geographical area. A WAN could be a connection of LAN connecting to other LAN’s via telephone lines and radio waves.

Wide Area Network may or may not be privately owned. A Communication medium used for wide area network is PSTN or Satellite Link. Due to long-distance transmission, the noise and error tend to be more in WAN. Propagation delay is one of the biggest problems faced here.WAN diagrammatic example Unlike LAN, WAN uses switching that allows multiple computers to connect with several switches instead of connecting with each other. It also uses the store-and-forward concept to transmit packets, where packets are stored in a buffer on a temporary basis then forwarded to the destination by following the predefined path.

Key Differences Between LAN, MAN and WAN

  1. The geographical area covered by LAN is small, whereas, MAN covers relatively large and WAN covers the greatest of all.
  2. LAN is confined to schools, hospitals or buildings, whereas, MAN connects small towns or Cities and on the other hand, WAN covers Country or a group of Countries.
  3. Devices used for transmission of data are-
    LAN: WiFi, Ethernet Cables.
    MAN: Modem and Wire/Cable
    WAN: Optic wires, Microwaves, Satellites.
  4. LAN’s transmit data at a faster rate than MAN and WAN.
  5. Maintenance of LAN is easier than that of MAN and WAN.
  6. The bandwidth available for transmission is higher in LAN than MAN and WAN.
  7. Data transmission errors and noise are least in LAN, moderate in MAN and high in WAN.

Conclusion

There are many advantages of LAN over MAN and WAN, such as LAN’s provide excellent reliability, high data transmission rate, they can easily be managed and shares peripheral devices too.

Local Area Network cannot cover cities or towns and for that Metropolitan Area Network is needed, which can connect the city or a group of cities. Further, for connecting Country or a group of Countries, one requires a Wide Area Network.

Related Differences:

  1. Difference Between LAN and VLAN
  2. Difference Between Ethernet and LAN
  3. Difference Between Stack and Queue
  4. Difference Between Data Warehouse and Data Mart
  5. Difference Between Internet And Intranet

Comments

  1. Aditya kumar sahu says

    August 17, 2017 at 10:50 am

    This site gives a very good comparison and it is very helpful for me

    Reply
  2. Duke says

    September 1, 2017 at 3:34 pm

    Please tell me difference between internet and ethernet in simple and easiest way.
    Thanks

    Reply
  3. Jasim Nayan says

    March 1, 2018 at 6:12 pm

    very good

    Reply
  4. Atharva Joshi says

    March 22, 2018 at 6:19 pm

    really helpful!!

    Reply
  5. Jyoti says

    May 29, 2018 at 10:16 am

    Really helpfull

    Reply
  6. Andrew Maronga says

    May 30, 2018 at 7:06 pm

    thank you for a well presented work

    Reply
  7. Manju Bonia says

    August 29, 2018 at 2:10 pm

    Really helpful

    Reply
  8. muktisharma says

    September 11, 2018 at 7:00 pm

    Very well explained

    Reply
  9. Ravina says

    November 22, 2018 at 5:09 pm

    Too much easy and very helpful.

    Reply
  10. Shruti says

    November 25, 2018 at 6:16 am

    Very informative…..

    Reply
  11. Khushal says

    January 8, 2019 at 4:44 pm

    Very easy to understand the difference b/w WAN MAN LAN

    Reply
  12. Farhad Ahaned says

    May 27, 2019 at 2:36 am

    Nice site for differences…It is helpful for me

    Reply
  13. Sneha says

    September 10, 2019 at 11:14 pm

    Great content….

    Reply
  14. Mehedi hasan says

    October 23, 2019 at 8:01 am

    The writer has explained it in-depth with pictures. Please, tell me the difference between search engine and browser…..

    Reply
    • Neelima P says

      October 24, 2019 at 6:45 am

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      Reply
  15. deep suthar says

    December 25, 2019 at 8:09 am

    Nice Site
    Great content

    Reply
  16. Hadi Khan says

    February 13, 2020 at 2:51 pm

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    Reply
  17. Tisma Binte Prithul says

    August 11, 2020 at 8:23 am

    Nice

    Reply
  18. Zannatul Ferdous Zannat says

    August 16, 2020 at 12:23 pm

    It is really helpful for me..

    Reply
  19. Deodatus kahwa says

    January 12, 2021 at 9:48 pm

    Well done , helpful

    Reply
  20. Aleeza kashif says

    March 12, 2021 at 8:35 am

    It is very easy to understand the concept with this site

    Reply
  21. Oguchi prosper says

    March 30, 2022 at 9:49 pm

    It’s very easy to understand b/w MAN,LAN,WAN

    Reply
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