About Network

A network or communication network is a system of interconnected communication devices that can communicate with one another and share information. Therefore computer network can be defined as:

A system in which more than one computers or large number of computers are interconnected together, communicate freely with one another and share information is called computer network.

A network can be internal to an organization or span the world by connecting itself to the internet. In computer network, network operating system is used that controls and co-ordinates the activities of computers that are connected to the network. The example of these operating systems are: windows NT, UNIX, and Novell etc.

Types of Network

Networks are of three types. These are:

Local Area Network (LAN)

Wide Area Network (WAN)

Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

Local Area Network

A local area network is a network system in which computers are interconnected in a limited geographical area, such as network of computers in college computer laboratory or network of computers in office building etc.

Wide Area Network

A wide area network is a network system that covers a large geographical area such as different cities of country or different countries of the world. In WAN telephone lines, satellites, microwave, fiber optic etc. are used as transmission media.

Metropolitan Area Network

A Metropolitan area Network is a network system that covers area of a single city. Usually, MAN connects more than one LANS in a city or town and covers a smaller geographical area than a WAN. The cable television, telephone companies or local corporations use MAN.