Unit 3 · Network Types and Architectures · Chapter 7
Network Types — PAN, LAN, MAN, WAN
Week 3 · Day 1 · Benchmark 11.4.1.3 Classify networks by scope and architecture
Essential question
How do we describe a network by how big it is?
Learning objectives
- Define PAN, LAN, MAN and WAN
- Give a real example of each
- Explain where the Internet fits
Overview
Networks come in many sizes — from the Bluetooth link between your phone and earbuds to the global Internet. Classifying by scope helps us pick the right hardware, cables and protocols.
Four scopes
PAN, LAN, MAN and WAN each cover a bigger area and involve more equipment.
- PAN: Personal Area Network — around one person, ~10 m. Bluetooth earbuds, phone-to-laptop.
- LAN: Local Area Network — one building or campus. Your school lab.
- MAN: Metropolitan Area Network — one city. Council CCTV network, a university with multiple campuses.
- WAN: Wide Area Network — country or global. Digicel's national data network, the Internet.
The Internet
The Internet is a WAN of WANs — thousands of independent networks that agree to speak IP. From your phone the signal hops through Digicel's LAN inside the tower, onto their national WAN, across an undersea fibre WAN, then into the destination server's LAN — sometimes in under 200 ms.
Activity
Map Your Networks
- List every network your phone connects to in a normal day.
- Label each as PAN, LAN, MAN or WAN.
- Compare with a partner and discuss any differences.
Review questions
- Which scope covers a single building?
Reveal answer
LAN.
- Bluetooth headphones — what scope?
Reveal answer
PAN.
- How would you classify the Internet?
Reveal answer
A global WAN, or a network of WANs.
Take it home
Research: which PNG cities are linked by the Kumul submarine cable? Which network scope is this?
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