Types of network Different types of private networks

Types of network

Different types of private networks are distinguished based on their sizes (in terms of the number of machines), their data transfer speeds, and their reach. 
Private networks are networks that belong to a single organization. There are usually said to be three categories of such networks: LAN, or local area network; MAN, or metropolitan area network; and WAN, or wide area network. 
There are two other types of networks: TANs, or Tiny Area Network, which are the same as LANs but smaller, consisting of 2 to 3 machines; and CANs, or Campus Area Networks, which are the same as MANs, with bandwidth limited between each of the network's LANs. 
Two basic network types are local-area networks (LANs) and wide-area networks (WANs). LANs connect computers and peripheral devices in a limited physical area, such as a business office, laboratory, or college campus, by means of links (wires, Ethernet cables, fibre optics, Wi-Fi) that transmit data rapidly. A typical LAN consists of two or more personal computers, printers, and high-capacity disk-storage devices called file servers, which enable each computer on the network to access a common set of files. LAN operating system software, which interprets input and instructs networked devices, allows users to communicate with each other; share the printers and storage equipment; and simultaneously access centrally located processors, data, or programs (instruction sets). LAN users may also access other LANs or tap into WANs. LANs with similar architectures are linked by “bridges,” which act as transfer points. LANs with different architectures are linked by “gateways,” which convert data as it passes between systems.
WANs connect computers and smaller networks to larger networks over greater geographic areas, including different continents. They may link the computers by means of cables, optical fibres, or satellites, but their users commonly access the networks via a modem (a device that allows computers to communicate over telephone lines). The largest WAN is the Internet, a collection of networks and gateways linking billions of computer users on every continent.
LAN
LAN refers to a group of computers that all belong to the same organization and that are linked within a small geographic area using a network and often the same technology (the most widespread being Ethernet). 
A local area network is a network in its simplest form. Data transfer speeds over a local area network can reach up to 10 Mbps, such as for an Ethernet network, and 1 Gbps, as with FDDI or Gigabit Ethernet. A local area network can reach as many as 100, or even 1000, users. By expanding the definition of a LAN to the services that it provides, two different operating modes can be defined: in a "peer-to-peer" network, in which communication is carried out from one computer to another, without a central computer, and where each computer has the same role; or in a "client/server" environment, in which a central computer provides network services to users.