What is LAN (Local Area Network)

 LAN in English

What-is-LAN-Network

LAN Full Form:

Full Form of LAN is-

Local Area Network


Local Area Network or it is also called Local Area Network in English.

LAN Meaning

LAN means Local Area Network and it is called "LAN".

LAN Definition

Local Area Network (LAN) is a computer network within a small geographic area such as home, school, computer lab, office building or a group of buildings.

What is LAN

Lan provides the networking capability to the computer group in close proximity to each other, such as in the office building, school or home.

LANs are usually created to enable the sharing of resources and services such as files, printers, games, apps, email or Internet access.

Local Area Network can connect two or three users (for example, in a small office network) or several hundred users in a large office.

LAN networking includes cables, switches, router, and other components that allow users to connect to internal servers, websites and other LANs through a wide server network.

Many Local Area Networks can be stand-alone, which are not connected to any other network, so many Local Area Networks can connect to other LANs or WANs (like the Internet).

Traditional home networks are personal LANs, but it is possible to have more than one LAN inside the house, such as when you set up a guest network.

What is it?

In the simplest language, the Local Area Network (LAN) is a group of computers and other devices that connect simultaneously on the network and all are located in one place-usually within a building such as an office or home.

Technologies Used to Build a LAN

Modern Local Area Network either uses Wi-Fi or Ethernet to connect their devices together.

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A typical Wi-Fi LAN has one or more wireless access points that connect to the devices within the signal range. These access points manage network traffic coming from local devices and can also provide local network interface with external networks.

On a home LAN, wireless broadband router functions as an access point.

A specific Ethernet LAN has one or more hubs, switches, or router that separate devices are connected to Ethernet cables.



Wi-Fi and Ethernet allow both devices to connect directly to each other instead of the central device (eg peer-to-peer or ad-hoc connections), although the efficiency of these networks is limited.

Although Ethernet and Wi-Fi are usually used in most small businesses and homes because of low cost and speed requirements, you can also set up a LAN with a fiber connection.

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All popular network operating systems offer in-built support for TCP / IP technology.

How big can LAN be?

The number of devices in a local network can be anything from one or two to several thousand.

Certain devices, such as servers and printers, are connected to the LAN permanently, while mobile devices such as laptop computers and phones can sometimes join the network and get out.

Both technologies are used to make LANs and its purpose determines its physical size. Wi-Fi local networks, for example, coverage of individual access points are in accordance with the area, while Ethernet networks can cover different Ethernet cables.

In both cases, however, the use of multiple access points or switches can be extended to cover a lot of distance if necessary.

Other types of area networks can be larger than LAN, such as MAN and CAN.

Uses of LAN

The LAN (Local Area Network) application is widely used in universities, some banks, homes, and some air reservation systems. LAN enables you to store data in any central computer, from which it can be shared in the entire organization.

File transfer and recovery is easy in the LAN (Local Area Network) network because backup files are stored in one server.

Restricted LANs provide adequate security for data as only authentic user data can be shared and accessed.

LAN (Local Area Network) helps you to avoid the installation costs of various software because resources are shared with management and central servers.

Apart from this, expensive hardware devices such as laser printers, CD writers and scanners can be used equally with each individual unit.

Advantages of a LAN

LAN has lots of advantages. The most obvious thing is that software (plus licenses), files, and hardware can be shared with all the devices connecting to the LAN. This arrangement not only makes the administration easy but also reduces the cost of buying additional devices. For example, for a business to share printers across the entire network, a LAN installer can avoid buying a printer for every employee and computer, which allows only one person to print, fax, document scan, etc. more.

Since sharing, the local area network has a major role, it is clear that this kind of network means faster communication. If they live in the local network instead of internet access, then not only can the files and other data be shared, but point-to-point communication can also be established for fast interpersonal communication.

For sharing resources on a network, central administrative control is needed, which means that it is easy to keep those resources in mind, change, update, troubleshoot and maintain.

Types of LAN

LAN Topologies

A computer network topology is the built-in communication structure for a LAN component. People who design network technologies consider topologies, and understanding them gives some additional insight into doing some work on the network. However, the average user of the computer network does not need to know more about them.

Bus, ring, and star topologies are three basic forms that are known by most networking-literate people.