LAN and WAN

Question 1

What is LAN

Answer 1

Local Area Network- Network connecting computers in a single room, building, site or small geographical area

Question 2

What is WAN

Answer 2

Wide Area Network- Network connecting computers in a large geographical area, possibly 1000s of km apart

Question 3

What are 2 characteristics of LAN

Answer 3

• Owned and used by a private organisation or company
• Covers a small geographical area

Question 4

What are 2 characteristics of WAN

Answer 4

• Can be owned either privately or publicly
• Used by an organisation/company to connect many branches/sites

Question 5

What are 4 benefits of LAN

Answer 5

• Communication done faster through internet messaging systems or emails instead of memos
• Files and data can be shared and easily accessed through a central file server
• Resources such as software and hardware can be shared
• Central management is possible as backups of data can be made, security is managed

Question 6

What are the 3 benefits of WAN

Answer 6

• Messages can be transmitted to remote computers
• Data archives stored on a network can be accessed remotely
• Application/job can be run on a computer that has the required application software

Question 6

What are the differences between LAN and WAN

Answer 6

• WAN covers a larger geographical area than LAN
• LAN is more secure as protection is easier to implement
• LAN is owned by private while WAN is owned by public or private
• LAN has high data transfer rate while WAN has low data transfer rate