what is wide area network

Therefore, private hosts cannot directly communicate with public networks, but require network address translation at a routing gateway for this purpose. [9], Computer network that connects devices across a large distance and area, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "A WAN Is a Wide Area Network. This framework protects communications between sites. [3] However, in terms of the application of communication protocols and concepts, it may be best to view WANs as computer networking technologies used to transmit data over long distances, and between different networks. 1960, a 110 bit/s (bits per second) line was normal on the edge of the WAN, while core links of 56 kbit/s to 64 kbit/s were considered fast. The Quality of Service feature of MPLS was key to its success. Others, built by Internet service providers, provide connections from an organization's LAN to the Internet. WANs are often built using leased lines. [1], Businesses, as well as schools and government entities, use wide area networks to relay data to staff, students, clients, buyers and suppliers from various locations across the world. If a WAN combines two or more connection types—for example, if it uses MPLS circuits as well as T3 lines—it is considered a hybrid WAN. A wide area network (WAN) is a telecommunications network that extends over a large geographic area for the primary purpose of computer networking. How to Build a Career in Computer Networking and IT. Multiprotocol Label Switching replaced Frame Relay by improving protocol support for handling voice and video traffic in addition to normal data traffic. The acronym WAN is sometimes erroneously used to describe a wireless area network, though it's most often abbreviated as WLAN. WAN connects different smaller networks, including local area networks (LANs) and metro area networks (MANs). - Definition from WhatIs.com". [7] Researchers Robert Maher, Alex Alvarado, Domaniç Lavery, and Polina Bayvel of University College London were able to increase networking speeds to 1.125 terabits per second. In ca. Leased lines can be very expensive. WANs are used to connect LANs and other types of networks together so that users and computers in one location can communicate with users and computers in other locations. For more details, see our Privacy Policy. Compared to underground landlines, undersea cables tend to take longer and cost more to repair. A WAN connects different smaller networks, including local area networks (LANs) and metro area networks (MANs), so that computers and users in one location can communicate with computers and users in other locations. A wide area network (WAN) is a large network of information that is not tied to a single location. You can opt-out at any time. These types of networks supported automated teller machines, credit card transaction systems, and some of the early online information services such as CompuServe. Wide area networks are often established with leased telecommunication circuits. It can be private to connect parts of a business, or it can be public to connect smaller networks. The easiest way to understand a WAN is to think of the internet as a whole, which is the world's largest WAN. While much more expensive than internet VPNs or MPLS solutions, private Ethernet WANs offer high performance, with links typically rated at 1 Gbps compared to the 1.544 Mbps of a T1. ", "AT&T Completes Industry-Leading 400 Gb Ethernet Testing, Establishing A Future Network Blueprint for Service Providers and Businesses", "Increasing the information rates of optical communications via coded modulation: a study of transceiver performance", "A New Laser for a Faster Internet - Caltech", "What is WAN (wide area network)? Here's How They Work", "Welcome to the GitHub API Development and Support Board! Global WANs require the use of undersea network cables to communicate across continents. On a smaller scale, a business may have a WAN that's comprised of cloud services, its headquarters, and branch offices. Many WANs are built for one particular organization and are private. Many businesses started using leased line WANs in the mid-1990s as the web and internet exploded in popularity. The textbook definition of a WAN is a computer network spanning regions, countries, or even the world. Long-distance, point-to-point Ethernet links can also be used to build dedicated wide area networks. New developments in technologies have successively increased transmission rates. These configurations are a cost-effective method to connect network branches but also have a faster method of transferring important data if needed. Triple-play network services built on MPLS increased in popularity during the 2000s and eventually replaced Frame Relay. This is why fiber optic cables are sometimes used to facilitate communication between the WAN links. Academic research into wide area networks can be broken down into three areas: mathematical models, network emulation, and network simulation. At each end of the leased line, a router connects the LAN on one side with a second router within the LAN on the other. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wide_area_network&oldid=987041047, Articles needing additional references from July 2015, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2019, Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2014, All articles containing potentially dated statements, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 4 November 2020, at 14:40. Performance improvements are sometimes delivered via wide area file services or WAN optimization. Wide area networks are often established with leased telecommunication circuits. A WAN, or “Wide Area Network,” is a computer network designed to connect multiple smaller Local Area Networks (LANs). Instead of using leased lines, WANs can also be built using less costly circuit switching or packet switching methods. X.25 was an important early WAN protocol, and is often considered to be the "grandfather" of Frame Relay as many of the underlying protocols and functions of X.25 are still in use today (with upgrades) by Frame Relay.[4]. Since two private networks, e.g., two branch offices, cannot directly interoperate via the public Internet, the two networks must be bridged across the Internet via a virtual private network (VPN) or an IP tunnel, which encapsulates packets, including their headers containing the private addresses, in a protocol layer during transmission across the public network. Examples include circuit-switched telephone lines, radio wave transmission, and optical fiber. Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day, Introduction to LANs, WANs, and Other Kinds of Area Networks, Visual Index of Computer Networking Topics, T1 and T3 Lines for Network Communications, The Fundamentals of an Ethernet LAN, Explained, Overview of a Personal Area Network (PAN). The WAN, in this case, connects those sections of the business. Of the approximately four billion addresses defined in IPv4, about 18 million addresses in three ranges are reserved for use in private networks. No matter what the WAN joins together or how far apart the networks are, the result allows smaller networks from different locations to communicate with one another. Undersea cables are subject to sabotage and also unintentional breaks from ships and weather conditions. A wide area network (WAN) is a telecommunications network that extends over a large geographic area for the primary purpose of computer networking. Since the 1970s, many WANs were built using a technology standard called X.25. Disputes can arise between governments over ownership rights and network usage restrictions. In essence, this mode of telecommunication allows a business to effectively carry out its daily function regardless of location. A wide area network (WAN) is a network that exists over a large-scale geographical area, as compared to other network types, such as a local area network (LAN). [8] Christos Santis, graduate student Scott Steger, Amnon Yariv, Martin and Eileen Summerfield developed a new laser that potentially quadruples transfer speeds with fiber optics. You could think of the internet itself as one gigantic WAN. T1 and T3 lines often support MPLS or internet VPN communications. What Is an Uplink Port in Computer Networking? [citation needed] As of 2014[update], households are connected to the Internet with dial-up, asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL), cable, WiMAX, 4G[6] or fiber. Although VPNs provide reasonable levels of security for business uses, a public internet connection does not always provide the predictable levels of performance that a dedicated WAN link provides. Many technologies are available for wide area network links. An MIT graduate who brings years of technical experience to articles on SEO, computers, and wireless networking. [citation needed], The following communication and networking technologies have been used to implement WANs.

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