Introduction to Wide Area Networks
What is it that makes something a wide area network (WAN) instead of a local area network (LAN)? Distance is the first thing that comes to mind, but these days, wireless LANs can cover some serious turf! So, is it bandwidth? Here again, in many places really big pipes can be had for a price, so that's not it either. Well, what then? Perhaps one of the best ways to tell a WAN from a LAN is that you generally own a LAN infrastructure, but you lease a WAN infrastructure from a service provider.
I've already talked about a data link that you usually own (Ethernet), but now I'm going to talk about the data links you most often don't own but instead lease from a service provider.
The key to understanding WAN technologies ...
Get CCENT Cisco Certified Entry Networking Technician Study Guide: (ICND1 Exam 640-822), 2nd Edition now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
