Chapter 7: Introducing Wide-Area Networks (WANs)
Exam Objectives
Describing wide-area networks (WANs)
Describing the purpose of data communication service providers
Differentiating between LAN and WAN operations and features
Identifying different methods for connecting to a WAN
You get acquainted with WANs (wide-area networks) in this chapter. You find out about the various types of WAN connections. The pros and cons of each type of connection are reviewed. You discover more about WANs in Book VII.
Introducing Wide-Area Networks
Wide-area networks span long distances. They interconnect the following:
♦ MANs (metropolitan-area networks)
♦ CANs (campus-area networks)
♦ LANs (local-area networks)
Telecommunication companies build and maintain WANs. Telecom companies lease bandwidth, or dedicated connections, to other companies that need to interconnect their LANs over long distances. The telecom companies that provide shared bandwidth or dedicated connections over their WANs are also called service providers.
Data communication service providers invest in telecommunication infrastructure such as terrestrial and submarine cabling, satellites and earth base stations, microwave base stations, and other wireless links to be able to provide a fast, reliable worldwide data communication infrastructure.
You find four types of WAN connections:
♦ Dedicated leased line
♦ Circuit-switched
♦ Packet-switched
♦ Cell-switched
Dedicated Leased Line Connections
A dedicated leased line is a data ...
