Functions of A Wide Area Network

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Introduction
A Wide Area Network is geographically dispersed telecommunication network. The term distinguishes a broader telecommunication structure from a local area network. Wide area network may be privately owned or rented, but the term usually connotes the inclusion of public network. An intermediate form of network in terms of geography is a metropolitan area network. WAN is communication network that are regional or worldwide in geographic area, with a minimum distance typical of that between major metropolitan area. Smaller network include metropolitan and local area network. A communication network provide common transmission, and switching functions that enable user to transport data between many source and many destination. Under ideal circumstances, the data that arrive at the destination are identical to the data that were sent. The rate of arrival of the bits at any point in the network is said to be the data rate at that point and it is typically measured in bits per second. These bits may come from one source or from a multiple of source. The capacity of a network to transmit at a certain data rate is known as its bandwidth.

Figure 1 : The MESH connectivity of a WAN.

A typical network is shown in the figure above. WAN are commonly use the MESH connectivity network. The characteristic of the transmission facility lead to an emphasis on efficiency of communication technique in the design of WANs. Controlling the volume of traffic and avoiding excessive delay is important. Since the topology of WANs are likely to be more complex than those of LANs, routing algorithm also receive more emphasis. Many WANs also implement sophisticated monitoring procedure to account for which user consume the network resource. This i...

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...ny different people have the ability to use the information from other computer.
• Messages can be sent quickly to other people on the network. These message are data, pictures, sounds, or video included with them called attachment. • Once set up, maintaining a network is a full-time job which requires network supervisors and technicians to be employed.
• Volunerable to hackers or other outside threats

Conclusion

Wide Area Network is a collection of computer and network resource connected via a network over a geographic area. WAN are commonly connected either through the Internet or special arrangement made with phone companies or other service provider. A WAN is different from a MAN because of the distance between each of the networks. In a WAN, one network may be anywhere from several hundred miles away, to across the globe in a different country.

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