Local Area Network (LAN)

Local Area Network (LAN)

A Local Area Network (LAN) is a computer network that is limited to a small physical area. For example a home, building, a small office base with a few buildings or a school. Connected computers or nodes in a LAN are usually with one mile of each other.

There are two basic types of computers in a LAN network, the server and the client. The server computer serves as the main computer that links other computers and devices on a network together.

The sever computer also host the software that controls the network and the some software that are shared by all the computers attached to the network.

A client computer (usually less powerful than the server) is a system that is connected to the server to access a service or application. A set of client computers can be connected to the server computer. A client computer may also have additional software installed on its hard drive. Cables are used to connect the network interface cards in each computer on a Local Area Network. A characteristic of a LAN is that it usually has a higher rate of data transfer than a WAN (Wider Area Network).