Types of Networks: PAN, LAN, MAN and WAN

Hello students, welcome to Kwickprep. Your earbuds, your school lab and the whole Internet are all networks. So why do they have different names? Today we will zoom out from your pocket to the whole world, and learn the four types of networks by size.

Networks are grouped by the area they cover. P A N stands for personal area network. L A N stands for local area network. M A N stands for metropolitan area network, and metropolitan means a big city. W A N stands for wide area network.

Imagine a map that starts with you and keeps zooming out. First, the network around your body, linking your phone and earbuds, is a P A N. Zoom out to your school building, and the computer lab is an L A N. Zoom out to your whole city, and networks joining offices across it form an M A N. Zoom out further to countries and the whole world, and we reach a W A N, the biggest of which is the Internet.

Let us look at each type closely, starting with the smallest. A P A N covers about ten metres around one person. It links the devices that belong to that person. It usually uses Bluetooth, a U S B cable, or a mobile hotspot. Your phone connected to your earbuds and smartwatch is a P A N.

Next is the L A N. A local area network covers a room, a building, or a campus, usually up to about a kilometre. It uses network cables or Wi-Fi. Because the distance is short, it is very fast and has few errors. One school, office or family owns it and manages it. Your school computer lab and your home Wi-Fi are both local area networks.

Now the M A N. A metropolitan area network covers a whole city, which can be tens of kilometres. It joins many local networks across the city into one. It often runs on fibre optic cables laid under the roads. It is usually owned by a large company, a city body or the government. A cable television network in your city, or a city wide Wi-Fi service, is an example.

Finally, the W A N. A wide area network covers states, countries, or the whole world. It joins local and city networks that are very far apart. It uses long fibre cables, telephone company lines, and even satellites. Usually no single group owns all of it, and parts are rented from telecom companies. The network that connects a bank's cash machines across India is a wide area network.

Now let us compare size and ownership in one table. A P A N covers about ten metres, and one person owns it. An L A N covers a building or campus, and one organisation owns it. An M A N covers a city, and a company or the government usually owns it. A W A N covers countries and the world, and it is shared by many owners.

What about speed? The shorter the distance, the fewer the errors and delays. So a local network usually feels the fastest to its users. A wide area network is slower, because data crosses many links and devices on the way. And the bigger the area, the more it costs to set up and run.

Here are two examples of each type to remember. For P A N, a phone with earbuds, or a laptop with a wireless mouse. For L A N, a school computer lab, or the Wi-Fi in your home. For M A N, a city's cable television network, or the branches of a bank joined across one city. For W A N, the Internet, or the railway ticket booking system that works across the whole country.

Pause the video and think. A college connects the computer labs in three buildings on the same campus. Is that an L A N, an M A N, or a W A N? It is an L A N, because one campus is still a local area, even with many buildings.

Now the biggest example of all. The Internet is the largest wide area network, a network of networks joined across the world. It connects billions of devices in almost every country. No single person, company or government owns it, and all parts follow the same common rules, called protocols. Most of its traffic between continents travels through fibre optic cables laid on the sea floor, with satellites helping too.

Let us trace how your phone reaches the Internet, joining all the types together. Your phone first joins your home Wi-Fi, which is a local network. That local network connects to your internet service provider, the company you pay for internet. The provider's network links to bigger national and international networks, and together they form the Internet.

Let us revise what we learned today. A P A N covers about ten metres around one person. An L A N covers a building or campus, it is fast, and one organisation owns it. An M A N covers a whole city and is owned by a company or the government. A W A N covers countries and the world, with many shared owners. And the Internet is the largest wide area network of all.