Network Classification

Ishara Silva
4 min readFeb 16, 2021
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There are different kinds of computer networks. It can categorize into Geographical spread, network topology, network architecture as well as transmission medium.

The size of a network must be talked about by the geographic area and number of computers, It includes millions of devices also can include a single room around the world.

Classification By Geographical Spread

Some of the various kinds of networks based on the geographical area are

  1. Local Area Network (LAN)
  2. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
  3. Wide Area Network (WAN)

Local Area Network

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A Local Area Network (LAN) is a group of computers that are connected in a limited geographical area such as school, home, and office. The most common technologies are Wifi and Ethernet. It is more useful for sharing resources. LAN is connecting computing devices through a communication medium such as coaxial cable, twisted pair, fiber optics, etc.

Advantages of LAN

· reduces the cost of built hardware.

· Used a single hard disk of the server to store all the data of users.

· easily transfer data

· provide higher security because It manages data in only one place

· Local Area Network offers the facility to share a single internet connection among all the LAN users.

Disadvantages of LAN

· the initial cost of creating Local Area Networks is high.

· does not provide better privacy

· can access Unauthorized users to critical data in case LAN cannot secure a centralized data repository.

· Local Area Network needs regular maintenance due to issues such as software setup and hardware failures.

Metropolitan Area Network

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Metropolitan Area Network combines across a computer network of the city, multiple organizations. This network is large than a LAN and smaller than the WAN that is limited to one building or site. Depending upon the type of configuration, this is allowed to cover a location from several miles to 10 of miles.

Advantages of MAN

· fast communication using high-speed mediums.

· It provides greater support for a greater size network

· A MAN covers a whole city or some areas of a town.

· The dual bus of the MAN gives help to exchange data in both directions concurrently.

Disadvantages of MAN

· need more cable to establish MAN connection

· MAN network is harder to secure from hackers

Wide Area Network

Wide Area Network is spread to a large geographical area. The WAN is larger than LAN and MAN.
Also, a WAN can cover a country, the continent, or the whole world. Internet is the best example of WAN.

Advantages of WAN

· WAN covers a larger geographical area. So can easily communicate with longer distances.

· Includes more devices like mobile phones, laptop, tablet, computers, etc.

· use radio transmitters and receivers built into client devices. So speed is high

Disadvantage of WAN

· The initial cost is very high.

· difficult to maintain.

· need talented technicians and administrators for the maintenance.

· more time requires to solve issues.

· lower security than the other types of networks.

There are some other network types apart from the above network types like PAN(Personal Area Network), WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network), Campus Area Network, Virtual Area Network, etc. All are more important in various moments.

Classification by Network Topologies

In a network, there are 4 types of physical networks based on shape. They are

· Bus Topology

· Ring Topology

· Star Topology

· Mesh Topology

Classification by Network Architecture

Considering how organized computers and how to allocate tasks to them, again they can be also categorized into some network models. It is called “Network architecture” There are two types of network architecture.

· Peer to Peer Architecture

· Client-Server Architecture

Difference between Peer to peer and Client-Server Architecture
Difference between Peer to peer and Client-Server Architecture

In a network, we can identify various kinds of network classification according to the geographical area, topologies, architecture, etc. All are more important in our uses.

So, I think you found out about Network Classification from this blog.

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Ishara Silva

A friendly, punctual, dedicated, self-motivated and hardworking IT undergraduate with willing to face new challenges and experience in my life.