What Is A MAN?

Date First Published: 1st February 2022

Topic: Computer Networking

Subtopic: Network Setups

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty: Medium

Difficulty Level: 5/10

CONTENTS

Technologies Used In MAN Networks

Learn more about what a MAN is in this article.

Short for a metropolitan area network, a MAN is a much larger network than a LAN, but smaller than a WAN. It is used for providing internet connections for two or more computers that are far apart, but is usually located in a large geographical area or multiple buildings. It may also serve as an ISP. MAN networks are made up of connected LANs and are usually more efficient than LANs because data does not have to travel over large distances.

Note:

Even though the word 'metropolitan' means a large city, it does not mean that these types of networks have to be in large cities. The word 'metropolitan' describes the size of the network rather than the type of area that it is used.

Technologies Used In MAN Networks

MAN networks normally cover a diameter of 5-50 kilometres and often act as a big LAN, since they act as high-speed networks that allow regional resources to be shared. A MAN may link to an internet exchange point for high-speed communication between the MAN and the public internet, and it may use a local exchange carrier (LEC) in order to provide connections between LANs. It can also connect to other suppliers through a peer exchange or to cloud vendors using Amazon Web Services (AWS) Direct Connect.

MAN networks can be difficult to design and maintain as they are quite expensive, but not as expensive as WANs, since they are designed to extend over a much wider geographical location. Modems or Ethernet can be used to transmit data through MANs. A high-speed DSL (Digital Subscriber) to the customer or the cable TV network in a city that is part of the telephone company network is an example of a MAN.

In addition, the connection of MANs is often maintained by organisations, which can enhance the security to the network. MANs are considered to be more secure than WANs because the data is safer. Also, MANs can have advantages over WAN. An advantage of a MAN over a WAN is higher bandwidth. MAN applications provide higher speed, which ranges from 1 Gb/s to 100 Gb/s, with lower latency than WANs.