What Is A LAN?

Date First Published: 29th January 2022

Topic: Computer Networking

Subtopic: Network Setups

Article Type: Computer Terms & Definitions

Difficulty Level: 5/10

Learn more about what a LAN is in this article.

Short for a local area network, a LAN describes a network that connects nearby devices within a limited area. Examples of a LAN are a home, office, laboratory, or school network. It is the opposite of a WAN as it does not cover a wide geographical area. It is limited to connecting devices and sharing hardware and data within a single location.

In order to connect devices within a network, LANs use connection technologies. Ethernet and Wi-Fi are the two most commonly used technologies used in LANs. Examples of older technologies that are rarely used now are Token Ring, ARCNET, and AppleTalk. Ethernet is a technology that uses Ethernet wires to connect physical devices and Wi-Fi is a wireless technology that uses radio waves to connect to a network.

Any type of device with network capabilities can connect to a LAN. Examples are servers, desktop computers, laptop computers, printers, and game consoles. Only a router and a way for connecting the devices to the network is required for setting up a LAN.

History

LANs have been around since 1977. In December 1977, the first commercial LAN was used by Chase Manhattan Bank in New York, although LANs were still around before that time. Large colleges and universities received the first LAN in the 1960s and Ethernet was founded by Xerox Palo Alto Research Centre and distributed in 1976. The first LAN was available to the public in 1979 when Metcalfe started 3Com Corporation to develop and sell Ethernet products. Wireless LAN has been around since 1991 and the IEEE (Electrical and Electronic Engineers) worked on it. Wi-Fi was officially released in 1997 when the 802.11 Wi-Fi standard was developed by IEEE.

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