Networking Solutions  

Local Area Networks

Local Area Networks (LANs) are the high speed networks that connect geographically close computers together. Generally, computers in the same building are connected via a LAN. A LAN brings data to your desktop at speeds suitable for all personal business computing - from 2Mps for wireless solutions to 1Gbps for very high speed backbones.

Switches can be used in LANs to segment data traffic to achieve better throughput and to consolidate traffic onto higher speed media (e.g. from 10Mbps Ethernet to 100Mbps Ethernet).

Wide Area Networks

Companies with more than one physical site need a wide area network (WAN) to share computer resources. WANs connect remote computers or remote LANs together across land that isn't owned by the business. With the advent of the Internet, the costs of deploying and maintaining a wide area network have dropped significantly, while the speed at which data can be exchanged has increased. As a result, these companies can take advantage of WANs in their everyday business practices.

Because WANs are usually set up using lines leased from telephone companies or cable companies, they generally do not achieve the throughput of LAN cabling. Usually, they achieve throughput between 56Kbps to 1.5Mbps, but they can go as high as 155Mbps if cost is not an issue.

You have another option if you want to operate WANs within miles of each other - wireless broadband technology. Using direct line-of-site broadband transceivers, 10Mbps can be achieved between sites. The benefit is high bandwidth with no monthly line charges.

Campus Area Networks

Campus area networks are WANs that connect geographically close buildings together. These campuses are generally connected by land commonly owned. As a result, the cabling between the buildings is owned. These networks generally use fiber optic cables and they can achieve very high throughputs.

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