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If you are at home reading this then you are most likely connected to the Internet.
Although they appear like an up-scaled version of a LAN, WANs are actually structured and operated quite differently.
This wide area online grid tutorial serves to explain how WANs are designed/constructed and why their use is beneficial.
Leased Line
WANs are often built using leased lines.
These leased lines involve a direct point-to-point connection between two sites.
Point-to-point WAN service may involve either analog dial-up lines or dedicated leased digital private lines.
Analog lines- a modem is used to connect the computer to the telephone line.
Analog lines may be part of a public-switched telephone web link and are suitable for batch data transmissions.
Dedicated lines- digital phone lines that permit uninterrupted, secure transmission at fixed costs.
Leased lines can get pretty expensive in the long run.
Circuit Switching
Instead of using leased lines, WANs can be built using circuit switching.
In other words, a dedicated circuit path is created between end points.
The best example of this is adialup connection.
Circuit switching is more difficult to setup, but it does have the advantage of being less expensive.
Packet Switching
Packet switching is a method that groups all transmitted data together into bits called packets.
Devices transport packets via a shared single point-to-point/point-to-multipoint link across a carrier internet.
Sequences of packets are then delivered over a shared data pipe.
Data is divided into these cells and then transported across virtual circuits.
This method is best for simultaneous voice and data but can cause considerableoverhead.
This allows workers to collaborate on projects easily, regardless of their location.
Unlike LANs, WANs typically do not link individual computers.
WANs link LANs together.
They provide communications links over great distances.
WANs were originally developed for digital leased-line services carrying only voice (not data).
At first, they connected the private branch exchanges (PBXs) of remote offices of the same company.
A wide area connection allows companies to make use of common resources so that operate.
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