In this topic, we will see about computer networks and the different types of computer networks. This topic will be useful for both school and college students as well as research scholars in the computer department to gain some knowledge about the different types of computer networks, how they work and the uses of computer networks in daily life. This article also shows the uses and importance of the different types of computer networks. We can also see the connectivity process of the networks from one place to another. In addition, we can see the architectural model of the different types of computer networks.

Types of computer networks PDF

Computer Networks Definition

The first working network is called ARPANET which was created in the late 1960s and was funded by the U.S. Defence Department. A computer network is a system that interconnects two or more computing devices to transmit or share data from one computer to another. This computer networking helps to connect computers through a network connection in different modes from wire to wireless like WiFi and other methods. The integration of computers and other different devices allows users to communicate with each other easily.

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Types of Computer Network

Around the world, there are so many different types of computer networks that may vary among the places that network allows to connect and communicate with different computers. Around the world, there are many types of networks they are listed as follows

• Personal Area Network (PAN)
• Wireless Personal Area Network (WPAN)
• Local Area Network (LAN)
• Wide Area Network (WAN)
• Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
• Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)
• Campus Area Network (CAN)
• Virtual Private Network (VPN)
• Storage Area Network (SAN)
• System Area Network (SAN)
• Passive Optical Local Area Network (POLAN)

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Types of Computer Network - PAN

• PAN - Personal Area Network is the network that connects the electronic devices within a user's immediate area.
• The range of the PAN network is within a few centimetres to millimetres.
• This type of network is designed to enable devices in a small office or home office (SOHO) environment to communicate and share resources.
• PAN usually consists of laptops, smartphones, tablets, wearables, printers and entertainment devices which are interconnected using some form of wireless technology.

Types of Computer Network - WPAN

• WPAN -Wireless Personal Area Network is the network that connects personal area devices in wireless methods.

• This WPAN is a short-range connection that connects within 10 metres.
• WPAN is mostly the connection between the short-range like within a building.
• Some examples of WPAN are Wireless mouse, wearable devices, and USB flash drives.

Classifications of WPAN

There are 3 classifications of WPAN they are Medium - rate WPAN (1Mbps)

• Low-rate WPAN (0.25Mbps)
• High-rate WPAN (>20Mbps) 
• Medium-rate WPAN (<0.25Mbps)

Types of Computer Network - LAN

• LAN - A Local Area Network is a collection of devices that are connected in one physical location such as in a building, home, or office.
• A LAN comprises cable access points, switches, routers, and other components that enable devices to communicate to internal servers, web servers, and other LANs via wide area networks.
• LAN allows users to store data in any system and share it throughout the organisation.
• Typically organisations own the copper or fibre optic cabling, routers and switches that make up a LAN.

 Classifications of LAN

• Client - Server LAN
• Peer to Peer (P2P) LAN
• Token Ring LAN
• Token Bus LAN
• Wired LAN
• Wireless LAN
• Cloud - Managed LAN

Types of Computer Network - WAN

• WAN -Wide Area Network is a collection of LAN or other networks that communicate with one another.
• The first WAN network was created by the U.S. Air Force in the late 1950s to interconnect sites in the Semi Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE).
• A WAN router, also known as an edge router or border router is a device that routes data packets between WAN locations.
• SD-WAN Software-defined WAN is an approach for making WAN architectures easier to deploy, operate, and manage.

Types of WAN technologies

• Packet Switching
• TCP/IP protocol suite
• Router 
• Overlay Network
• Packet Over SONET/SDH (PoS)
• Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS)
• ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode)
• Frame Relay 

Types of Computer Network - MAN

• MAN - Metropolitan Area Network is a computer network that connects computers within a metropolitan area which can be a metropolitan city a single large city or multiple cities and towns.
• MAN is also like WAN which is made up of interconnected LANs.
• Dark Fiber optics are used for MAN formerly unused ones that can carry traffic.
• MAN network provides high reliability because the error rate in this network is very low.

Types of Metropolitan Area Network

• Cable TV Network
• Telephone Networks
• DSL line
• The IUB Network
• IEEE 802.16
• WiMAX

Types of Computer Network - WLAN

• WLAN - A Wireless Local Network is a group of colocated computers or other devices that form a network based on radio transmissions rather than wired connections.
• The Wireless LAN allows you to move around in a specific area and still stay connected to the network.
• The researchers started researching wireless communication in the year of 1970s and they first brought it to the commercial market in the early 1990s.
• The WLAN uses a central device called a wireless access point (WAP).

Types of wireless local area networks (WLAN)

• Infrastructure WLAN
• Ad-hoc WLAN

Types of Computer Network - VPN

• A VPN - Virtual Private Network establishes a digital connection between a computer and a remote server owned by a VPN provider.
• It describes the opportunity to establish a protected network connection using public networks.
• A VPN hides your IP address by letting the network redirect it through a specially configured remote server run by a VPN host.
• A VPN works like a filter that turns your data into gibberish. If someone wants to get into the data it would be useless.

Types of VPN

• SSL VPN
• Site-to-site VPN
• Client-to Server VPN

On a final note

Here under the topic “Types of Computer Network” I have shared some knowledgeable details about the different types of computer networks with their uses and in addition I used to add about the subtypes of those computer networks. This will be useful for those who seek some information about computer networking and types of computer networking.

Types of computer networks - FAQs

Q. Define Computer networks.

“Computer Network”  means a collection of autonomous computers that are interconnected by a single technology. The computers are interconnected to exchange information  

Q. What are the common types of computer networks?

There are 4 common types of computer networks,

• PAN (Personal Area Network)
• LAN (Local Area Network)
• WAN (Wide Area Network)
• MAN (Metropolitan Area Network)

Q. Which is the largest type of computer network?

The Internet is the largest computer network in the world, connecting billions of devices across the world. It's a network of networks, made up of millions of private, public, academic, business and government networks.

Q. What is network topology?

Network topology is the physical and logical structure of a network, including how nodes are connected and how data flows. It's based on graph theory, where nodes represent communicating devices and links represent the connections between them. 

Q. What are the different types of network topology?

There are 5 different types of Network Topologies they are.,

• Bus Topology 
• Star Topology
• Ring Topology
• Mesh Topology
• Tree Topology

Q. Which is the first computer network?

The U.S. Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first public packet-switched computer network. It was first used in 1969 and finally decommissioned in 1989. ARPANET's main use was for academic and research purposes.

Q. What is the smallest of all computer networks?

The smallest of all computer networks is known as PAN (Personal Area Network) which allows personal devices to communicate with each other.