Definition of Local Area Network (LAN)

TO Internet it is also called the network of networks because, in reality, it is still constituted by a large group of interconnected networks between they that form, together, a global spider web (another name by which it is also known Internet).

A Local Area Network (LAN), translated into Spanish as Local Area Network, interconnects computers in a small space, usually a home or a building

It is, to understand each other, what we all have in our homes: a router with Internet access on the one hand, to which various electronic devices are connected on the other, such as a computer laptop, a smartphone (via Wi-Fi), a smart TV, a fixed computer, or a game console such as the Xbox or the PlayStation, for example.

For each of these connected devices, the router (or another centralizing element of the connection) provides a local IP address, usually in the form 192.168.x.y, usually x being 0 or 1, depending on what he administrator the network has decided, although this is not necessarily the case. However, it is the most common configuration.

In fact, a local network is not limited to technology IP, being able to respond to other topologies (bus or ring, for example) and other protocols, although the most common today in home and professional environments is IP technology.

In industrial-type environments and in specific tasks, we can see other types of topologies and the use of protocols other than IP.

Local naming (LAN) is in contrast to structures that span more space, such as WANs and MANs

With these (WAN: Wide Area Network; MAN: Metropolitan Area Network) differs both in size and in administration and in the technologies used, since the objectives are usually very different.

WANs cover a large area, such as a university campus or various government / corporate buildings, while MANs are already moving at the level of a territory which must be seen on a map, and which can correspond to a city or a region.

However, LANs are supporting a greater number of connected devices every day and, therefore, must expand their capacity and data throughput on the one hand, and the sophistication of concentrator devices on the other, in addition to increasing its own safety.

And what is this due to?

The inclusion of technology in devices such as the television and the emerging Internet of Things has multiplied the number of connected devices that we have in our homes

Now, for example, smart lamps and bulbs, sensors temperature, alarms and security systems among others, in addition to elements that were not "smart" before and, therefore, they did not enjoy an Internet connection as is the case with the television, now they do have.

Photos: Fotolia - Afxhome / Sergey Ilin