Importance of Network Technologies and Network Technology Types.

Importance of Network Technologies and Network Technology Types.

 Network Technologies mean that devices are connected and communicating with each other. In Network technology, these devices can be one, two, or multiple. Any technologies can be included in network technology if they are connected with devices and enable them to communicate with each other. For example, the internet is network technology and also a dial-up connection in computers.   

The basic property of these technologies is to share and connect software and hardware with multiple devices. 

Network technology can be divided into two sections. 

1. Based on Transmission 

2. Based on Scale. 

Based on Transmission contains Point-to-point and multipoint network technology.  

Based on Scale contains LAN, WAN, MAN, PAN, WLAN, CAN, POLAN, SAN, EPN, VPN, and more. 

Here we mostly talk about base on scale and about managing a network.   

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What do we mean by computer network?

In network technology, a computer network means how computers are connected; it can be wired or wireless. 

A computer network is part of Based on Scale, and it has systems that are interconnected with each other to share data. 

There are many types of computer networks, like personal area networks (PAN) and local area networks (LAN). These networks help us communicate with other devices in a particular area or region, but these don't need to be limited to a region. 

Types of network technology based on scale: LAN, MAN, WLAN, CAN, SAN, POLAN, EPN, VPN, SAN, and WAN. 

It's important to know the classification of networks based on their geographical coverage. We will cover all the possible types of networks that are used every day.  

PAN (Personal Area Network)

PAN or Personal Area Network, has a range of a few meters. It links devices in the surrounding area and it can be wired or wireless. 

This network technology can transform data with other devices but it lacks the access to internet. But this problem can be solved if it is connected to LAN and then LAN enables it to connect to the internet. 

LAN (Local Area Network)

A Area network or LAN, is made to connect with devices within a limited area. It has access to the internet and it includes multiple protocols for communicating with other devices. 

LAN has a data-transmitting speed higher than MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) and WAN (Wide Area Network). 

This network technology is used in universities and schools. it relies on cables because of that; it has fewer errors and is good at maintaining security. Also, the whole network is connected to a central unit. 

WLAN (Wireless local area network)

Wireless local area network or WLAN, works the same as LAN but generally it is less secure. It gives flexibility to users. It’s typical example can be a wifi network. This type of network technology connects devices wirelessly to the base station. 

CAN (Campus area network)

Campus area network, or CAN, is used in educational sectors like universities, institutes, and schools. This area network is a combination of many independent networks. For example, in a university, there can be a campus area network that connects the “physics department” to the “mathematics department”. 

SAN (Storage area network)

Storage area network are generally used by teams to store their data. It is important for storage devices and gives a high-speed network. It is mainly made out of storage elements, hosts, and storage devices. This technology plays an important role in business continuity management for any company. 

POLAN (Passive optical local area network)

POLAN or Passive optical local area network, is replacing the traditional way of cabling in telecommunications networks. It does not contain multiple switch levels and routers. This network technology is cheaper than the previous copper-based LAN. It is also capable of linking different locations, entities, and systems to one Central system. 

EPN (Enterprise private network)

Enterprise private network or EPN, is specially made for business entities that want to share their company resource inside their business at high speeds. 

This type of network technology is more secure than other networks because EPNs are generally unique for every company. 

VPN (Virtual private network)

VPN or Virtual private network, is a type of network technology that can be accessed using the internet. It is a private network that is available to companies as well as to the general public. 

It gives security and a private connection, and because of that, it is similar to EPNs. But it doesn’t need the same infrastructure.  

SAN (System-area network)

System Area Network or SAN, is a high-performance network typically used for connecting multiple computers or servers within a data center.  Unlike a local area network (LAN), which connects computers within a smaller geographical area, a System Area Network is designed for fast, low response time communication between systems in close proximity. 

System area networks are designed to support the high bandwidth and low latency requirements of applications like scientific simulations, large-scale data processing, and other compute-intensive tasks.

MAN (Metropolitan Area Network)

A Metropolitan Area Network or MAN, is a type of network technology that is used to cover a larger range than a LAN. Normally it is used to connect cities with data cables (optical cables) and wires. Its network speed is fast because of optical cables and wires. 

This network technology type has a high probability of cyber attacks because of its large connections. MAN needs good hardware maintenance and it has a very high installation cost. 

WAN (Wide Area Network)

WAN stands for Wide Area Network and is used to connect big cities and countries over large distances. This network technology uses radio towers, wireless connections, and satellite mediums to communicate

Wide Area Network uses multiple LAN and MAN in its system and network for connectivity. WAN’s cost is very high and needs very good and experienced technicians to maintain it. It is also hard to protect from cyber-attacks because of its large size.  

What are the methods to manage a network?

There are several methods to manage cloud-based networks, like Cloud-based network management, Converged network management, and centralized network management. 

Cloud-based network management 

This type of network management is available to governments and companies. The general public also uses it through the internet. This is a method of using cloud-based systems and cloud information through cloud computing. 

This management system is also used for storing data as well as transmitting it. 

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Converged network management

This network management is a traditional method to connect different types of wired and wireless devices. 

It uses one network to communicate and work with all other systems. 

Centralized network management 

Centralized network management makes connections to a central server for data sharing and coordination, generally used in IoT applications. It is also a common way to make and implement new networks.