Wide Area Network

As the word implies, a wide-area network spans a huge physical distance. A WAN, such as the Internet spans most of the world. A WAN is a collection of geographically distributed of LANs. Network device known as a router connects LANs to a WAN. Within IP networking, the routers manage both the addresses of LAN and WAN.

WANs differ from LANs in various important ways. Such as the Internet, most WANs are not owned through any one organization but rather exist under collective or distributed ownership and management. The WANs use technology such as Frame Relay ATM and X.25 for connectivity.