Evaluate Wide Area Network (WAN) technologies - Essay Example

Evaluate Wide Area Network (WAN) technologies. Number WAN refers to a computer network covering broad geographical areas such as cities, countries and even continents. WANs may consist of multiple smaller networks, LANs or MANs. A WAN is established by switches and routers interconnected together. WAN uses two technologies namely; packet switching and circuit switching.Packet switching allows users to share carrier resources and utilize infrastructure. Users develop a connection to the carrier network which can be utilized by many customers.

Circuit switching on the other hand allow the data connection to be established when needed and terminated at the end of communication.LAN provide networking capabilities to a small group of computers close to each other such as at home, office or campus. A family can share resources including files, printers, telephone devices and games via LAN.A family wishing to connect three personal computers, a printer, an internet-enabled television and VoIP phone with an internet connection will require the following devices;LAN cardIts main function is to link computers in a network.

Its installed in the available PCI ports inside the computers and consist of a unique Media Control Access address. WLAN card allows wireless connection between computers in a network (Bachmann & Stern, 2010). LAN cards can be connected to Ethernet cables via BNC and AUI twisted pair sockets. GatewayIt’s a network point acting as an entrance to a network and also connects a LAN to the internet. In large enterprises computer server functioning as a gateway can also double up as a proxy server and a firewall server.

Switch and HubA hub is a device with multiple ports (6, 8, 16, and 24 ) used to connect all computers with each other in a LAN. Data packets at the hub are broadcasted to all computers. In contrast, a switch directs data to a particular intended port by use of addresses. It acts as a filter thus reduces the amount of traffic on a network.Network repeatersThey are used to regenerate or amplify signals that span a limited distance before their quality degrades. They also remove unwanted noise from incoming signals and transmit messages in networks that operate with different protocols.

Computers in different rooms and a printer would require a repeater to work efficiently (Habraken, 2009).A large enterprise consisting of hundreds of users and a manufacturing plant typically employs LAN to connect to the Internet WAN via Internet Service Providers. In addition to the above mentioned devices the following devices are necessary;ModemA modem is a communication device that modulates and demodulates digital and analogue data respectively. It converts digital signals produced by the computers into voice frequencies that can be transmitted over telephone network.

BridgesBridges enhances the network throughput of a network. It acts as a storing and forwarding device and has unique hardware addresses to filter traffic. Its core functions include; reading data frame headers and recording source address ports. It further reads destination addresses of frames to determine the forwarding ports. Bridges divide an Ethernet LAN into segments each via a hub. In a network involving hundreds of computers, a bridge segment them into two groups and data is transmitted in an organized manner one group at a time.

Server applicationsTypeDescriptionMailUsed to move and store mail over corporate networks. Mail servers can be combined with Web servers.E-Commerce serverIts utilized by small to medium scale businesses to handle their site contents, databases, shopping carts and encryption of card transactions. ECommerce server can be combined with database servers for efficient operation of businesses.Application serverApplication servers provide a platform for other software application services used for security, data services management.

It provides an integrated environment for deploying and running other applicationsChat serversChat servers enable users to exchange information in real time. It functions in a similar way as the internet. Chat servers can be combined with instant messaging servers (Shinder, 2010). Instant messaging servers involve conversation between two parties alone. Database Management servers Used to perform operations such as data analysis, data manipulation, archiving and storage. Database servers provide database services to other servers such as application servers.

References Bachmann, V., & Stern, M. (2010). NT enterprise network design. Sybex, Network Press.Habraken, J. (2009). Absolute beginners guide to networking. Que Publishing.Shinder, D. (2010). Computer networking essentials. Cisco Press.