WAN (Wide Area Network)

WAN (Wide Area Network)

A Wide Area Network (WAN) is a remote network that connects regional or metropolitan networks across different areas. It typically spans large physical distances, covering ranges from dozens of kilometers to thousands of kilometers, and can connect multiple regions, cities, and countries, or even cross several continents to provide long-distance communication, forming an international remote network.

When the distance exceeds the limit of hub connections in a local area (the distance between hubs should not exceed 100 meters, and the maximum is up to 4 levels), a router must be used for connectivity, which is referred to as a WAN. If there are branch offices in the north, central, and south, or even overseas, and these branches are connected by dedicated lines, this is termed a "Wide Area Network." Furthermore, a WAN is not the same as the internet, which many people mistakenly believe.

The transmission medium of WAN mainly utilizes telephone lines, connecting enterprises through ISP providers, with these lines being pre-laid by the ISP under the streets. Due to the high cost of construction and the difficulty of maintenance, as well as the guaranteed bandwidth, the costs are relatively high.

Generally, the internet is a type of public WAN, which has lower costs and is a cheaper network environment, but compared to a dedicated WAN, bandwidth management is not possible. The bandwidth cannot be guaranteed in a public network system.

• Content derived from Wikipedia

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