What is a metropolitan area network? A metropolitan area network (MAN) ties computers in two or more adjacent offices together and mak
es them act like one giant computer. For example, if you have three offices in your building and want to create one supercomputer with the computing power of all three machines, you can use Metropolitan Area Networking to accomplish this goal. Here’s how to create a MAN.
Introduction
A metropolitan area network is a computer network that links together computers in one city or region. It can be thought of as the Internet for the people in the metropolitan area. All of the computers on a metropolitan area network share data with each other, which means that any computer on the network can access files, programs, and resources from any other computer on the same network.
This is possible because all of the computers are connected by wires and/or wireless signals. The connections between these computers make it possible for them to talk to each other, much like how two people talking via telephone lines could hear and understand what each other were saying.
Connecting all of these networks together creates one big metropolitan area - hence its name!
What Is a Metropolitan Area Network?
A metropolitan area network (MAN) is an interconnection of individual networks belonging to different organizations. A MAN provides the necessary bandwidth and reliability for information transfer between the different organizations that are connected by it.
A MAN allows various organizations within a metropolitan area, such as universities, hospitals, and businesses, to share resources without requiring them to connect their own private networks together. The result is that each organization can focus on its core business instead of worrying about network connections or security issues.
A typical way for two organizations within the same metropolitan area to create a MAN is for one organization's network administrator to set up an Internet connection with another organization's network administrator.
Once this link has been established, users from either organization can use any other computer in either network. Computers from both organizations also have access to all shared printers in either network and use of any shared software programs installed on either organization's computers.
There are several other ways for two or more organizations to create a MAN:
- Connecting via dedicated leased lines
- Establishing an IP over ATM backbone
- Connecting through a dial-up line - Connecting via Frame Relay
- Combining two LANs into one WAN using routers, which will provide internet service.
- For example, if company A is connected to company B using T1 lines, and company C wants to be part of the MAN but doesn't want to buy expensive T1 lines themselves they can be added onto the MAN with DSL service provided by a third party DSL provider.
- Alternatively, if companies A and C are close enough geographically so that there is no noticeable latency on DSL service then companies A and C may opt for high speed wireless connections rather than expensive hard wired connections like T1s or ISDNs.
Metropolitan Area Networks provide important benefits like connecting remote locations across large distances at low cost when compared with traditional Wide Area Networks such as long distance copper cable telecommunications circuits.
The Benefits of Creating a Metropolitan Area Network
A metropolitan area network (MAN) is an interconnection of local area networks (LANs) that are connected by one or more wide area networks, typically via fiber-optic cable. A MAN is often found in dense urban areas where the cost of wiring each building separately would be prohibitively expensive.
This setup allows organizations with multiple offices in a city to connect them all together as though they were on the same LAN. If your organization uses telecommunications and data transmission, you should consider creating a MAN for increased bandwidth and reliability between sites. Metropolitan area networks can also help reduce the costs associated with connecting buildings within cities.
The Top Three Steps to Creating a Metropolitan Area Network:
1. Determine which devices will be included in your MAN
2. Decide what protocol will govern communication across it
3. Choose how to connect all of these devices , including both wireless and wired connections
to enable connectivity. These WANs may span a few hundred kilometers, such as those used for cellular service, or may cover thousands of kilometers such as those linking continents. Some use devices called routers to provide routing services between segments.
As early as 1943 and 1944, several proposals were put forward for using microwave radio transmitters to transmit voice traffic from city to city, thus eliminating the need for point-to-point telephonic circuits; the concept was called packet switching. Early analog computers allowed telephone exchanges to use time sharing technology long before similar advances appeared in mainframes or personal computers.
With MANs, organizations with remote offices can benefit from high speed broadband access without having to worry about running expensive and complicated wire line installation like traditional broadband providers have done previously.
How to Create a Metropolitan Area Network
It's important to plan out your metropolitan area network (MAN) in order to ensure that all of your equipment is working properly and efficiently. If you're not too familiar with the lingo, let me break it down for you. A MAN is just like a LAN but connects different LANs in different geographical locations through the use of high-speed telecommunications. The key difference between a WAN and MAN is that WANs are typically used for long-distance connections and MANs are used for connecting LANs in close proximity.
So, without further ado, here are some steps on how to create your very own metropolitan area network 1) Determine your goals for the MAN. Is this for business or personal use? What kind of networks will be connected? Will this system have an Internet connection? All these questions will help you determine what type of hardware you need and what kind of security measures should be taken.
2) Plan where each point will be located within the metropolitan area - what are they called again? Oh yes, LANs! You'll want to make sure they're placed so they don't overlap too much with other points. Then once each point is mapped out, sketch them out on paper so you know how far apart they should be. 3) Draw up a map of the MAN, marking off each location. Make sure there are no overlapping points or lines so everything runs smoothly and quickly.
4) Now that everything is drawn up, find a good location to house the switch. You might want to include power sources and Internet connections in this step as well. You can also set up antennas at the places you've marked off as LAN if you're using wireless technology instead of cable wires. Once everything is situated nicely, go ahead and turn on your system!
5) You may want to test your MAN periodically to see if anything needs updating or if any changes need to be made.
6) Check out our last blog post to learn about how switches work.
7) Anything else? Well, yes. You should make sure that every computer connected via wire to one point has a connection back to it so there's not too much congestion from all those people trying to log onto something at once. Also keep in mind where exactly these points are located and where their towers (not like cell phone towers but similar kind of idea.) are positioned when determining what kinds of distances each point should have from each other. Make sure nothing crosses state lines unless you have proper permission for such activities first! Some systems allow file sharing and others provide email capabilities; you'll want to figure out which ones work best for you before beginning.
Remember that even though cables and wires are pretty fast, sometimes there is still lag time due to the amount of data being transferred. With this in mind, it's recommended that your MAN support anywhere from 50 Mbps to 100 Mbps total bandwidth so everyone has plenty of room. Keep in mind that many MANs require high-tech licenses from the FCC and FCC related entities such as CALEA; while many systems do not offer encryption by default, you can always add it later on as needed after installation.
8) Addressing the final point of MANs not crossing state lines, it is a good idea to check your local laws before making any major decisions. MANs are not always illegal but they often require legal authorization.
9) Lastly, it's important to maintain your MAN and replace parts as needed. Sometimes you will have to upgrade or replace old parts that do not connect or run as quickly as they should. Again, consult your local law enforcement agency for clarification on what types of behavior are acceptable and what types are punishable by law.
10) That's it for now! Hopefully this information was helpful for anyone who wanted to know more about how metropolitan area networks operate and how to create one from scratch!
Conclusion
In order to create a metropolitan area network, all you need is an internet connection and an Ethernet cord. For example, if you have two computers that are connected to each other in the same room, then you can connect them by connecting one computer's Ethernet cord into the other computer's Ethernet port. You can connect as many computers as possible by plugging in additional Ethernet cords.
This will allow any device on either of the two PCs to share data with any device on the other PC. The Ethernet cable is then plugged into the designated port located on your modem/router. A router allows you to connect multiple devices at once so they can share files between them (known as file sharing).
It also filters data packets so that when it arrives at your destination, they are in the correct order.
For this type of set-up, it would be best for both computers to be directly next to each other because the signal from one could be too weak for long distances. If you live in a big house or building, this type of setup would not work well for you because signals may not go through walls very well which means there could be interference between signals and lose packets of information.
Instead, you might want to consider using an Ethernet switch instead of a router. An Ethernet switch is similar to what we talked about earlier but instead of being limited to just two computers, it connects multiple computers together simultaneously and sends the signal over your LAN wirelessly. When installing an Ethernet switch, you'll want to make sure that it is in close proximity to all of the devices that need access to your LAN.
Otherwise, depending on how far away each device is from the others and how strong the connections are between them, things like lag time and lost packets may start happening.