The [ ] has become indispensable in today’s business world, and nowhere is that more true than in the realm of business operations. You’re never really off-duty or out of reach these days – even if you work from home – so it’s important to stay connected with your colleagues and customers at all times. But how do you do that? With a wide area network (WAN) connection, of course!
What is a WAN Network?
A wide area network (WAN) is a data network that connects geographically separated computer networks.
A WAN consists of a router, or several routers, and the links connecting them together. The term wide means that it covers an area larger than a local area network (LAN). The term area means that it can cover an entire country or continent, for example.
The goal of a WAN is to connect multiple LANs so they can share resources such as information and printers.
A company may have one LAN in their headquarters with printers, computers, and other office equipment that are connected to their system by wire.
They also may have branch offices in different cities or countries with less equipment than in the headquarters office but need access to resources from the head office.
A WAN would allow these two offices to be connected via telephone lines. Depending on the connection speed, large files could be transmitted between the two locations much faster than over a phone line.
The size of a network varies greatly depending on its function and geographic location. Some of the most common types of networks are Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), Personal Area Network (PAN), Campus Area Network (CAN), or Metropolitan Area Network (MAN).
A campus area network is a type of wired or wireless computer network covering at least part of one building (such as a university campus).
CANs usually support fewer users at lower speeds because they're meant to handle only traffic within the building. In contrast, metropolitan area networks provide high-speed data transfer rates over long distances, typically using fiber optic cable. These networks serve companies with many employees spread out across a city.
One problem that can happen with a WAN is if there's an outage at one of the nodes in the system, all nodes downstream will stop receiving data until someone fixes the broken link.
The Benefits of a WAN Network
A wan network is a wide area network that connects geographically dispersed local area networks together.
A wan network can be used to link company's offices and remote locations, or it can be used by organizations with multiple sites such as universities and hospitals.
While there are many benefits of a wan network, three of the most important are: increased accessibility, less downtime and cost savings for organizations.
With wan networks, information can be accessed from anywhere in the world. If an office needs help with a project, then they will have access to all of the needed resources without having to call another location.
Even if people are traveling outside their own country, they will still be able to access any documents they need while they're away on business.
The second benefit of a wan network is reduced downtime due to its ability to provide uninterrupted communication. For example, if one part of the building loses power, then data will still be available through other connections. The third benefit of a wan network is decreased costs because bandwidth usage and maintenance expenses can be distributed among multiple sites instead of being confined to just one place.
Overall, this saves companies money which could be put towards other important investments. Additionally, a wan network can allow employees to work from home more often if needed. All in all, these benefits mean that every organization should invest in a wan network.
It has shown to increase connectivity and decrease downtime, two very important aspects of running a business. Wan networks also cut down on costs by decreasing overall bandwidth usage which in turn leads to more time spent working at home and less time waiting around for files to download.
More importantly, however, a wan network increases connectivity for everyone and cuts down on downtime. These factors make a good case for why every organization should invest in wan networks.
The Different Types of WAN Networks
A WAN network is a wide-area network that connects multiple LANs. The most common types of WAN networks are: Frame Relay, ATM, and the newest implementation of Ethernet over Synchronous Optical Network (EoS).
Each type has its own advantages and disadvantages when it comes to reliability, cost, latency, and scalability.
In most cases, your decision about which WAN connection to use will be based on these factors.
If money or time is limited, then an Ethernet connection may be more appropriate for your needs.
If you require high availability, then frame relay would be better as one link can fail without affecting the rest of the system. For ultra high-speed connectivity with low latency, EoS might provide you with what you need.
On the other hand, if you're in an area where there is no fiber access, ATM might be your best option. If you want to get started now, we have experts who can help you determine what's best for your situation - just contact us today!
When choosing a WAN network, it’s also important to consider that most enterprise networks use a combination of two or even three different types.
The reason they do that is because each type has its own strengths and weaknesses, so using them together helps improve overall reliability and speed while cutting down on costs.
Whatever combination of networks you choose to go with, make sure that it meets your bandwidth requirements and supports your critical applications by using tools like our Network Assessment Tool and Remote Office / Branch Office Survey Service.
A reliable, scalable, and fast WAN is imperative to any business. While every situation is unique, having some knowledge of the different options available can help you make decisions that not only meet your current needs but prepare you for future growth too.
We hope this blog post has helped to clarify the different types of WAN networks and given you an idea of how they can impact your business.
How to Implement a WAN Network
A wide area network (WAN) is a group of two or more local area networks (LANs) that are connected via a shared infrastructure. The most common type of WAN is the internet, which spans the globe as a large network.
Other types of WANs include private networks that span one country or region, and extranets, which are private networks that span only two organizations.
A WAN can be implemented in many different ways. One option is to use dedicated leased lines, which create direct connections between locations. Leased lines often have high costs but are an effective way to ensure stable connectivity.
Another option for implementing a WAN is by using Internet Protocol Service providers (ISPs), such as Comcast Business Class Services or AT&T U-Verse Business Fiber, to connect remote sites over the internet.
These options typically offer lower costs than leased lines but might not provide enough bandwidth for high-bandwidth applications like streaming video and gaming.
Furthermore, with this setup there is no guarantee that connectivity will stay constant. Still another option for implementing a WAN is through virtual private networking (VPN).
With VPN, users establish encrypted tunnels across public networks like the internet so their information cannot be accessed by third parties. VPN has been gaining popularity because it offers low cost and flexibility, although it does require some technical know-how to set up. Finally, it is possible to mix and match these methods.
For example, a company could purchase both leased lines and use ISPs at the same time if they need to cover very long distances.
They could also supplement a VPN connection with leased lines when the VPN connection goes down. It all depends on what kind of needs the company has.