A local network (also commonly known as a local area network or LAN) consists of a group of computers and other devices that are connected to each other through a network , all in the same location, either within a house or an office.
We could say that a local network is the one that we tend to use in our home, and that it would be made up of our router, our computer and, ultimately, all the devices that connect to it.
In this way, the scope of connection is actually limited by physical means , such as a room, a plant or even a building.
What is a local network (LAN)?
A local network , or local area network , consists of a series of devices that are networked, and whose location, as its name suggests, is purely local. It is precisely this local location that really defines a LAN, distinguishing it from other networks, as could be the case with wide area networks (WAN) or metropolitan area networks (MAN).
It is common for the local network to be confined to a rather small area, for example a home or office (or even a building), but this is not a specific requirement. For example, it could be a small business or home, or a much larger area, such as an office building, with hundreds or thousands of different devices.
Therefore, even if a network is local, it does not necessarily mean that it has to be small. On the contrary, regardless of size, the main defining characteristic of a local network is that it connects to devices that are in a limited and unique area .
The advantages, as you can imagine, are the same as having any device connected to a network, being able to share a single Internet connection, or share printers or files with each other.
In turn, in much larger local networks it is possible to find dedicated servers that host specific services, such as email, access to other shared resources of the company or global user directories.
How is a local network different from WAN or MAN networks?
It is true that both wide area networks (WAN) and metropolitan area networks (MAN) are quite similar, since, basically, they are networks that in turn connect several local networks (LAN) .
However, it is clear that we can find slight differences. For example, a WAN network is made up of several LANs, but it tends to cover a much larger area than a single city, and can be connected by different types of technologies, including not only the Internet.
In turn, a MAN network consists in turn of a network made up of a large number of LANs, connected to each other from high-speed networks, which would be contained within the same metropolitan area or city.
What is a local network useful for?
The main function of this type of network is basically to link computers together and provide shared access to files, printers and other services . For this, its architecture is classified as client-server or peer-to-peer.
In a type of client-server local network, different devices are connected to a central server, where access to devices, applications, network traffic and file storage is managed.
In addition, applications that run on the server on the local area network provide specific services, such as document or print sharing, database access, or email.
Did you know that local networks can be interconnected, in turn, with other LANs, through the Internet through the use of virtual private networks? This is what happens with WAN or MAN networks.
