I.LOCAL NETWORKS (lan)

A LAN is a collection of devices (computers, servers, smartphones, connected devices, etc.), connected via transmission media (cables, radio waves). The aim of a local area network is to be transparent to the user (as if they were using local resources).

Local area networks (LANs) first appeared in the 1980s, coinciding with the rise of personal computers. Their bandwidth ranges from 1 to 8 gigabits (desktop computers) up to several hundred gigabits, or even terabits per second, in the core networks and backbones of data centres.

Regardless of their topology – bus, ring or star – or their architecture – peer-to-peer or client/server – local area networks serve the same purpose: to connect computers, tablets, mobile devices and other peripherals, enabling them to share data and programmes and to communicate.