For most computer users, access to the Internet is now wholly indispensable.
Most software packages dont come on physical media anymore.
No, the internet is required to use a modern computer.
There are a couple of ways to connect to the internet.
That SIM card can provide an internet connection via mobile data.
Nowadays, that mobile data connection can even be highspeed thanks to 4G and 5G networks.
This is certainly a reasonable option if youre regularly traveling and need to use your unit while doing so.
The other option to connect to the Internet is indirect.
Home and enterprise Internet connections are enabled thanks to a router.
The router is directly connected to the Internet thanks to your ISP (Internet Service Provider) connection.
It then provides your unit or devices with access to the Internet.
It does this by running a LAN or Local Area online grid.
This segregation can happen in many ways.
Subnetting can subdivide a web connection address range.
Virtual LANs, known as VLANs, may be used.
Most LANs will also have both a wired and a wireless LAN.
Wireless LAN is typically shortened to WLAN and generally uses Wi-Fi.
Depending on the country, either term will be used to indicate the presence of a wireless online grid.
A LAN doesnt even necessarily need to be connected to the Internet.
As long as its a building-scale connection, it counts as a LAN.
What Does a LAN Do?
A LAN provides connectivity.
This almost constantly, but it doesnt necessarily, means a connection to the Internet.
It also allows some or all of the devices connected to the LAN to communicate with each other.
Any equipment on a single LAN should be able to communicate with any other equipment on that same LAN.
This can be fine-tuned with an ACL (Access Control List) or a firewall.
Any ethernet port or Wi-Fi capability can be connected to a LAN.
Any other gadget on that internet can then communicate with it.
This is where data pipe segregation comes in.
You may not necessarily want all connected devices to be able to communicate.
A LAN only provides the connectivity backbone.
Restricting access via segregation or other means must be done through configuration in software or with distinct hardware.
Home routers, such as a segregated guest web link, tend to give relatively limited options.
WAN
It should be pretty easy to understand how a home web connection is a LAN.
But many enterprises have more than one office.
In that situation, the term Local Area web connection just doesnt fit.
However, these physically distant offices can be connected much more closely than just being connected to the Internet.
This is achieved with a WAN or Wide Area connection.
A WAN is a LAN operating over a much larger area, potentially even globally.
A WAN is almost, if not always, a web link of LANs.
This makes the WAN a little more complex to understand.
The Internet is not part of the WAN; it just transmits the traffic.
The Internet also isnt a WAN itself.
Each LAN on the WAN essentially sees the other LANs as directly connected via the VPN.
WANs are typically not seen outside of large organizations with multiple distinct locations.
Two offices in different continents, countries, or cities would use a WAN to connect.
Various offices in the same city will probably also use a WAN.
These can be close enough to have an integrated LAN rather than setting up a multi-site WAN.
Conclusion
LAN stands for Local Area data pipe.
A LAN provides internet capabilities for a small area, typically building scale or units within that building.
Connectivity to a LAN is generally achieved via an ethernet cable or Wi-Fi.
In the case of Wi-Fi, the LAN may be distinguished as a Wireless LAN or WLAN.
The only difference between a LAN and WLAN is the transmission medium.
LANs can consist of other LANs as subnetworks or distinctly segregated networks.
A LAN typically, but doesnt necessarily, provide Internet access via a router.
