Page 173 - DCAP311_DCAP607_WIRELESS_NETWORKS

Unit 11: Wireless WAN

11.1 Wireless WAN User Devices Notes

WAN stands for Wide Area Network. As its name suggests, it is a computer network that covers
a far wider area than a LAN (Local Area Network). WANs cover cities, countries, continents and
the whole world. A WAN is formed by linking LANs together.

Example: Several major LANs in a city can connect together forming a WAN.

A Wide Area Network (WAN) is a communication network made up of computers that are non-
local to one another, exchanging data across a wide area or great distance. The most common
example is the Internet, though a WAN need not be global to qualify as a wide area network.
Since computer acronyms have become virtual words, the terminology “WAN network” is often
used in the public sector, even though redundant. For those new to these acronyms, adding the
word “network” can be a reminder of what a WAN is, so while this article uses the common term,
the proper term is WAN, pronounced like ran with a “W.”

Computers interoperate on a WAN network by using a set of standards or protocols for
communication. Each computer on the WAN is assigned a unique address known as an Internet
Protocol (IP) address. When a computer sends a request out on the WAN network, it gets routed
to a specific server that hosts the requested information. The server responds by sending the
information back to the IP address of the requesting computer.
When networks connect to form a bigger network (a bigger WAN), the resulting network is
called an internetwork, which is generically abbreviated to ‘an internet’. Now when all WANs
in the world connect forming a global internet, we call it The Internet, which everyone knows.
That’s why the Internet is always written with a capital I. It is the biggest WAN we have.
Wireless WANs satisfy both mobile and stationary applications. Components, therefore, vary
depending on the technology and configuration of the wireless WAN. A satellite-based wireless
WAN, for example, has different components than a cellular-based system.

Example: Some examples of smaller networks in the WAN include Municipal Area
Networks (MANs), Campus Area Networks (CANs) and Local Area Networks (LANs). MANs
provide connectivity throughout a city or regional area for public access to the Internet, while
CANs offer connectivity to students and faculty for on-site resources and online access. LANs
can be either private or public, but are usually private networks with optional online access. The
home or office network is a good example of a LAN.
A LAN can also become a WAN if, for example, a company with headquarters in both Los
Angeles and Chicago links their two LANs together over the Internet. This geographic distance
would qualify the network as a WAN. The linked LANs can use encryption software to keep
their communications private from the public Internet, creating a Virtual Private Network
(VPN). This technology of creating a secure, encrypted channel through the Internet to link LANs
is sometimes called tunneling.

Notes The architecture of the Internet, the most familiar WAN, is non-centralized by
design, making it nearly impossible to destroy. Like a freeway system in a large metropolis,
if one freeway or information highway is taken out, data traffic is automatically re-routed
around the breakdown through alternate routes. The highways, in the case of the Internet,
are actually leased telephone lines and a combination of other technologies and structures
including smaller networks that are linked by the WAN network to become part of the
whole.

A Personal Area Network (PAN) is created by Bluetooth technology to wirelessly link personal
devices together for interoperability. You might use Bluetooth to send print jobs from a laptop

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