Chapter 3. Local-Area Networking Introduction

What You Will Learn

On completing this chapter, you will be able to:

  • Describe local-area networks (LANs)

  • Explain the functions of wide-area networks (WANs)

  • Describe analog and digital signals

  • Compare characteristics of different network cabling types

  • Draw simple network topologies

  • List the different types of hardware found in a LAN or a WAN

Local-area networks (LANs) send and receive data at rates much faster than can be transmitted over a telephone line; but the distances are limited, often to a few hundred feet maximum without using costly, long-range technologies, such as Long Reach Ethernet (LRE) or wave-division multiplexing (WDM). Because of distance limitations, LANs are found in small areas such ...

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