Wide Area Networks (WANs)

• Why are they different from LAN?
  • Functionally same
  • Move bits from point A to point B
• Obvious differences
  • Distance
  • Ownership
  • Speeds (LAN - 10-100 Mbps, WAN - Kbps)
  • Protocols
• Technical reasons
  • LAN is shared media
  • WAN is point-to-point link
  • No buffering needed for LAN
  • Memory needed in WAN routers!