Network Types Explained: PAN, LAN, CAN, MAN and WAN for Network+
Network types are classified by geographic scope, and the exam expects you to place each one correctly and recognise the technologies associated with it. The scale Type Scope Typical technology PAN — personal area network Around one person, a few metres Bluetooth, NFC, Zigbee, USB LAN — local area network One building or floor Ethernet, Wi-Fi WLAN — wireless LAN A LAN, wirelessly 802.11 CAN — campus area network Several nearby buildings Fibre between buildings MAN — metropolitan area network A city Metro Ethernet, fibre rings WAN — wide area network Cities, countries, global MPLS, SD-WAN, leased lines, internet SAN — storage area network A data centre Fibre Channel, iSCSI, FCoE Two that do not fit the geographic pattern and are worth flagging. A SAN is defined by purpose — providing block-level storage access — rather than by distance, and the exam likes to test that it presents storage as if locally attached, unlike NAS which presents file shares. A WLAN is a LAN that ha...