Local Area Network

communications network which connects computers that are located in close proximity (commonly used in offices, small companies, etc.)

A local area network (LAN) is a computer network covering a small geographic area, like a home, office, or group of buildings. The defining characteristics of LANs, in contrast to Wide Area Networks (WANs), include their much higher data transfer rates, smaller geographic range, and lack of a need for leased telecommunication lines.
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Noun
1. a local computer network for communication between computers; especially a network connecting computers and word processors and other electronic office equipment to create a communication system between offices
(synonym) LAN
(hypernym) computer network
(hyponym) ethernet
(part-meronym) busbar, bus

A data communications system that (a) lies within a limited spatial area, (b) has a specific user group, (c) has a specific topology, and (d) is not a public switched telecommunications network, but may be connected to one. (188 ) Note 1: LANs are usually restricted to relatively small areas, such as rooms, buildings, ships, and aircraft. Note 2: An interconnection of LANs within a limited geographical area, such as a military base, is commonly referred to as a campus area network. An interconnection of LANs over a city-wide geographical area is commonly called a metropolitan area network (MAN). An interconnection of LANs over large geographical areas, such as nationwide, is commonly called a wide area network (WAN). Note 3: LANs are not subject to public telecommunications regulations.

<networking> (LAN) A data communications network which is geographically limited (typically to a 1 km radius) allowing easy interconnection of terminals, microprocessors and computers within adjacent buildings. Ethernet and FDDI are examples of standard LANs.
Because the network is known to cover only a small area, optimisations can be made in the network signal protocols that permit data rates up to 100Mb/s.
See also token ring, wide area network, metropolitan area network..
Usenet newsgroup: news:comp.dcom.lans.misc.
(1995-03-13)