The term campus network refers to a smaller network within an organization or region. Campus area networks combine multiple Local Area Networks. They combine the capabilities of the networks within one organization or region. The range of a campus network can be significantly lower than that of a wide area network. To understand this more, it is helpful to understand the definition of each. In this article, we’ll briefly define each of these three terms. You may also want to know how to distinguish between CANs and LANs.

CAN

Compared to wide area networks, campus area networks are much smaller in geographic spread. These networks serve as the network between campuses, government buildings, educational facilities, and military bases. Campus area networks extend from a few hundred meters to five kilometers. They are generally owned by the campus, which may be a university, government department, or corporate entity. While they may differ in size and geographic spread, they all provide the same speed of data transfer.

CANs provide Internet access to students and faculty and enable users to share files within the network. This network type provides lower latency than traditional WANs and MANs. As an example, a university English department might request a digital copy of a book from the library. If the library uses CAN, the digital copies would be sent within the building, rather than across the public Internet. In addition, users can share files more quickly since data transfer speed is higher on CANs.

MAN

A MAN is a campus area network that connects various sites together, usually using a single cable. These networks are often smaller than a LAN but have the same range. They generally operate within Layer 2 of the OSI model. They typically belong to a single network provider or consortium of users. … Continue reading >>>