If your organization has a poor-performing network, it will adversely affect your connectivity. And employees who experience high network latency, outages, or call breakups and drops because of poor connectivity will likely be less productive.
For this reason, it is important for all organizations to have reliable network connectivity and security to avoid decreased productivity and other consequences.
Improving your network connectivity and security will help you avoid latency issues and network vulnerabilities that can lead to cyberattacks that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair and mitigate the damage to your network.
Coeo understands how important reliable network connectivity and security are to an organization and has delivered thousands of solutions to improve their network and help them avoid cyberattacks.
By the end of this article you will understand what a WAN is, what a LAN is, the differences between them, and which one is a better choice for your organization.
What is a WAN?
A Wide Area Network (WAN), is a type of network that spans a large geographical area. A WAN allows organizations to connect multiple smaller networks and devices over long distances.
WANs are designed for employees working in separate locations who need to connect and communicate with each other as well as send and receive data.
A WAN can help connect employees working in different branch office locations, working from home, connecting data centers, and some WANs can even connect users in different cities, states, and countries.
What is a LAN?
A Local Area Network (LAN), is a type of network that covers a small geographic area. A LAN typically connects multiple users and devices in a single building or several buildings in close proximity to each other.
LANs are able to connect employees working in the same location, residents living in the same apartment complex, or students on a college campus from different buildings in a surrounding area.
If you would like to speak with our team to learn more about WAN or LAN or ask any questions you may have you can schedule an appointment.
The differences between WAN and LAN
While a WAN and LAN may be similar in that they connect services and users to one network, they also have many differences that set them apart from each other. The differences between WAN and LAN include:
Geographic area
The main difference between a WAN and a LAN is the geographic area that each network can cover.
A WAN can cover a much broader geographic area connecting users and devices in different locations while a LAN typically connects users in a much smaller geographic area typically within the same building or multiple buildings at the same location.
Some more powerful WANs can connect users in different cities, states, or countries while LANs usually connect users in a single location such as an office building, or multiple offices in the same vicinity such as a college campus.
Size of the network
WANs are typically much larger in size than LANs since WANs are designed to cover much longer distances. A WAN is sometimes made up of multiple LANs that are interconnected.
LANs on the other hand, are much smaller than WANs and can have restrictions as to how many users and devices can be connected to the network at one time.
Speed and network latency
WANs often operate at slower speeds due to their size and geographical coverage capability. Since data being sent and received through a WAN has further to travel it often causes slower speeds and higher network latency.
A LAN, on the other hand, typically has faster speeds and lower latency since the data does not have to travel as far.
Network ownership and management
A LAN is typically a private network that is owned and managed by a single organization and provides a secure environment for internal connectivity.
Alternatively, a public WAN uses the infrastructure of telecommunication and internet providers while a private WAN may be owned and managed by a single organization.
Which network is the better choice for your organization?
Now you understand what a WAN is, what a LAN is, and the differences between the two. However, it is also important to understand which network is the better choice for your organization.
If your organization operates in a remote or hybrid work environment and is looking to connect your employees in separate locations, a WAN may be a good fit for your organization.
Additionally, if your organization has different branch offices in multiple cities or states and needs all of your locations to be able to communicate and connect with each other, a WAN may be a good option for your organization.
However, if your entire organization operates from a single location every day and does not have employees working remotely, a LAN may better meet your organization’s needs.
Additionally, if you are looking to connect different facilities in the same general area such as a college campus, a LAN may be the better choice for your organization.
If your organization is looking for a large network that connects multiple locations across large geographic areas, combining multiple LANs as part of your WAN may be a good alternative for your organization to provide connectivity across all locations.
Determining which network is the right fit for your organization
Now you understand what a WAN is, what a LAN is, the differences between them, and which network is the better choice for your organization. This will enable you to determine which network you should implement.
Organizations can’t operate effectively with poor network connectivity and security that can lead to decreased employee productivity and network vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities can lead to cyberattacks that can cost organizations hundreds of thousands of dollars to repair a network and mitigate the damage.
Improving network performance and security can help your organization avoid these consequences.
However, it is important to realize which network solutions and connectivity are most appropriate for your organization so you achieve the objectives you need to accomplish with this solution.
Coeo understands how important network performance and security are to an organization and has delivered thousands of solutions to organizations to improve network performance and security.
We want you to understand the differences between a WAN and a LAN so you can determine which one is better for your organization.
If you would like to speak with our team to learn more about WAN or LAN or ask any questions you may have you can schedule an appointment.
Now that you understand the differences between WAN and LAN and which is the right fit for your organization, check out this article to learn about the differences between SD-LAN and SD-WAN:
