The big idea: A network is two or more devices connected so they can exchange data.
That one ability buys three things: sharing files and printers, communicating between people, and reaching central services from anywhere.
The types differ by one thing: How far they reach.
A room, a building, a country, the world — and who owns the connection in between. That is what separates the four names below.
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1
LAN — local area network
2
WAN — wide area network
3
PAN — personal area network
4
VPN — virtual private network
The one that is not about distance: LAN, WAN and PAN are defined by how far they reach.
A VPN is defined by how it protects the connection. That is why it can run over any of the others.
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What you gain
- Sharing — one printer or file server serves everyone
- Communication — email, messaging, calls
- Central data — one copy everyone works from, always current
- Central management — update or back up from one place
What it costs
- Hardware, cabling and someone to run it
- A failure can stop everyone, not one person
- One break-in can reach every connected machine
- Security has to be designed in, not added later
Why this appears in the exam: Nearly every network question begins with a scenario — a school, a shop, a company with three branches.
Naming the right type and saying why it fits the distance and the ownership is where the first marks are.
How this is tested — you must match the network type to the scenario's distance and ownership. It comes up two ways:
Paper 1 Section A
- Describe or distinguish LAN, WAN, PAN and VPN, 2-4 marks
- Name the type a described organisation needs
- State one benefit and one drawback of networking
Paper 1 Section B — case study
- Identify the networks in the case study
- Explain why that organisation needs each one
The classic trap: Calling anything large a WAN. The deciding question is who owns the connection between the sites: own cabling on one site is a LAN, rented or public links between sites make it a WAN.
IB-style questionDescribe[4 marks]
A company has offices in two cities, each with its own computers and printers. Staff also work from home. Describe the network types involved.
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