Local Area Network
lastmod 2026-08-23created 2015-05-069 edits
A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that uses network media to connect a nearby area, such as a home, office, school, or other building. The opposite of a LAN is a wide area network.
Compared with a WAN, it may have a higher data transfer rate, a smaller geographic range, and less need for leased lines.
Definition
The standards bodies Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) define a LAN as follows.
- Free exchange of information among various electronic devices, mainly computers, within a limited area
- Managed and operated directly by the users who built it.
- Devices from different vendors can also communicate with each other.
Promiscuous mode
- LAN card
- A mode that receives all received frames, even those whose destination address has nothing to do with the card
- Most operating systems do not allow a LAN card to run in promiscuous mode in normal user mode without administrator privileges
- API modules for promiscuous mode support, e.g. WinPcap, libcap
- LAN bridge/switch
- Behavior of receiving all frames flooded to every port other than the receiving port
See also
- IEEE 802.11
- Metropolitan area network (MAN)
- Wide area network (WAN)
- PN (Private Network)
- VPN (Virtual Private Network)