A Wide Area Network (WAN) is a type of telecommunications network that extends over a large geographic area, connecting multiple Local Area Networks (LANs) or other networks that communicate with one another. WANs are used to transmit data over long distances and between different networks. They are called "wide-area" networks because they span regions, countries, or even the world. WANs are used to connect LANs and other types of networks together so that users and computers in one location can communicate with users and computers in other locations.
Some key features of WANs include:
- WANs can be established with leased telecommunication circuits.
- WANs can be built for one particular organization and are private, while others are built by Internet service providers and provide connections from an organizations LAN to the Internet.
- WANs are used to communicate using voice and video, share resources between employees and customers, access data storage and remotely back up data, connect to applications running in the cloud, and run and host internal applications.
- WANs can be vital for international businesses, but they are also essential for everyday use, as the internet is considered the largest WAN in the world.
WANs can be complex to set up and manage because they are large networks that can have many different types of networking technologies to communicate across LANs. WAN infrastructure may be privately owned or leased as a service from a third-party service provider, such as a telecommunications carrier, internet service provider, private IP network operator, or cable company.
