Suggest an editImprove this articleRefine the answer for “What is LAN?”. Your changes go to moderation before they’re published.Approval requiredContentWhat you’re changing🇺🇸EN🇺🇦UAPreviewTitle (EN)Short answer (EN)**LAN (Local Area Network)** is a local computer network, that is, a network that covers a limited area: a room, apartment, office, building, or campus, using wired and/or wireless technologies. **Key point:** LAN is the fastest category of networks, it mainly uses Ethernet and Wi-Fi, and it provides low latency.Shown above the full answer for quick recall.Answer (EN)Image**LAN (Local Area Network)** is a *local computer network*, that is, a network that covers a **limited area**: a room, apartment, office, building, or campus. Short phrasing for the interview: > **LAN is a local network that connects devices within a small area using wired and/or wireless technologies for fast data exchange and shared use of resources.** --- ## Main features of LAN ### 1. Limited area LAN typically covers: - an apartment - an office - a floor - a classroom - a group of campus buildings LAN **does not** stretch across a city or a country - that would already be MAN/WAN. --- ### 2. High speed LAN is the fastest category of networks. Typical speeds: - Ethernet 1 Gbit/s - 2.5G / 5G / 10G Ethernet - Wi-Fi 5/6/6E/7 - hundreds of Mbit/s up to several Gbit/s --- ### 3. Low latency Latency between devices in the same LAN is milliseconds or less. This matters for: - streaming - online games - VoIP - file servers --- ### 4. Main LAN technologies #### Wired: - Ethernet (the most common standard) - fiber-optic Ethernet in data centers #### Wireless: - Wi-Fi (WLAN - a subtype of LAN) --- ### 5. LAN network equipment A typical set: - **Switches** - the backbone of wired LAN - **Router** - connects LAN to the internet (WAN) - **Wi-Fi access points (AP)** - **Cabling infrastructure** - twisted pair (Cat5e/6/6a/7/8), fiber --- ## Tasks LAN solves 1. **Data exchange** between devices (packets, files, requests). 2. **Shared access** to resources: - files (NAS, file server) - printers - internet connection 3. **Interaction of services** within an organization: - a database - web services - domain policies 4. **Centralized device management**: - updates - monitoring - security --- ## LAN in real life ### LAN examples: - Home network: router, laptops, phones, Smart TV. - Office network: dozens of PCs + server room + printers + Wi-Fi access points. - University campus: several buildings connected by fiber. --- ## Important terms related to LAN - **LAN Segment** - a part of a network joined by a switch. - **Broadcast domain** - the area in which a broadcast request is seen by everyone. - **VLAN** - a logical division of a LAN into isolated virtual networks. These terms come up often in interviews. --- ## Ready answer for the interview (short and clear) > **LAN is a local network that operates within a limited area (home, office, campus).** > **It mainly uses Ethernet and Wi-Fi, provides high speed and low latency, and lets devices within that area exchange data and share resources.** --- ## Cheat sheet (5 seconds before the interview) - LAN = Local Area Network. - Limited area. - High speeds (Ethernet / Wi-Fi). - Switches, access points, router. - Data exchange and shared access to resources.For the reviewerNote to the moderator (optional)Visible only to the moderator. Helps review go faster.