Types Of Computer Network Designs For Business | Jones IT

Let’s say you have an office in San Francisco and another one in New York, and you want to connect their local area networks to each other so that you get the benefits of a connected network. But building your own physical network infrastructure using cables, routers, and Internet exchange points over thousands of miles is not something you would want to do. Instead, you can use one of the many different WAN technologies to achieve such a connection.

The most common WAN technologies are:

Leased lines

A leased line is a direct network connection, which you rent from a company, such as an internet service provider (ISP) that already has the infrastructure that you need. Since the leased lines are reserved exclusively for the leaseholder, you get an assured performance and bandwidth. Because of the same reasons, it is an expensive option. How much you pay for the lease would depend on the distance between the connected networks and performance requirements.

Synchronous Optical Network (SONET)

Synchronous optical networking is a standardized digital communication protocol, which synchronously transmits large volumes of data over long distances using a fiber optic medium. It allows simultaneous transmission of voice, data, and video at speeds as high as 1Gbps through a single fiber.

Frame Relay

Frame Relay is a WAN technology for transmitting data between LANs and over a WAN. In this technology, data is packaged into frames and sent through a shared network. Each of the frames contains all the necessary routing information to ensure that it reaches the correct destination. It is simple to configure and less expensive than leased lines which contribute to its popularity.

Internet Protocol Suite

The Internet Protocol Suite is the foundation of all modern networking. It is also known as TCP/IP, which stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. The TCP/IP defines the addressing, identification, and routing specifications so that the computers and other devices can communicate via the Internet. Although most users may associate the Internet Protocol Suite solely with the Internet, in reality, the Internet is a network of networks and the Internet Protocol Suite is the defining set of protocols that governs the connection of devices and transmission of data.