LAN vs WAN – Technical Definition of LAN and WAN

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Most of explanations on internet contend by saying "lan" is over smaller distance, while "Wan" covers wider geography. To make question more clear ?

  1. If two computers are on the same "LAN" what is it that they share in common to be on that single LAN they belong to ? Is it that they share a common router/switch/subnet ? Technically what is that that unifies under a LAN ?

  2. If two computers are on the same "WAN" what is it that they share in common to be on that same WAN they belong to ? Is it that they share a common router/ subnet ? Technically what is that that unifies under a WAN ?

  3. Is single datacenter considered a Lan ?

Best Answer

Wikipedia is your friend:

LAN: A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that user interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building using network media.

In simple words, what unifies devices on one LAN: they are situated in the same area. Most commonly, one LAN is behind one router (not talking about backup routers and redundancy routers).

WAN: A wide area network (WAN) is a network that covers a broad area (i.e., any telecommunications network that links across metropolitan, regional, or national boundaries) using private or public network transports.

Again, in simple words: a WAN connection is connecting LAN's over a bigger area.

Example: LAN + internet/network + LAN = WAN (when talking about bigger area's)

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