Types Of Internetwork

Internetwork is a combination of two different words, “inter” and “network” where the inter simply means a connection and network means the system or a group of interconnected machines and systems operating at some level, based on different criteria we have different sorts of Internet works available in the computer networks in this article we will understand and look at some of the most common types of Internet works mostly every network in chooses one of the types mentioned in this article.

What Are Networks and Protocols?

Let us first get a basic understanding of what a network is and what protocols are in a network any device that wants to use the Internet is connected to the network and that network contains a connection of interconnected devices and networks these networks use a standardized communication protocol to exchange information or data this is a simple understanding of an Internet network and protocols used in computer networks.

What is Internetwork?

As the rapid growth of the internet occurred from the late 90’s, the internet and the expansion in the growth as well as research of new protocols and methods to fasten the internet occurred at a very fast pace as well, the term internetwork defines the connection between two or more system and how they work to provide a sustainable connection. so let’s understand more about what the internetwork is and what are the various types of internetwork available that we study in the computer network.

An Internetwork Is also known as an internet as we all know that an Internet is simply a connection of various networks that are interconnected and they also use some sort of a communication protocol that is standardized between all of these interconnected networks these standardized communication protocols enables the data exchange.

Types Of Internetwork.

Types of Internetwork

Now let us take a look into the common types of internetworks:

1. Local Area Network (LAN)

The Local Area Network or LAN is a network which is simply limited to a very small area or geographical area for example the network that are used in campus or buildings Are known to be the collateral network it is called local area network because it is used simply within an organization only and it is used for the purpose of high data transfer rates for connecting various devices such as printer computers etc within the organization.

The range offered by the LAN network is within a few kilometers or even lesser and the speed capacity offered by the at a end network is often very high and the common land technologies such as Ethernet and Wi-Fi can support speed from 10 Mbps to several Gbps.

2. Wide Area Network (WAN)

as the names suggests the Wide Area Network or WAN He is helpful in covering a much larger geographic area when compared to the local area network it can be used to cover country city or even global connections as well the wide area networks use various technologies which includes the least lines public networks as well as in some rare cases the use of satellites in order to connect LANs over the longer distance.

The wide area networks are designed in a way so that we can cover a larger geographical area and also connect lands that may be located in different cities or countries or even continents the range offered by the wide area network can can cover large distances which helps in connecting networks across regions countries and even in some cases globally connecting continents etc.

The speed capacity of the wide area networks of the modern technologies include multi protocol labor switching as well as fiber optic connections which can provide high speed connections such as 10 gbps or even 100 gbps as well.

3. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

A metropolitan area network or simply called MAN falls in between LAN and WAN in terms of its geographical scope the Metropolitan Area Network can cover a larger area than a local area network but it can cover lesser area when we compare it to wide area network which means that it can typically cover a very large campus or can easily work within a city.

If you want to talk about the range and the speed capacity of the metabolite and area network then as we discussed earlier the metropolitan area network can cover a metropolitan area such as a city as well as a large campus this also means that the range of the metropolitan area network can be extended up to tens of kilometers thus we can connect multiple lands within a city or a neighboring city as well.

When we talk about the speed capacity of the metropolitan area network then it really depends on the various kinds of technology that are being used such as the common metropolitan area network technologies include ethernet as well as fiber optic cables which can fetch you a speed ranging from 10 Mbps to several Gbps.

4. Internet

As we all know that the Internet is a popular term described for a global internetwork, The Internet connects millions of networks worldwide as it uses the TCP IP protocol also known as transmission control protocol Internet protocol suite for the communication and this enables access to our very fast range of services as well as the information available in the multiple layers of networks.

We cannot measure the range and the speed of the Internet as it is a bundled collection of multiple networks and various protocols that enables the transmission of data from 1 point to another point worldwide.

5. Intranet

The intranet is known to be a private network which uses the Internet protocols as well as the technologies available within an organization the intranet helps in providing services same as the Internet but the only key difference here is is that it is limited to only the internal use by either the employees of the organization as well as the members of the organization any third party outside of this organization cannot access the services and content of this network.

6. Extranet

The extranet is known to be an extension of an intranet as we discussed earlier that the Intranet provides a private network that can be used within an organization by its employees the extended also works similarly but the key difference is, that it provides limited access to the external users who are authorized such as various partners or suppliers of a network so in short the extended provides a secure way and a controlled environment for the sharing of information with any external entity.

7. Virtual Private Network (VPN)

The VPN before as it is widely used in accessing pirated sites but when we come to the technical aspect of it our view of private network is a simply network that uses a public network infrastructure one of the example of the public network infrastructure is the Internet and it uses it to provide secure connections between the remote users which means that it allows the user to access a private network using a public network securely which is why the VPN sometimes used as accessing sites which are not blocked in another country.

8. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Networks

Another type of Internet work is known as a peer-to-peer network the peer to peer network or P2P network is used between devices in order to communicate directly with each other without even using a centralized server now the question comes what could be the purpose of using such a network in devices and the purpose of these type of network is simply to use the devices for file sharing as well as distributed computing which allows them to not have any centralized server in the first place and directly share the computed data or file required to be shared.

Comparison Among Internetworks

Now let’s take a look at the speed and range capacity of these internetworks briefly and then discuss about the benefits and disadvantages of the internetworks.

Internetwork Type	Speed Capacity	Range Capacity
Local Area Network (LAN)	10 Mbps to 100 Gbps	Within a building or campus
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)	10 Mbps to 10 Gbps	Up to tens of kilometers
Wide Area Network (WAN)	1.5 Mbps to 100 Gbps	Across cities, regions, or globally
Internet	Varies widely	Global
Intranet	Varies widely	Limited to the organization’s internal use
Extranet	Varies widely	Limited to authorized external entities
Virtual Private Network (VPN)	Varies widely	Depends on the underlying network infrastructure
Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Networks	Varies based on setup	Limited to direct connections between peers

Conclusion

So in conclusion, we learnt about the types of internetwork in computer networks, we also learnt the various types of networks which are available in the internetwork as well as the capacity and the speed that each of the network can provide.

Frequently Asked Questions on Types of Internetwork – FAQs

What is the difference between an intranet and an extranet?

An intranet is known to be a private network that works within an organization whereas an extranet is somewhat different. it works by extending the network to selected users which are external for example: partners, clients etc.

How does a LAN differ from a WAN?

The Local Area Network or LAN is only limited to a very small area such as – office space. but when we talk about the Wide Area Network then it’s suited for more larger distances which can connect multiple cities or even small countries.

What is the role of Internet in internetworking?

The internet can be simply known as a global network that is public in nature, it can connect countless number of devices and networks worldwide to make the communication and data exchange possible, internet does this with the help of standardized protocols.

Explain the concept of virtual private network (VPN)?

Virtual Private Network or VPN simply helps the user to establish a secure connection over the internet which means that it also provides the users to access a private network remotely, the main reason for people to use a VPN is to access content securely as well as accessing content not available in their own country.