At the heart of a LAN is the workstation, a .desktop task-oriented area that con-
sists generally of a processor and video display screen. Three levels of workstations can be identified: a microcomputer-based workstation, a traditional workstation, and a superworkstation. All three levels of workstations are used with LANs. In ad-
dition to providing relatively powerful microcomputer processors, these worksta-
tions often include features such as windows and graphics displays. They are typically linked to devices such as graphics printers, teleconferencing video screens and audio units, laser printers, and a variety of hardware devices known as servers.