LAN Versus WAN
The first distinction that is often made when describing a network is to identify it as either a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN.) LANs typically operate within a building or sometimes across several buildings belonging to a single organization and located in the same general vicinity.
The actual distance a LAN covers can vary greatly.
One common way to distinguish a LAN from a WAN is that the LAN will have its network hardware and software under the control of a single organization.
As the Internet and its related technologies are used more by organizations, the line between LANs and WANs may be becoming somewhat blurred.
For our purposes, we will think of the LAN as being confined to a single geographical area and controlled by a single organization.
A WAN is any network that extends beyond the LAN. WANs may be public (like the Internet) or private. They may be connected by dedicated lines, a satellite, or other media.
Each device and computer within a LAN has a network interface card (NIC).
These cards are generally specific to the type of LAN transmission technology being employed, such as Ethernet or Wi-Fi.
(This is why you may hear the term Ethernet card or VW-F I card used to refer to your computer’s NIC.) Clearly, most health care organizations today operate one or more LANs and use WANs as well