The two most popular types networks today are LAN (Local Area Network) and WAN (Wide Area Network) These two systems are generally classified based on their coverage area. Below are a few points that distinguish the two networks. local area network LAN exists in a home or campus, while wide area network exists throughout many office buildings separated by vast distances. Office buildings in the global network can be located in different countries or even continents.

For example, the headquarters may be in Russia, the regional office may be in the UK, and the office may be in Italy. The workers in these three buildings are Wide area network cooperate with each other. The Internet can also be considered as WAN, Ethernet is a classic example of a global network. Let's look at the differences between these two structures.

Differences

The following amenities are provided: LAN - WAN
Speed ​​1000 Mbps 150 Mbps
Transmission Bandwidth - High - Low
Data rate - High - Low
Geographic coverage - Small - Large
Equipment connection - 10Base-T cable - Leased lines or satellite
Technologies used - Token Ring AND Ethernet ATM, Frame Relay, X.25
Transmission Errors - Several - Read More
Installation Cost - Low - High
Maintenance costs - Less - Read more
Network Topology - Peer to Peer - Client-Server Model
Security - More secure than a WAN open to threats
Standard - Ethernet T1
Signal degradation - No - Yes
Equipment Needed - Hub, Switch Router, Modem
Expanding with a Network Card - Using an Optional Router
Range 1 km - Up to 10,000 km
Sharing the printer - Yes, if on the same local network - No

Local network structure

V local area network LAN devices connected to a switch or hub. Shared devices connected to a switch located in the city center. In the case of devices that need to be connected to the Internet, the switch connects to an ISP and thus to the Internet. The data common to all devices is stored on the servers. If there are multiple devices to be added, an additional hub or switch can be added. Local Area Network (LAN) has a higher throughput, while being faster compared to WAN ... The maximum speed of the local network can be up to 1000 megabits per second. Because local area network LAN faster, it is preferable for sharing computers on a network. Local area networks LAN Easy to install, most computers and laptops today are manufactured with an RJ45 port built into the motherboard that is used to connect to the network. For older machines that do not have this port, separate NICs (Network Interface Card) must be installed. This card fits into a PCI slot in desktop computers, and a PCMCIA slot in a laptop. local area network LAN is its ease of data exchange. The computer, if it is connected to the same local area network LAN can even share a printer. The biggest challenge that firms face in the process of connecting computers to local area network LAN - traffic monitoring for the Internet. If there is too much load on only one computer or on a shared device, then it can reduce the data transfer rate in local area network LAN This can be circumvented by monitoring local area network LAN traffic monitor, whose function is to monitor bandwidth usage. Based on setup and operation, installation cost local area network LAN is considered cheaper compared to WAN setup .

Wide area network

V WAN setup (WAN setup, computers that are present in different places and they are all interconnected. The devices connected to the router are interconnected through the T1 standard. This makes it difficult to expand the use Wide Area Network (WAN) since it has lower bandwidth, thus slowing down the network. Speed WAN can go up to 150 megabits per second. This means that the speed WAN equals one tenth of the local network speed. Though WAN slower, it is widely used to exchange data. The best example is the global Internet. Internet data is available on different continents. However, WAN cannot share peripheral devices, just like a computer in one country, you cannot use a printer in another country. To set up a WAN, you need a modem and a router. So in case an additional device needs to be added to the network, the router must be configured and connected to others on the network. Since the number of devices on the WAN is greater than those connected to the local network, there is a great need for monitoring devices. For this purpose, special computers are used whose sole purpose is to send and receive data from the Internet. To connect devices to global network leased lines or satellites are used. While each of the two networks has its own advantages and disadvantages, it is a special factor that helps to choose between LAN and WAN setup (WAN setting is distance). If the places that will be connected are far from each other, then there is no point in considering setting local area network LAN for all the benefits it has to offer, it just isn't possible.

Today many users search the Internet for such information: LAN - what is it and why is it needed? Of course, a very simple and short definition can be found on the World Wide Web.

It sounds like this: LAN is a local area network. That's all.

But this decryption gives absolutely nothing, especially if a novice user has to deal with it.

In fact, this approach only complicates the whole situation. Therefore, we will try to explain what LAN is in simple language, so that even a child can understand it.

If you still do not understand something, write about it in the comments, we will be happy to answer all your questions. So let's start with a simple theory.

Theoretical page

So, LAN stands for Local Area Network. This really translates to.

To put it simply, LAN is a series of interconnected computers and other devices that can connect to the network.

And they are connected to each other either with the help of cables or with the help. In Figure 1, you can see a pretty vivid example of a local area network.

Rice. 1. LAN example

As you can see, here the main element of the network is a router that is connected to the Internet (WAN). Remember this abbreviation, we will talk about it later.

In the meantime, let's take a look at the diagram shown above. On it, the numbers indicate the network segments, specifically:

3. DVD player connected to the router with a cable. To do this, the router has special LAN connectors, which are usually marked in yellow. In most cases, there are 4 such connectors.

As we said above, a LAN connector is used to connect to a router via a cable. We can see this in Figure 3.

Rice. 3. Router - rear view

As you can see, everything is standard in this model - 4 LAN connectors, but there is one more and it already differs in blue.

Actually, this is WAN (remember, we said that this concept needs to be remembered?). To more accurately understand what a LAN is, you can compare it with this very WAN.

By the way: Both LAN and WAN are connected via the most common cable with an RJ45 tip shown in Figure 4. Above we said that, for example, segment 3 in Figure 1, that is, a DVD player, is connected to a router with using a cable. This cable is a regular twisted pair cable with RJ45 lugs on both sides. It's that simple!

Rice. 4. RJ45 tip

Comparing LAN and WAN

Let's start with what a WAN is. Again, to put it simply, this is the Internet. That is, it is the same network, but not local, like LAN, but global.

It includes all devices and millions of local networks. WAN stands for Wide Area Network.

On this very network, each user can access the resources of another computer or other device that can be connected to the network.

By the way: This information is stored on servers. To put it simply, this is a huge number of large-capacity disks assembled into one large apparatus that can provide this information.

Rice. 5. An example of a working server

Differences between LAN and WAN:

1. Dimensions. Typically, a local network covers small areas, for example, an apartment or some kind of industrial premises. But the global network spreads over the entire surface of the globe.
2. The number of users. Of course, many more people can connect to the global network than to the local one. Much more powerful equipment is used there, and in general, a lot of people are usually connected. This is the calculation.
3. Service type. Local networks have their own services, such as a file access service, a printer service, and so on, in general, everything that is needed for a small network. But in the global network, for example, a routing service is used (determining the route of information along the network nodes) and much more that is necessary to work in large networks.

As for the distance or area that these two types of networks can cover, we have already said above that the global network extends over the entire surface of the globe.

Accordingly, it can work on distant spacecraft, if they are connected to any device within this network.

So, it is interesting that local networks can also reach quite large sizes.

The largest such network to date had devices that were located 14,000 km apart. These were space stations and orbital centers.

Although usually a local area network covers the same offices, homes, businesses or a small group of buildings.

LAN tasks

Now let's talk about why people create these very local networks at all and why in some cases it is impossible to use the global one.

So, the goals of creating a LAN can be as follows:

1. Allowing only certain devices to access files. In wide area networks, this is not a full-fledged option, but there are some workarounds. If you want to give the ability to use and modify files for certain people, for example, employees of your company, the easiest and most reliable way is to create a local network.
2. Sharing printers, scanners and other similar devices. These same devices can simply be added to the local network and all computers in the same building can be connected to it. If you do not use LAN, you would need to connect each computer separately, and this is very impractical and expensive.
3. The resources of all computers are used in the same way, in particular, memory. It's simple - if one employee's computer does not have enough space to store some information, he can leave it on his colleague's computer, which is also connected to.

Actually, these are all the goals that people pursue when they combine devices into local networks. As you can see, everything turned out to be quite simple and straightforward.

There is one question left to consider - what does the use of LAN look like?

It's very simple - a user who is connected to the network goes to the "Network" folder on his computer and sees the "Users" folder there.

He enters it, then selects the desired user (opens it like a regular folder) and sees all his shortcuts, folders and other information as if it were on his computer.

Rice. 6. "Network" folder on a computer connected to the local network.

Of course, before this, you need to perform a number of manipulations to configure the LAN, as well as make sure that all devices are suitable for use in the local network.

But this, as they say, "is a completely different story."

You can even more understand the above information if you watch the tutorial in the video below.

What is IP address, mask, host, network address. The basics

Description of the basic principles of addressing in computer networks. An explanation of what an IP address is and what parts it consists of, what a mask is and how to use it, how to determine the number of hosts.

We have already looked at solutions to many of the problems that you may encounter while setting up your router. In this article, we will try to find out why the router does not see the Internet cable that connects to the WAN connector. Let's consider different cases and possible solutions. It should be noted that the router may simply stop seeing the WAN cable, even if everything worked before. We will consider the example of routers from different manufacturers: TP-LINK, ASUS, D-Link, ZyXEL, etc. The principle of their operation is no different, which means that the causes and problems are almost always the same.

Let's go in order. There is a router, it distributes the Internet via Wi-Fi and cable. In order for him to distribute this Internet, you need to connect the Internet to it. To connect to the Internet, the router has a special WAN connector (it can also be signed as the Internet, or Ethernet)... In it we connect the cable through which we get the Internet: a network cable from a provider, or from a modem. It looks like this (photo on the example of the TP-LINK TL-WR741ND router):

Everything here is simple and clear. And the problem is that sometimes the router simply refuses to see the cable that is connected to the WAN port. There may be several reasons, we will talk about them further. It is clear that if the router does not see the Internet cable, then it cannot connect to it. And if he cannot connect to the Internet, then he cannot distribute it. And it turns out with us. When the connection on the computer is "Limited", or "Without Internet access", and on mobile devices, nothing opens.

Please note that very often the settings for connecting to the provider are incorrectly set. Indicate the wrong connection type and parameters. And more often than not, this is why the router simply cannot connect to the Internet. I wrote about this problem and its solution in the article:. Be sure to make sure that you set the connection parameters correctly in the router settings. But first, look for possible problems.

Reasons why the router does not respond to the connection of the Internet cable

Let's go through all the nuances of the connection in order to understand what the problem is.

1 We exclude problems on the side of the provider. The first step is to make sure that the Internet works without a router. The easiest way is to connect the cable from the provider directly to the network card of your computer. (you may need to configure the Internet on your computer)... If everything works directly, but does not work through the router, then see the instructions below.

If the Internet also does not work on the computer, then most likely the problems are on the side of the Internet provider. Call support and clarify. Perhaps they have some kind of hardware problem, or you just ran out of money in your account.

2 We check the connection of the WAN cable. Power on the router. Check if the cable is properly connected to the WAN connector. Disconnect and reconnect it. Perhaps it just moved away, or you did not fully snap it shut.

3 We look at the operation of the WAN connector indicator... Almost all routers have an indicator that glows (blinks) when the cable is connected to the WAN port. Be sure to pay attention to it. As a rule, next to it is the "Internet" icon, or the inscription WAN.

If this indicator is on for you, then the router sees the Internet cable. And it's about customization. At the beginning of the article, I gave a link to an article with a solution to this problem. Or just open the instructions for configuring your router on our website and configure it.

Well, if the power is on, the cable is connected, and the WAN indicator (paw) does not light up at all, then the problem is most likely in the router itself (for example, the WAN port burned out, read about it below), or in a cable. You won't be able to do anything in the settings themselves.

4 We check the work of the Internet cable. As for the cable itself from the Internet provider, then contacts may simply go away. And it just needs to be compressed again. But, if the Internet is working in the computer, then the problem in the cable can be excluded.

You can try to move the cable itself, and at this moment look at the connection indicator on the router panel. If something has moved off there, then most likely you will understand it, since the indicator will light up.

And if you determine that the problem is in the network cable, then it must be compressed again. You can do this yourself, but you need a special tool. The easiest way is to call a specialist from your provider.

The router does not see the WAN cable. How to solve the problem?

If, nevertheless, you find out that the problem is in the router (and the internet indicator is off), then there are not many options. If the WAN port is burnt out, which is the most common problem (of those that might be on the router side), then you can try to flash it with an alternative firmware, and replace the WAN port with a LAN port. I will write about this in more detail below.

As for the settings, it is unlikely that you can do anything there.

Be sure to do a factory reset on your router. Hold down the RESET button for 10 seconds while the device is powered on. Here is the instruction.

On TP-LINK routers, when trying to configure the Internet (on the WAN tab in the control panel), you will see the inscription WAN port is unplugged! (No cable plugged into WAN port!).

It all depends on the model of your router. In any case, it will not work to configure the Internet, since the router cannot detect the WAN cable.

If the WAN port of the router burns out

It is not uncommon for the WAN port itself to burn out. Well, it's clear that the router will no longer see any cable. This usually happens after a thunderstorm or power supply problems. Although, not necessarily, there may be other reasons. But in a severe thunderstorm, it is better to disconnect the network cable from the WAN port of the router. Just in case.

What to do in such a situation? You can take the router for repair, or buy a new one. But there is another option. If the WAN port really burned out, and the Wi-Fi network and the router itself are working fine, and you can go to its settings, then you can try to flash the router with alternative firmware, in which it is possible to assign one of the LAN ports as a WAN port. I will try to write in more detail about this method in a separate article. In the meantime, you can search the Internet for such a firmware for your router. Ask something like this: "alternative firmware for TP-LINK TL-WR841N". There, just substitute your router model.

Not the fact that everything will work out, but you can try. Moreover, if you consider the fact that otherwise you will most likely have to buy a new router.

conclusions

If you find out that the problem is not in the cable, and not in the provider, but in the router itself (and the WAN indicator is off), then most likely this is a technical breakdown. As we already found out above, the WAN port usually burns out. Then either repair / replace the router, or try to flash it with an alternative firmware and use the LAN port instead of the WAN. You can also check the router with friends, for example. By connecting it to their internet.

Instructions

Connect the router to AC power. Using a network cable, which is usually supplied with the above equipment, connect the LAN connector of the router to the network card of your computer or. Turn on both devices.

Wait for the computer to boot up. Open an internet browser and enter the IP address of the router. Specify its value in advance in the instructions for the device. Press the Enter key and wait for the web interface of the network equipment to load.

Enter your username and password to be able to configure the parameters of the router. Open the WAN menu. It may sometimes be called Internet or Internet Setup. Fill in the table provided. Select the type of data transfer protocol, such as PPTP or L2TP. Specify the type of encryption if this function is supported by the provider you are using.

Enter the access point or IP address of the internet server. Fill in the fields "Login" and "Password". This data must be provided by the provider. Check the box next to Get DNS-address automatically. If you need to set the value of a static IP address for the router, then fill in the Static IP field.

Enable Firewall, DHCP and NAT functions by checking the boxes next to the corresponding items. The last parameter can be omitted if you will not be connecting more than one computer or laptop to the router.

Click the Save button. Reboot your router. To do this, use the menu functions or simply turn off the device for a few seconds. Connect the ISP cable to the WAN menu. Test the router's functionality by launching a browser and opening several internet pages.

Sources:

• wan port settings

Tip 2: What devices can be connected to the router

Today, both in the home and in the office, a data transmission technology called Ethernet has become widespread. Although originally designed for computers only, new Wi-Fi technology made it possible to connect other digital devices as well. In addition to PCs and laptops, a smartphone, gaming equipment and technology can be connected to the router.

Instructions

Since the mid-1990s, with the rise of broadband Internet access, equipping computers and laptops with routers () has become widespread. The router sets up an internal network in your home or office and serves "" the Internet, which gives you access to e-mail, web pages, and other resources. The router connects to the PC using a network card that converts data on the network. The router assigns to each of your PCs an Internet Protocol address, an identifier that allows you to connect machines to send and receive information to each other.

Most modern smartphones and tablet PCs are pre-equipped with Wi-Fi technology, which allows them to be used on home and public networks. A special utility is used to connect such devices to the router. When you see your own network listed, select it and enter your router password.

Many home entertainment devices such as Blu-ray and set-top

The forums do not very often consider the question of how to use a router if the only WAN port burns out. By the way, such a phenomenon is not uncommon, and the essence of the fight against its consequences is not clear to everyone. Simply put, we want to switch several hardware ports, one of which will be a burned out WAN port. What to do next is clear to everyone: it is enough to connect the provider's cable to another connector. The problem is that not all firmware supports the creation of a switch between LAN and WAN. And sometimes this is physically impossible - in some chipsets, LAN ports are combined into a hardware switch.

Network router, 5 Ethernet ports

So, we can come to the conclusion that there are two classes of routers:

• With built-in "iron" switch
• With five independent ports (well, or three, as you are lucky).

The first of the classes does not interest us, nothing can be fixed here. And in more expensive devices, where all ports "hang" on independent Ethernet controllers, the "STB IPTV" option is usually provided. Just its presence, as you already guessed, makes it possible to create a switch between the WAN port and one of the LAN ports. How to use this option in relation to our goals is discussed further.

Professional routers and ZyXEL

Any professional-grade router is equipped with a sufficient number of Ethernet controllers. Therefore, any of the Ethernet connectors can be easily used as a WAN port, there is nothing to even talk about. A similar property is possessed by ZyXEL Keenetic routers if the second generation firmware is used. Having entered the web interface, just open the "Internet" -> "IPoE" tab and click on the "ISP" line:

Configuring IPoE Connections page

A tab will open in front of you, where in one click you can choose which of the connectors should become the WAN port:

Setting the checkbox "Use connector"

Do not forget to click "Apply" at the end.

It would be stupid if the first generation firmware did not have such capabilities. If your Keenetic router belongs to generation "1", just open the "Home network" -> "IP-TV" tab:

STB port selection tab

Here, that is, on the indicated tab, we select the "Assign LAN connector" parameter in the upper list. It remains to indicate which of the connectors will replace the WAN port. Click "Apply" and connect the provider's cable to the LAN port specified in the lower list.

For greater reliability, it is better to pre-check the box marked with the phrase "Only for the receiver".

ASUS, TP-Link, D-Link devices

As you understand, in some web interfaces you need to specify the LAN port intended for the STB set-top box. It is then used as a WAN port. In more modern interfaces, everything is arranged "honestly": here we simply choose which of the connectors the provider's cable is connected to. But sometimes both of these options are missing. This is almost always due to the fact that the chipset has only two Ethernet controllers. In general, it is better to start repairs by looking for information about the chipset.

D-Link: we combine ports 4, 5

In the interface of D-Link routers, a number is used for all hardware ports. We need to create a switch that combines two elements: the fourth, the fifth. To do this, on the "Connections" tab, first get rid of the WAN connection:

How to remove an active connection

All further actions are performed on another tab called "Advanced" -> "VLAN".

So, having opened the "VLAN" page, you will see two lists. We need to rearrange the interfaces the way we want:

Click on the "lan" rectangle, select the "port4" line, click the "Delete port" button and save the changes.

Remove "Port4" from "lan"

Add "port4" to "wan"

It remains to find the "Port" list on the tab that opens, select "port4" in it, and save the changes. After clicking on the "Save" button located at the top, you can reconfigure the WAN connection on the "Connections" tab (click "Add").

We examined how the WAN and LAN4 connectors are combined into a switch. However, on the start page it was possible to select "IPTV Wizard" to indicate which of the ports is used for the STB-set-top box.

We connect STB, ASUS interface

In ASUS devices, you can specify what will be used to connect the set-top box. Thus, you can switch a pair of ports, including WAN, into a switch. If the interface contains an item labeled "IPTV", you should use this:

"Additional settings" -> "WAN" -> "IPTV"

"Advanced settings" -> "WAN" -> "Internet"

The list where the arrow is drawn is what we need. Indicate one of the connectors.

Note that it makes no sense to open Internet options if in your case there is a tab "IPTV".

That is, the "Select STB port ..." list is never duplicated. But he may be absent altogether. What is the reason, we considered.

TP-Link routers: turning on the switch

Once upon a time there was a TP-Link router model TL-WR340GD revision 3.1. After the WAN connector burned out, the firmware was updated. Its version with the number V3_110701, as it turned out, contains the "Bridge" menu item. Going to this tab, you can find this:

Forced creation of a WAN-LAN4 switch

Of course, the fourth port was specified so as not to take up many connectors, and after saving the settings, the device was successfully connected to the provider.

Everyone knows that the interface of TP-Link routers, no matter what model we are talking about, always looks the same.

This means that you need to look for the "Bridge" item in the "Network" menu, and if it is there, use the capabilities of the router. In the absence of the specified tab, you can update the software, but not the fact that a new option will appear. Not all devices can work with a redundant connector in principle. We have already spoken about this.

Checking the functionality of the hardware port