Local area network (LAN)

To understand the LAN, let's compare it with the PAN. A PAN is dominated by portable devices (for example, smartphone), while a LAN mainly consists of fixed devices. Both computer networks are covering the local area; however, the LAN has a greater coverage than the PAN, because the LAN usually can cover the floor of the building, several floors of the building, an entire building, or even a few buildings that are close to one another. From that, the main difference is that a PAN is mainly organized around an individual, while a LAN is organized around an organization, business, or legal entity. This then precisely defines the LAN as a computer network that connects two or more computers in a local area for the purpose of sharing resources, as in Figure 1.1.