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A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a hybrid between a LAN and a WAN. Like a WAN, it connects two
or more LANs in the same geographic area. A MAN, for example, might connect two different buildings
or offices in the same city. However, whereas WANs typically provide low- to medium-speed access,
MANs provide high-speed connections, such as T1 (1.544Mbps) and optical services. The optical services
provided include SONET (the Synchronous Optical Network standard) and SDH (the Synchronous Digital
Hierarchy standard). With these optical services, carriers can provide high-speed services, including ATM
and Gigabit Ethernet. These two optical services provide speeds ranging into the hundreds or thousands
of megabits per second (Mbps). Devices used to provide connections for MANs include high-end routers,
ATM switches, and optical switches. Typical MAN
A wide area network (WAN) is a computer network that covers a broad area (i.e.,
any network whose communications links cross metropolitan, regional, or
national boundaries). This is in contrast with personal area networks (PANs), local
area networks (LANs), campus area networks (CANs), or metropolitan area
networks (MANs) which are usually limited to a room, building, campus or specific
metropolitan area (e.g., a city) respectively.