Local Area Network (LAN) is a computer network which connects one or more computers within a limited area. The various topology of LAN used are star, bus, ring and mesh. The most commonly used LAN topology is switched Ethernet type. The data transfer rate in LAN are typically in the range of 0Mbps to 10 Gbps. We use both wired as well as wireless LAN's. The wired LAN uses twisted pair, co axial cable or fiber optics. IEEE 802.3 is one such type of Ethernet defined by IEEE standards.
I had an opportunity to work in Network II.5 software while designing a network, from which it was possible to extract many details such as frame overhead, minimum data per frame etc for each type of LAN from the software.
The specifications for each LAN type was not so different, there were only some minute changes. But these differences means a lot in designing a network. I understood this when I was designing a triple layer college network. The table above is the one created by me from the specifications I have collected from NETWORK II.5 software package. It is this table which guided me to redesign my network design to improve the throughput of the network. The table doesn't seem to be very interactive or helpful, but if you stare at those no's for each LAN type, you can easily sense which type of LAN will produce highest network utilization %.
I had an opportunity to work in Network II.5 software while designing a network, from which it was possible to extract many details such as frame overhead, minimum data per frame etc for each type of LAN from the software.
