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Upon successful completion of this lesson, you should be able to do the following:
WAN Overview
While the geographic distinctions of "local" and "wide" area networks imply a
difference in the distance between network nodes, that is not always the case. By
definition, a Wide Area Network (WAN) is a government-regulated public network or
privately owned network that crosses into the public network environment. It doesn't
matter whether the area being bridged is across the country or across the street. If the
geographical separation crosses over a public thoroughfare, a WAN is required to make
the connection.
The WAN is typically used to connect two or more local area networks (LANs).
As you know, a LAN is a privately owned communications system that is designed to
allow users to access and share resources (e.g., computers, printers, and servers) with
other users. LANs that are interconnected by a WAN may be located in the same
geographical area, such as an industrial park or campus setting, or in geographically
separate areas, such as different cities or even different regions.
There are a number of transmission services that are used to support WAN
communications, all running across the hardware components that physically connect
different LANs. For the attached user, these services and components work in tandem to
create the illusion of one large virtual network. Thus, the WAN is often represented as a
cloud, as shown above. You will learn more about the specific WAN services and
hardware that exist within this cloud as you continue through this course.
While the focus of this course is on the WAN, you should also be aware of
another unique network type called a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN). Like the
WAN facilities to which they are closely related, MANs are typically subject to
government-regulation.
MANs interconnect LANs within a specific geographical area, such as a large
urban center or campus environment. Typically configured as a ring topology, a MAN
provides regional LANs with a high-speed backbone for the sharing of resources, as well
as offering an efficient solution for connecting to the WAN.
While the focus of this course is on the WAN, you should also be aware of
another unique network type called a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN). Like the
WAN facilities to which they are closely related, MANs are typically subject to
government-regulation.
WAN Characteristics
The WAN concept has many different applications, which can be categorized by
examining the differing characteristics of the network environment:
As you proceed through this section, you will see how these characteristics differ from
one WAN environment to another.
First, consider the difference between private and public WAN networks.
Private WAN
If leasing a physical WAN connection does not make economic sense, a private
WAN operator has several other options to consider.
Wireless WAN connections, such as satellite or laser line-of-sight between
buildings, are one common solution, but they are subject to potential environmental
interference and breaches of security
If you want a secure, physical WAN connection that is dedicated and non-leased,
the process can be a bit more complex. Consider the case of a large technology enterprise
that wanted to connect two LAN facilities that were located on either side of an interstate
highway. After measuring the long-term costs of running a dedicated line to the central
office and back, they decided to explore the option of becoming a common carrier and
creating their own physical connection. Common carriers are government-regulated
organizations that offer telecommunications services for public use, although in this case
the company simply needed the license, but had no plan to sell services. The company
then offered to purchase a 6-inch swatch of the interstate from the Federal Highway
Administration, assuming responsibility for the care and maintenance in exchange for
being allowed to bury a fibre optic cable below the highway surface. The deal was
approved, and the connection was made.
Now consider public WAN networks.
Public WAN
The best example of a public WAN designed for voice is the Public Switched
Telephone Network (PSTN), while the Internet is the largest public WAN designed for
data. You will learn more about voice and data networks later in this lesson.
In North America, telephone services across PSTN are provided by a telephone
company, commonly referred to as known as the Telco. Telco may be used to refer to the
local telephone companies only, or it may represent the telephone industry in general,
including both local and long distance carriers.
In many European countries, a governmental agency known as the Postal,
Telegraph and Telephone (PTT) is responsible for providing combined postal,
telegraph, and telephone services. A similar centrally controlled system is used in China.
Another distinguishing characteristic of the public WAN is the tariff, which is the
rate charged for a variety of telecommunication services that are provided to Telco
customers. Unlike the private WAN, where the network owner pays the full cost of leased
or owned connections, public WAN operators provide shared facilities where link
ownership and payment is distributed among all connected users.
Both regulation and tariffs have a significant impact on the types of WAN services
that are provided. While technology supports a large variety of WAN solutions, the
offering of those services is subject to the approval of the regulating agencies. Even if a
solution is approved, the service may still not be offered if it does not serve the business
needs of the Telco.
Now consider the various parties that provide public and private WAN facilities
and services.
WAN Providers
The Telco consists of a variety of Service Providers, who compete with each other
to provide WAN services to both residential and non-residential customers. In general, a
Service Provider is a company that provides a telecommunications service in exchange
for some compensation from the customer. The collection of compensation is more
commonly referred to as billing.
Billing is typically based on one of two methods:
The actual compensation collected by the Service Provider for content or conduit may
vary as well:
Flat Rate is a fixed charge that is collected for a customer's unmeasured usage of
a Service Provider's content or conduit. For example, a residential customer might
be charged a flat rate of $20 per month for unlimited access to the Internet.
Advertising is an increasingly common way that Service Providers are compensated for
services provided. In this case, the user agrees to view or listen to advertisements in
exchange for a service, and the Service Provider receives a fee from the advertiser. For
example, you may be asked to listen to five recorded ads in exchange for 30 minutes of
long distance service. An increasing number of free Internet services are supported by
advertiser fees as well.
Local Exchange Carrier (LEC) refers to the company that owns the "last mile"
telephone wire that runs to your house and provides telephone service within the
local exchange. Unless you dial 10-10-xxx, the LEC intercepts long distance calls
and hands them off to your specified long distance carrier.
The LEC is better known as the Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (ILEC),
particularly when referring to the Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs), or
"Baby Bells," previously owned by AT&T, who faced little or no competition prior to the
passage of the Telecommunications Act of 1996. This legislation had a significant impact
on competition within the industry, opening the door for an increasing number of
companies to enter the market and provide services using the existing PSTN
infrastructure:
Now that you are familiar with network ownership and the types of service providers
offering WAN access and transport, consider the types of connections that are used to
carry information across the WAN infrastructure.
Switched connections are general purpose links that are available on demand and
are usually paid for on a per usage basis.
The type of WAN connection that you use is dependent on several factors, including the
type of information that needs to be sent, the average level of traffic, and the security
requirements.
First consider dedicated connections.
Dedicated Connections
Permanent dedicated circuits, also known as leased lines or private lines, have the
following characteristics:
Cost is high because the connection is used exclusively for one purpose, so they
are primarily used for connections where large amounts of traffic need to be
moved reliably between two network nodes.
Switched Connections
Cost is low because switched connections are made on demand over shared
facilities.
Switched connections are commonly found in the PSTN, as well as ISDN, Frame
Relay, and ATM networks.
Hybrid connections may be required in some cases, where a leased line is needed to
make the connection between the customer location and the service providers Point of
Presence (POP). For example, X.25 networks are often accessed using a dedicated
connection, and then a switched connection is used internally. You will learn more about
X.25 later in this course.
Now consider the differences between the various types of switched networks.
Switched Connections
There are three basic types of WAN switching services:
Circuit Switching
The call path remains constant and bandwidth is dedicated throughout the
duration of the call. Unused bandwidth is not recovered.
Traffic is transmitted at wire-speed with minimal delay and an emphasis on timing
to minimize "jitter."
There is no error recovery because circuit-based switches maintain only small
buffers.
Circuit-switched network operators typically charge customers for the duration of
the connection, which includes any "transmitted silence."
The best example of a circuit-switched network is the PSTN. Later you will learn
about ISDN and cellular networks, which also use circuit switching to establish
connections.
Packet Switching
Packet switching, which divides messages into smaller packets for transmission,
was originally developed for the purpose of sending data over analog circuits, which are
subject to errors and noise. More recent developments for digital transmission include
Frame Relay and Switched Multimegabit Data Service (SMDS). You will learn more
about these network types later in this course.
Packet-switched networks have the following characteristics:
In addition to the network types identified above, the Internet is a good example of a
packet-based switched network.
Cell Switching
ATM networks employ cell switching, which combines the guaranteed bandwidth
of a circuit-switched network with the efficient bandwidth-sharing and prioritization
capabilities of a packet-switched network. ATM networking in the WAN environment is
covered in more detail later.
Cell-switched networks have the following characteristics:
Logical routing allows for flexible use of bandwidth and network resources.
Logical circuits allow cell-switched networks to guarantee Quality of Service
(QoS).
Cell switches use a store-and-forward technique to carry voice and data through
the network. The temporary storage of switched cells allows for error detection
(with no recovery), as well as prioritization and more efficient use of bandwidth.
Cell-switched network operators charge based on the actual number of cells sent,
which means you only pay for data that is transmitted.
Now that you are able to differentiate between dedicated and switched connections,
consider the traffic types.
Network Traffic
There are three major types of traffic that are found in the WAN environment:
Voice, which is the term collectively used to identify live uncompressed voice that
is transported across the network.
Theoretically, each of these traffic types could ride over any of the switched
connections discussed previously. However, there are "historical preferences" that pair
voice with circuit-switched networks, data with packet-switched networks, and so forth.
But these pairings are becoming increasingly less meaningful as networks converge.
You will learn more about convergence in a moment after examining each of the three
traffic types in more detail, beginning with voice.
Voice Traffic
Originally, networks were designed to carry one specific traffic type: voice or
data. While modern telecommunications networks are increasingly carrying both voice
and data (as well as video), it is important to consider the unique traffic requirements of
voice and data networks separately.
As mentioned previously, the PSTN is the largest voice network in existence
today. Originally designed to handle voice only, the PSTN is adapting rapidly to meet a
variety of data needs. While the demand for data services will continue to increase, voice
continues to be the largest source of revenue for WAN providers.
Voice networks have several common characteristics that are designed to meet the
needs of voice traffic:
If voice transmission does not arrive in the proper order, then it is not likely to be
of any use because it may not be understood. As a result, voice networks are
typically circuit-switched because voice requires consistent timing to prevent
jitter. In general, packet-switched networks are not suited for voice traffic because
prioritization can cause result in delays.
Data Traffic
Data is less sensitive to the timing constraints of voice traffic. Rather, data
networks are more concerned about reliable transport of information. As a result, data
networks are typically packet-switched or cell-switched to ensure the error control and
recovery needed to ensure a reliable transfer.
Video Traffic
As LANs interconnect the need to transmit all types of traffic across the WAN
increases, resulting in the convergence of data and voice networks. Convergence refers to
the combining of two or more technologies, in this case voice and data networks:
Summary
A Wide Area Network (WAN) is a government-regulated public network or privately
owned network that crosses into the public network environment. It is typically used to
connect two or more local area networks (LANs).
There are three sets of characteristics that define WAN networks:
The primary traffic type for which the network was designed is either voice or data.
Video is another predominant type of WAN traffic.