Glossary of IP communications
LAN
Local area network
A group of computers and associated devices that share a common communications line and typically share the resources of a single processor or server within a small geographic area (for example, within an office building). Usually, the server has applications and data storage that are shared by multiple computer users. The main local area network technologies are: Ethernet, Token ring, ARCNET and FDDI (fibre distributed data interface). Typically, a suite of application programs can be kept on the LAN server. Users who need an application frequently can download it once and then run it from their local hard disk. Users can order printing and other services as needed through applications run on the LAN server. A user can share files with others at the LAN server; read and write access is maintained by a LAN administrator.