# Q7(a) · Network classifications

Subject: Computer Networks

Exam: TEE

Reader: https://deep-learning-study-room.vercel.app/cn/#tee/papers/paper-2025-legacy-reexam/q7a

Canonical: https://deep-learning-study-room.vercel.app/read/cn/tee/papers/paper-2025-legacy-reexam--q7a/

Actual paper; 100 marks attempted. Current-syllabus alignment is stated per question.

### Q7(a). List and compare the different types of computer networks. [5 marks]

### Answer

A **computer network** is a set of interconnected devices that exchange data and share resources using communication protocols. A link carries signals; a protocol defines message format, meaning and timing. Hosts run applications, switches forward local frames and routers connect IP networks.

| Type | Meaning and scope | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| PAN | Personal Area Network: a person’s nearby devices | Phone linked to earbuds |
| LAN | Local Area Network: a building or local campus network under local administration | Laboratory Ethernet/Wi-Fi |
| MAN | Metropolitan Area Network: interconnects sites across a town/city | City-wide institutional network |
| WAN | Wide Area Network: connects geographically separated networks over regional/global links | Branches in different cities |
| ARPANET | Historical packet-switched research network; a major predecessor of the Internet | Early interconnected research institutions; not a modern geographic size category |

Classification by geographical scope is descriptive: a fixed kilometre boundary or a guaranteed speed is not part of every definition. Networks can also be classified by wired/wireless medium or by client-server/peer-to-peer organization.

#### Practical example

A student uses a PAN for earbuds, a LAN in the lab and a WAN when accessing a distant university service.

**Yaad rakho:** PAN personal, LAN local, MAN city, WAN wide.