HP Jetdirect 250M User Manual page 19

NETWORKS
L is for Local
The "local" in "local area network" means that
the network is in a single location. A LAN can be
small enough to serve a home office or a small
business, or it can be large enough to serve a
school, a hospital, or a substantial business or
public office. It can cover several buildings, as
long as they can all be connected into a single
network. Several types of LAN equipment are
available to expand a LAN beyond the
workgroup-sized unit typically served by a single
hub.
Note that the definition of a local area network
does not include broader networks such as the
Internet or a corporate network with locations in
many cities or countries. These broader
networks are often called WANs, or wide area
networks. It is possible for a LAN to connect to
such a network through a gateway -- a device
that connects different types of networks. The
gateway can be a separate piece of equipment, or
it can include the LAN hub. (This latter type of
gateway is becoming increasingly common for
Internet connections, particularly for high-speed
DSL connections.)
Though wireless networking is becoming
increasingly popular, most wireless equipment
still connects to a wired LAN. In a typical case, a
portable computer may have a wireless LAN
card. When the computer comes within range of
a wireless gateway, it connects through the
gateway to the wired LAN, and to all the
computers and other resources on that LAN.