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Appendix B – Introduction to LAN &
Ethernet Technologies
In the last ten years, as communication and business
applications become increasingly complex, computer
network has evolved as a very important part of the
enterprise infrastructure. Communication systems like
Local Area Network (LANs) have grown into a
sophisticated, powerful, yet flexible technology today.
Among different types of Local Area Networks, such as
FDDI, ATM, Token Ring and Apple Talk, Ethernet strikes a
good balance between speed, price, ease of installation,
and supportability.
This primer helps to explain this most popular technology
and its associated products such as Ethernet hubs and
switches.
LAN
In order to reduce the expense on computer hardware and
software and to easily share information, LAN technologies
were developed for people to share distributed computing
resources.
LAN connects independent computers, file
servers, printers, etc. together within a confined geographic
area, usually a single building or a college campus. As
LAN expands to link hundreds and thousands of
computers, various network protocols and media have
developed
to
meet
the
requirements.
At times, multiple LANs that are
FNSW-8086 / 8088F User's Manual
organization ' s
different
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