Networking · Topic 9 of 10
Internet Connections and Network Types
Compare fiber, cable, DSL, satellite, cellular and wireless internet providers, and tell LAN, WAN, PAN, MAN, SAN and WLAN network types apart.
- 4 min
- Fiber is the fastest and lowest delay; cable is shared with neighbours.
- DSL uses phone lines, and speed drops with distance.
- Satellite works anywhere with a view of the sky but has high latency.
What it is
Two ideas are covered here. An internet connection type is how a site reaches its provider: through glass fiber, a cable television line, a telephone line, a satellite or a radio link. A network type describes the size and purpose of a network, from a few metres to a whole country.
The exam asks you to match a scenario to the best connection type and to name the network type from a description.
How it works
Internet connection types
| Type | Medium | Strengths | Weaknesses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fiber | Glass or plastic fiber, light signals | Very fast, often the same speed up and down, low delay | Not available everywhere; costs more to install |
| Cable | Cable television coaxial line | Fast, widely available in towns | The line is shared with neighbours, so speed can drop at busy times |
| Digital subscriber line (DSL) | Telephone line, with a DSL modem | Uses existing phone wiring; available in many places | Slower; speed falls with distance from the provider's equipment |
| Satellite | Radio link to a dish and a satellite | Works in remote areas | Higher delay (latency), weather can affect it, data limits are common |
| Cellular | Mobile network (4G or 5G) | No cable needed; portable | Data caps and coverage vary; speeds vary with signal |
| Wireless internet service provider (WISP) | Fixed radio link to a nearby tower | Option for rural areas | Often needs a clear path to the tower; weather and obstacles matter |
Fiber to the premises needs an optical network terminal (ONT) at the building. Cable needs a cable modem.
DSL needs a DSL modem. Satellite needs a dish and a satellite modem. Cellular needs a cellular router or a phone as a hotspot.
Words you will meet
- Bandwidth: how much data a link can carry per second.
- Latency: the delay for data to travel across the link.
- Symmetric: upload and download speeds are the same, as with many fiber plans.
- Asymmetric: download speed is greater than upload speed, as with DSL and cable.
- Data cap: a limit on the data a plan allows per month.
Choosing a connection
Fiber suits a business that uploads much data or hosts services. Satellite suits a place with no other option, but live calls and games suffer from latency.
When a scenario says "remote location with no wired service", think satellite, cellular or a fixed wireless provider. When it says "the fastest and most reliable", think fiber.
Network types
| Type | Full name | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| PAN | Personal area network | A person's own devices over a few metres, such as a phone and a headset |
| LAN | Local area network | One building or site, such as an office |
| WLAN | Wireless local area network | A LAN that uses Wi-Fi |
| MAN | Metropolitan area network | A city or large campus |
| WAN | Wide area network | Many sites over long distances, such as the internet itself |
| SAN | Storage area network | A dedicated network that links servers to shared storage |
Other labels describe who can use the network. A public network is open to anyone, like a cafe's Wi-Fi, and a private network is limited to its owners and users.
Where each type is used
A home is a LAN with a WLAN and several PANs. A company with offices in different cities joins its LANs with a WAN. A data centre uses a SAN to give servers fast access to disks.
What to remember for the exam
- Fiber is the fastest and lowest delay; cable is shared with neighbours.
- DSL uses phone lines, and speed drops with distance.
- Satellite works anywhere with a view of the sky but has high latency.
- Cellular is portable but may have data caps; a WISP uses fixed radio links.
- An ONT is the fiber modem equivalent, a cable modem serves cable, and a DSL modem serves DSL.
- PAN is a few metres; LAN is one site; MAN is a city; WAN is wide area.
- WLAN is a wireless LAN.
- SAN links servers to storage.
Common mistakes
Thinking satellite is fast for all uses. Bandwidth can be good, but delay makes calls and games poor.
Forgetting that cable is shared. Speed can drop in the evening when many neighbours are online.
Mixing up LAN and WAN. The internet and links between cities are WANs; a building is a LAN.
Confusing SAN with a storage device. A SAN is a network of storage, not a single disk.
Assuming cellular is unlimited. Many plans have caps or slow down after a set amount of data.
Check yourself
Which internet type has the highest latency?
Satellite, because the signal travels to a satellite and back.
Which network type covers one office building?
A local area network (LAN).
What does a SAN do?
A storage area network gives servers fast shared access to storage.
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