Metropolitan Area Network ( MAN ) In USA

 

 

( kw : metropolitan area network )

What’s a metropolitan area network?

 

A metropolitan area network (MAN), is a network of computers that connects people within a given area. This could be one large city, several cities, towns, or an area with many buildings. A MAN is bigger than a local network (LAN), but smaller than an wide-area network (WAN). MANs don’t have to reside in urban areas. The term “metropolitan”, however, refers to the size and not the demographics of an area served by the network.

 

How is MAN network constructed?

 

A MAN, like WANs is composed of interconnected networks. Because data doesn’t have to travel long distances, MANs are often more efficient than WANs. MANs are often composed of networks from multiple organizations and not managed by one organization.

Many MANs connect LANs using fiber optic cables. MANs will often use “dark fiber”, which are formerly unused fiber optical cables that can carry traffic. These fiber optic cables can be leased from ISPs (private-sector Internet service providers).

Sometimes, the reverse is true: A city government creates and maintains a network of fiber optics in its metropolitan area, then leases dark fibre to private companies.

 

 

MAN and CAN

 

 

A campus area network is a network that connects many buildings on a campus or business campus. Because they connect multiple networks, CANs can also be called MANs. However, they are not large enough for a WAN.

 

 

Cloudflare’s protection of metropolitan area networks is a key component.

 

 

Large networks can be vulnerable to many attacks, including distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS), attacks. Cloudflare Magic Transport protects networks from all types of attacks. It also speeds up network traffic and helps ensure network reliability. Magic Transit allows network operators to lower their hardware investment by offering cloud-based network functions.

 

Cloudflare’s Cloudflare Network interconnect allows networks to directly connect with Cloudflare, allowing for greater security and performance. This can be done either via a private virtual connection, or a physical cable connection.

 

A metropolitan area network is a computer network that is more extensive than a single building’s local area network ( LAN), but is also smaller than a wide-area network ( WAN). It is generally made up of multiple LANs connected by dedicated connections. It could also be used to refer to the public use of networking infrastructure within a region or municipality.

 

 

Networks for Metropolitan Area Organizations

 

 

Traditionally, a metropolitan area network is a private network that connects multiple organizations in the same geographical area. Although it is larger than a local area network (LAN) in one building, it is not large enough for a WAN. Its size is usually between 5 and 50 kilometers. It may be considered a campus if all buildings are located on the same piece of contiguous property.

 

A MAN is usually small enough to allow dedicated point-to–point or backbone data connections to be established between buildings or to a colocation (colo). These backbone connections can be made using a variety link technologies such as Ethernet runs, leased Dark Fiber or private fiber, point to point Wi-Fi ( ), wireless LAN ( ), microwave radio links, private networks, and private . Although not considered part of a MAN, public internet routes, such as via a virtual private network (VPN), or public cloud, may be included in a MAN diagram. The system should have redundant links between different locations.

 

 

Multiple LANs are connected to each other by metropolitan area networks that use dedicated wired or wireless backbones.

 

A MAN can use a local exchange carrier to connect to LANs. It may also connect to an Internet exchange point to allow for high-speed communication between the MAN (and the public internet) It can also connect to peer vendors or cloud vendors such as Amazon Web Services Direct Connect.

 

 

Metro area network advantages and disadvantages

 

 

A MAN has a primary advantage over a network. This is due to the availability of high-speed bandwidth through dedicated links within a metropolitan area network. A MAN can provide higher speeds, from 1 gigabit per sec to 100 Gbps, with lower latency than a WAN. The organization can use traffic shaping and increase security because it has control over the connection.

 

A MAN is more expensive than a WAN, and requires greater logistics to maintain the links. A well-designed MAN will have redundant connections. This means that there must be at least two connections per structure.

 

 

Extended use

 

 

A metropolitan area network is merely a measure of relative size. It can also be used to refer to a private or public network that attempts connectivity across a large metropolitan area. A MAN is closely related to smart cities concepts in many different ways.

 

 

• A MAN could be an interconnect of many privately owned or telecommunication providers between companies.
• A MAN could be either a free or public Wi-Fi network that is available to residents in a particular city.
• A MAN is a network that a municipality or company uses to connect its public works systems with internet-of-things (IoT), devices.

 

These are the basic differences between a metropolitan, local and large area network.

 

The use of metropolitan area networks will increase as technology advances and more devices are interconnected. MAN is also used by some to describe the high-speed internet connectivity in a city that 5G cellular technology provides. A future use of MAN could be a citywide network consisting of autonomous vehicles that share location, traffic, and destination data.

 

 

Examples for a metropolitan area network

 

 

Cisco Systems has several buildings in San Jose, Calif. These buildings were connected by the company using dark fiber leased from another company and its own fiber trenching.

 

CERN, or the European Organization for Nuclear Research has several buildings located on one piece of land in Geneva. They connect them with optical fiber to form a campus area network (or MAN).

 

New York City offers Wi-Fi access for free to residents who are a single man. As a metropolitan network, it connects wirelessly traffic lights and parking meters.

 

London’s telecommunications provider leases fiber connections. These connections are used by many companies to connect, forming a large MAN.

 

The Indian government has launched the National Smart Cities Mission, a program that aims to improve communication between the government and citizens. This mission initially involved 100 cities, and will be completed in 2023. It requires the use a MAN.