Overview
LAN (Local Area Network) is a common computer network of nowadays. It spans a relatively small area, such as home, colleges and universities, computer laboratory, office building or group of buildings etc. LAN is a combined group of computers, or computer systems, connected to each other that allows to share program software or data bases. A local area network may serve as few as two or three users, like a home network, or as many as thousands of users, such as an FDDI network. Today, we will talk something about the LAN systems which are used in colleges (or universities), office buildings, and industrial plants, for making use of optical fiber.
Colleges and Universities LAN
The most obvious benefit of colleges and universities local area network is college students and professors can do their research in their rooms and offices instead of going to the library. In addition, the technology of LAN and fiber optic applications provide access to other campus colleges, enabling staff members to perform research with other college professors. Moreover, it also enables students to take special courses from instructors at other colleges. Colleges or universities with a large number of students can add additional computers, scanners, and modems to the network for students to share. Although LAN would face such amounts of data shared, its transmission speed is considerable so that you could use less time to get more high quality studying files or contact with friends and families. On the other hand, it will save more and allow for easier upgrading in the software programs by using such shared network.
To face so much data sharing in network, you may have a question about the security. In a certain extent, LAN is safe for protecting the shared data, programs and others files because the network administrators of colleges can also have passwords on their programs for denying access to unauthorized users. Using passwords, they do not have to worry about programs being illegally copied or distorted.
Office Buildings LAN
Nowadays, in order to get highly efficient business, more and more companies are more preferred to rent a building or office with fiber optic applications because they feel it is very important for their business to have access to a fast communication network. Office LAN with fiber optic application, staffs of companies could enjoy their data transmitting at an even higher quality and speed than with other network applications. In addition, they do not have to worry with dangling and tangled cables that will effect their office looking. What’s more, with the fiber optic system, the company does not have to be concerned about a fire hazard because no electricity runs through the cables.
LAN and Industrial Plants
High-speed and high-quality communication links are also needed in industrial plants. To monitor their processes online better, industrial plants can use a fiber optic application to connect their control systems to their computer networks. In some developed countries, a plant can also collect valuable information from other machines and plants that might help their plant’s machines run more smoothly and efficiently. In addition, due to many physical properties of optical fibers, they are suitable to use in industrial plants. It seems an excellent choice for the harsh environmental conditions found in industrial plants such as electromagnetic interference (EMI), extreme temperatures, and even lightning strikes.
With the development of technology and higher demands of network, the combination of LAN and fiber optic applications is becoming more valued by people. Colleges (or universities) can obtain an almost endless stream of information using less time and money while companies can also use both of these to increase productivity as well as providing a convenient, safe environment for their employees and customers. Despite the application of FTTx technologies bring a new direction of people, in a period of time, LAN will still be a common used type of small area network. Additionally, I believe that the combination with optical fibers will bring LAN a new application prospect.
