Common WAN Technology

Some of the useful and common WAN technologies i have listed below:

1.ATM- Asynchronous Transfer Mode

* Data is divided into small, fixed packets called cells.
* Each cell is 53 octets:
* 5 octets for header info
* 48 octets for data transmission
* ATM originally designed for simultaneous transmission of data, voice, and video.
* Quality of Service (QOS) is adjustable with bandwidth needs: higher for video, lower for data and video.

2.Frame Relay

* Data is divided into small, variable sized cells, up to 16,000 octets!
* Up to 1.544Mbps transmission rate.
* Uses “cloud” concept – shared bandwidth with other connections

3. SONET

WAN Technology Overview

To understand WAN technology following points you need to clear.

• Differentiate between a LAN and WAN
• Identify the devices used in a WAN
• List WAN standards
• Illustrate WAN encapsulation
• Classify the various WAN link options
• Differentiate between packet-switched and circuit-switched WAN technologies
• Compare and contrast current WAN technologies
• Describe equipment involved in the implementation of various WAN services
• Recommend a WAN service to an organization based on its needs
• Describe DSL and cable modem connectivity basics
• Describe a methodical procedure for designing WANs
• Compare and contrast WAN topologies
• Compare and contrast WAN design models
• Recommend a WAN design to an organization based on its needs.