About this interactive
A **LAN**, a local area network, is the devices that reach each other directly in one place: a home, an office floor, a classroom, one network inside a building. It ends at the router.
A **WAN**, a wide area network, joins LANs that are far apart, router to router: headquarters in Seattle, a campus in Chicago, offices in New York and a factory in Texas, in the lesson's example. Its 11 LANs, interconnected, make one WAN. The internet joins networks all over the world.
One site can hold several LANs (servers, users, guests), and each is still a LAN. Distance alone does not decide it: the question is whether it is one local network or the links between networks.
About TechKnowSurge
TechKnowSurge builds IT and cybersecurity professionals through hands-on, concept-first training built around real understanding — not memorization. Free interactive tools, structured programs, and 25+ years of real-world experience, all in one place.
Explore free tools and programs →