Networks

Abstract

34.1 Introduction The local area network (LAN) became a permanent fixture of the computer world during the 1980s, having achieved penetration primarily in the form of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.3 ethernet* LAN. Thereafter, other types of LANs, such as the IEEE 802.5 token ring and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) X3T9.5 fiber distributed data interface (FDDI), also established themselves as lesser—though potent—players. These LANs now form the dominant communications infrastructures that connect computers and related devices within individual enterprises. They provide the transmission substrate for common services such as file transfer, network file services, network window service, electronic mail, hypertext transfer, and others.