What is a LAN? At minimun 2 computers with a single ethernet cable is considered a LAN, however anymore would require a ethernet hub as the messenger between the devices. Ethernet hubs commonly offer 4,8, and 16 ports in the consumer market and as high 48 ports in the business class models. Lan Party Lan Parties are organized gatherings where the main objective is to play online video games with each other within the same room. Main difference is the attendees commonly provide their own hardware to participate. Anywhere from screens, desktop towers, all down to the last cable,, lan parties have made online gaming a more social experience by allowing individuals to communicate in person face to face versus just online chat. Notable titles such as Counter Strike, Star Craft, and Unreal Tournament helped push the popularity of lan parties into the new millenium. Common Uses LAN is generally used in smaller facilities such as home, schools, and small business. When information ideally maintains within the facility, LAN is a common choice to send and receive data between machines. Quick communication between employee and staff members would benefit from a local network as oppose to a larger network that may require more resources to complete a simple task. Lan is ever evolving as technology progresses, WLAN has become the new standard as wireless features have become standard in most consumer devices. The term lan remains however the application of it has grown dramatically and continues to evolve for the better. | LOCAL AREA NETWORK (LAN) ![]() |