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Subject:Intranet defined From:geoff-h -at- MTL -dot- FERIC -dot- CA Date:Wed, 23 Oct 1996 13:23:56 -0500
Janet Valade asked for the definition of an intranet (vs. a
LAN or WAN). Janet, there's a two-level hierarchy for
networks: a LAN (local area network) is almost always
within a single building, sometimes even within a single
workgroup, but it occasionally (when the term is used
loosely) encompasses a larger area such as a university
campus. A WAN (wide-area network) is always different
buildings, and often different cities. A LAN becomes a WAN
when you need the phone network or a related technology
(e.g., satellite links) to connect various nodes. An
Intranet can be a LAN or a WAN, but has one defining
characteristic in each case: it uses internet technology
(HTML documents and usually TCP/IP connections).
--Geoff Hart @8^{)} geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
Disclaimer: Speaking for myself, not FERIC.
