What is WAN, and why should you have one?

Wide area networks (WANs) connect multiple smaller networks into a shared communications space that functions a lot like a private internet. This helps businesses communicate across divisions and locations, protect sensitive information and take advantage of low-cost high-speed data connections. Even medium-sized and smaller companies with limited computing demands can benefit from building a scalable WAN as part of their overall growth strategy.

What is a WAN?

A wide area network is a system used for connecting many smaller local area networks (LANs) into a single communications web. This is most often done with WAN routers that wirelessly unite several other networks and allow secure communications across the grid. Businesses have several reasons to do this, notably the enhanced security a single firewall provides and the ease of sharing from one LAN to another.

Linking up your local area networks (LANs)

There are several ways to link up local networks into a single WAN. Arguably the first WAN connected several 1950s-era defense computers with fax machines and multiple telephone systems as part of a missile warning system. Later developments made it possible to link up multiple computer systems, especially the LANs typically used by a business, into a unified network.

Types of WANs

Many kinds of WANs are available today. While the scalability and diverse needs of consumers have created a wide range of systems and features, there are still two basic types: hardware and software WANs.

WAN equipment and wide area network routers

Hardware-based WANs use a device called a WAN or edge router to direct traffic around the network. These routers can be relatively simple in design, or at least not significantly more complex than the LAN routers you might already be using, or they can be very sophisticated standalone units that have to be housed on a server rack.

Software-deployed virtual WANs

Software-deployed WANs (SD-WANs) do many of the same things their hardware equivalents do, with a bit more flexibility in the ways they can be installed and used. By virtualizing the router system into a software packet installed on your terminal, you can rout packets through a WAN with enhanced security and flexibility. At the application level, for instance, it is possible to shift network traffic from a high cost/high bandwidth connection used for trunk data transfers to a less expensive parallel network for communications within the network area.

Wide area networking in the office

It’s common for business computers to be linked together in local area networks that are parceled out by division. Thus, the IT department can have an LAN that’s optimized for its needs, while customer service has another and accounting a LAN of its own. Building a company-wide WAN links these networks together and facilitates communication between divisions while still maintaining the speed, security and cost-effectiveness of each LAN.

Companies that operate at multiple locations can also benefit from a WAN that acts as a kind of miniature internet for the LANs in use at each site. An SD-WAN can even connect wireless and mobile devices for remote workers, such as survey equipment used on a construction site or GPS trackers installed in company vehicles. Even smaller companies can benefit from building out substantial WAN infrastructure early on, since the flexible routing and information sharing the network allows can easily scale up as the company grows.

Build Your WAN From the Ground Up

Companies of all sizes can benefit from linking networks together into an integrated WAN of their own. Call, chat online or contact us via email to find out more about how WANs work and about how they can work for you.