What Is A LAN Cable, LAN Wire and LAN?

What Is A LAN Cable, LAN Wire and LAN?

what is a lan cable and lan
There was a question that came up not too long ago from someone browsing our website. They noticed that we commonly changed the terms in which we refer to our cables. Most notably is the way we mention Ethernet and Networking cable. In reality there really isn't any difference between the two terms. They can be both interchangeable when referring to our cables. The thing is though they were wondering what is a LAN cable and is there any difference between that and an ethernet cable? In this article we will break down this term for a better understanding on ethernet terminology.

What Is A LAN?
To begin this article lets first start with exactly what is a LAN? A LAN stands for local area network and it is a computer network that interconnects computers in a certain area such as homes, universities, offices, commercial buildings, labs and just about any place with a range of computers in a close vicinity. LANs are vital in computer networking and just about any computer you use is connected to another device in some way. Not only are there small scale network connections but they can vary in size. What about over large areas of land, say large corporations and governments? These are called wide area networks.

The beginning of a Local Area Network (LAN) began in the 1970's with the increase in the need for high speed interconnections of computers in universities and laboratories. With the introduction of ethernet by Xerox in 1973-1974 LAN would soon be off to the races. The first introduction of LAN is a major use case came with the install of it in 1977 at the Chase Bank in New York City.

Now that you've got a little bit of an intro and background to LAN let's dive into how does a LAN actually work?

What Products Are In A LAN?
Whether you're in your home or business you're probably going to be apart of some sort of LAN. The simplest way of setting up a Local Area Network (LAN) is to use an ethernet cable. But what about a LAN cable? This is where the customers question comes in to play. A LAN cable refers to the same thing as an ethernet or networking cables. So when shopping for a LAN cable and you come across an ethernet or networking cable you will be fine. So in definition a LAN cable is cable that connects to computers, network switches and then from the switch to a router, modem or dsl which powers your internet from a internet service provider. These devices when connected together with a wireless LAN, ethernet or networking cable form a LAN (Local Area Network).