NOTE Typically, the Access portion of the Service Provider network is considered to
be a part of the Metropolitan (access) Area Network (although there are no standard
definitions to this effect).
The network beyond the LAN is the Service Provider??™s network and is segmented in to
the Access, MAN, and WAN. A Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), as the term suggests,
Ethernet: From LAN to the WAN 23
refers to a network38 that encompasses a metropolitan area, usually spanning a city
and its surrounding areas and typically covering an area anywhere from tens of miles to
a hundred miles in diameter. Like a LAN, a MAN is a high-speed network interconnecting
many entities, albeit over a wider geographic location. As opposed to a LAN, which is
usually a private, enterprise-owned network, Service Providers typically own and operate
the MAN infrastructure. The networking capability in the MAN is provided as a service
(or services) by the Service Providers for a recurring payment. A MAN may interconnect
many LANs in the metropolitan area. Each of these LANs, however, operates as an entity
independent of the MAN. A MAN generally encompasses the telecom access networks and
its associated metro backbone.
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