Local Area Networks: A Matter of Choice

Several new data communications/information management networks, specifically designed for use in a local domain, are commercially available "off-the-shelf". Known collectively as Local Area Networks (LANs), the networks span the spectrum of possible implementations. Developed in the absence of national and international standards in this domain, the networks are -- with one exception -- based on closed systems. The Ethernet specification, originally due to the Xerox Corporation, is publicly available and has emerged as an open and de facto standard. Four classes of LANs are identified with emphasis on the multi-purpose LAN. Multi-purpose LANs range in linear coverage from hundreds to thousands of meters and support a variety of applications. Multi-purpose LANs, by virture of their limited linear coverage, are able to exploit new and emerging technologies thereby optimizing their effectiveness in their domain of applicability. Future implementations of international standards will reduce the cost of the multi-purpose LAN and further the cause of multi-vendor compatibility.