A wide area network (WAN) is a telecommunications network or computer network that extends over a large geographical distance.

A WAN connects more than one LAN and is used for larger geographical areas. WANs are similar to a banking system, where hundreds of branches in different cities are connected with each other in order to share their official data.

A WAN works in a similar fashion to a LAN, just on a larger scale. Typically, TCP/IP is the protocol used for a WAN in combination with devices such as routers, switches, firewalls and modems.

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