LAN, WAN & The Internet
The three network layers that connect you to the world
LAN - Your Home Network
LAN stands for Local Area Network. It's the network inside your home - all the devices connected to your router.
Your phone, laptop, smart TV, printer - if they're connected to your WiFi or plugged into your router, they're on your LAN. They can talk to each other directly, share files, and stream content without using the internet.
LAN characteristics:
- Covers a small area (your home or office)
- Devices use private IP addressesAddresses like 192.168.x.x that only work within your local network. More Info… (192.168.x.x)
- Devices identify each other using MAC addressesHardware identifiers burned into each device's network chip. More Info…
- Very fast (typically 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps or more)
- Managed by your router's DHCPAutomatically assigns addresses to each device. More Info… server
WAN - The Outside Connection
WAN stands for Wide Area Network. In your home setup, WAN refers to the connection between your router and your ISP (Internet Service Provider).
If you look at the back of your router, you'll usually see one port labelled "WAN" or "Internet" (often a different colour). This is where the cable from your ISP connects. The other ports labelled "LAN" are for your home devices.
Your router has an IP address on each side:
- LAN side: 192.168.1.1 (the gatewayThe address your devices use to send traffic to the internet. More Info… your devices use)
- WAN side: Your public IP (assigned by your ISP)
The Internet - Network of Networks
The Internet is a global network that connects millions of smaller networks together. Your ISP's network is connected to other ISPs, which are connected to data centres, which host websites and services.
When you visit a website, your request travels:
↓
Router (WAN side) → ISP Network
↓
Internet Backbone → Destination Server
How They All Connect
Your router is the central piece. It has one foot in your LAN and one foot in the WAN:
Phone, Laptop, TV
(192.168.1.x)
↓
[Your Router]
LAN IP: 192.168.1.1 | WAN IP: Public IP
↓
[ISP / Internet]
Millions of connected networks
Why the Distinction Matters
- Speed - Your LAN is typically much faster than your internet connection
- Security - Devices on the internet can't directly reach your LAN devices (the router acts as a firewall)
- Addressing - Private IPs work on LAN, public IPs work on the internet. NATNetwork Address Translation - your router swaps private IPs for the public IP when talking to the internet. More Info… bridges the gap