Glossary · Networking

MAN

Metropolitan Area Network

In plain language

A network that links offices across one city or region.

The metaphor

Like a ring road around a city that connects several neighbourhoods: bigger than a street, smaller than a national highway.

Going deeper

How it works

A provider or a city links several buildings with its own fibre.
It gives faster, more private links than the public internet between nearby sites.
Most small businesses use the internet and a VPN instead.
It can matter for a clinic group or a firm with a few offices in the same city.

In practice

A clinic with two locations asks its provider about a private link between them.
A school board connects its buildings across a town.
A firm decides a VPN over regular internet is enough for its two offices.

Does my two-office business need one?

Usually not. A VPN between offices covers most small businesses at much lower cost.

Related terms

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