This chapter introduces the various protocols and technologies used in
wide-area network (WAN) environments. Topics summarized here include
point-to-point links, circuit switching, packet switching, virtual circuits,
dialup services, and WAN devices. Chapters in Part III, "WAN
Protocols," address specific technologies in more detail.
A WAN is a data communications network that covers
a relatively broad geographic area and that often uses transmission facilities
provided by common carriers, such as telephone companies. WAN technologies
generally function at the lower three layers of the OSI reference model: the
physical layer, the data link layer, and the network layer. Figure 3-1
illustrates the relationship between the common WAN technologies and the OSI
model.....