| Date | May 2022 | Marks available | 2 | Reference code | 22M.1.SL.TZ0.3 |
| Level | SL | Paper | 1 | Time zone | no time zone |
| Command term | Identify | Question number | 3 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
Identify two differences between a wide area network (WAN) and a local area network (LAN).
Markscheme
Award [2 max].
WAN covers a much larger area (national/international), LANs usually cover a smaller area (such as a single site);
Nodes connected to WANs often make use of connections through public networks (such as the telephone system), nodes connected to LANs are usually connected through private infrastructure;
LANs are more secure than WANs (due to how WANs transmit the data /how far the data would need to travel);
A higher bandwidth is available for transmission in a LAN than a WAN/ LANs can have a higher data transfer rate than a WAN;
LAN is typically cheaper than WAN to implement/ maintain (as the equipment required for LAN is less expensive);
WAN includes a large number of devices connected together, LAN includes less;
WANs are typically slower than LANs due to the distance data must travel;
WAN requires hardware to connect different networks, such as a router, LAN can be simple and does not need to connect to other networks;
Examiners report
Candidates were aware of the differences between wide area networks and local area networks, but often spent a long time writing a description that only covered one difference, rather than the two required by the question.
