Question

Difficulty: MediumNetwork Types and Topologies

A network technician is designing infrastructure components for an enterprise customer with diverse regional and functional requirements. Match each network type or topology on the left with its corresponding deployment scenario or operational characteristic on the right.

  • Storage Area Network (SAN)High-speed, dedicated network providing block-level data access between servers and shared storage devices.
  • Wide Area Network (WAN)Geographically dispersed network interconnecting multiple branch offices across different states or countries using leased lines.
  • Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)City-wide high-speed network connecting multiple municipal government buildings and campus sites within a single town.
  • Mesh TopologyNetwork structure offering maximum fault tolerance where multiple redundancy paths exist between nodes.

Answer

Storage Area Network (SAN) matches the dedicated block-level storage system description; Wide Area Network (WAN) matches the multi-region/state office interconnection description; Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) matches the municipal city-wide network description; and Mesh Topology matches the high fault-tolerance node structure description.
Each classification accurately reflects its defined scope or design behavior: SANs isolate block-level storage traffic, WANs connect distant geographical locations across regions or countries, MANs connect facilities within a single metropolitan region or municipality, and Mesh topologies provide redundant interconnectivity to eliminate single points of failure.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the geographical scope and functional domain of each item.
SAN relates to storage architectures; WAN covers large regions; MAN covers city-sized areas; Mesh defines redundant physical/logical link arrangements.
Matching each network scope or topology requires isolating its defining characteristic.
2
Pair Storage Area Network (SAN) with its functional description.
Matches with block-level storage transport between servers and storage arrays.
SANs specifically provide block-level storage access over dedicated high-speed infrastructure.
3
Pair Wide Area Network (WAN), Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), and Mesh Topology to their descriptions.
WAN maps to multi-state/country leased links; MAN maps to city/municipal coverage; Mesh maps to redundant fault-tolerant connections.
These descriptions align directly with standard network scope definitions and topology attributes.

Key Concept

Network Classification and Physical/Logical Topologies
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