SAS/OR: The netWorks Application

LAN Environment

The local area network (LAN) modeling features of netWorks are designed to investigate connectionless networks in which data is transmitted between devices in discrete units called packets. And unlike in a connection-oriented network, a path between a source and destination is not known before transmission begins. In fact, a valid path may not exist between a source and destination in this type of network. A connectionless network relies on forwarding or routing algorithms running in various network devices to forward a packet appropriately through the network to its final destination.

In a typical LAN model network, you might have collections of Computing Device models - Workstation, Server, and Printer models -connected to a Hub or Media model representing a single LAN and a series of LANs linked by Bridge or Router models. The Workstation and Server models generate packets destined for other Computing Device models throughout the model network, and Router and Bridge models are responsible for forwarding packets between subnetworks.

The LAN environment is less mature than the telecom environment of the netWorks application, and therefore it offers comparably less flexibility and functionality than its connection-oriented sibling. You can, however, still perform very interesting and useful LAN simulations using this environment.

LAN Environment

LAN Equipment

Building a LAN Model

Running a LAN Simulation