A local area network (LAN) is a group of computers and associated devices that share a common communications line or wireless link to a server. Typically, a LAN encompasses computers and peripherals connected to a server within a small geographic area such as an office building or home. Computers and other mobile devices can share resources such as a printer or network storage.

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A local area network may serve as few as two or three users (for example, in a home network) or as many hundreds of users Ethernet and Wi-Fi are the two most commonly used LAN technologies. Other LAN technologies, including Token Ring, Fiber Distributed Data Interface and ARCNET have lost favor as Ethernet and Wi-Fi speeds have increased.