What protocol is a WAN technology?

Frame Relay is a packet-switching telecommunication protocol designed for efficient data transmission over a Wide Area Network (WAN). It operates at the Data Link Layer and uses virtual circuits to connect geographically separate Local Area Networks (LANs). Unlike dedicated leased lines, it allows multiple organizations to share the same carrier infrastructure, making it a cost-effective solution for connecting enterprise sites. The other options are all technologies or standards primarily associated with Local Area Networks (LANs).

A. 802.11 is the IEEE standard for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), commonly known as Wi-Fi, and is not a WAN technology.

B. 802.3 is the IEEE standard that defines the physical and data link layers for wired Ethernet, the most common LAN technology.

C. Ethernet is the predominant technology for building Local Area Networks (LANs), as defined by the IEEE 802.3 standard.

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1. Stallings

W. (2014). Data and Computer Communications (10th ed.). Pearson. Chapter 11

"Wide Area Networks

" Section 11.1

"Switched Communication Networks

" explicitly introduces and details Frame Relay as a packet-switching WAN technology. In contrast

Chapter 15

"Local Area Networks: Overview

" covers IEEE 802.3 (Ethernet) and IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) as LAN standards.

2. Kurose

J. F.

& Ross

K. W. (2017). Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (7th ed.). Pearson. Chapter 1

Section 1.3

"The Network Edge

" categorizes Ethernet (IEEE 802.3) and Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11) as LAN access technologies. WAN technologies like Frame Relay are discussed in the context of connecting these edge networks over long distances.

3. MIT OpenCourseWare. (2002). 6.829 Computer Networks

Fall 2002. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Lecture 10 Notes

"Switching

" describes Frame Relay as a connection-oriented packet-switching technology used in WANs

contrasting it with LAN technologies like Ethernet. (Available at: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/6-829-computer-networks-fall-2002/resources/lecture-10-switching/)