A local area network (LAN) supplies network capabilities to groups of computers that are in a small geographical area. These areas can include office buildings, schools and homes. A LAN delivers applications to local users, and provides the infrastructure for group collaboration, file sharing and transfer, and printing along with many other applications. Many local area networks are constructed from inexpensive hardware such as Ethernet cables, network adapters, and hubs. Although most local area networks are connected with wires, there are also more LAN hardware options, such as Wireless LAN. The most common type of a local area network is that of an Ethernet cable. However, in some situations, a wireless LAN may be preferable to a wired LAN because it is cheaper to install and maintain. A LAN can support as little as two computers, and can support into the thousands
The transmission method for a wired LAN involves cables which are typically fiber optic or a twisted pair cable which consists of eight wires, which form four wires that plug into and is used with RJ-45 plugs and sockets. The maximum cable length of a twisted pair is 100 m (328 ft.) The maximum length of Fiber ranges from 10 km to 70 km. Depending on the type of twisted pair or fiber optic cables used, the data rates today can range from 100 Mbit/s to 10,000 Mbit/s.

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A Category 5 (CAT 5) cable , or Ethernet cable, is the current industry standard for networking and telephone wiring (defined by the the Electronic Industries Association and Telecommunications Industry Association (commonly known as EIA/TIA). A Cat-5 cable is an unshielded wire which contains four pairs of 24-gauge twisted copper pairs, which ends in an RJ-45 jack. The outer casing of this wire can come in many colors, with bright blue being the most common. Inside of the casing, the twisted pairs are also encased in plastic with a standard color scheme which includes: solid orange, blue, green, and brown wires that twist around mates that are white and striped with solid