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{{short description|Computer network serving a populated area}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2019}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2022}}
{{Area networks}}

A '''metropolitan area network''' ('''MAN''') is a [[computer network]] that interconnects users with computer resources in a geographic region of the size of a [[metropolitan area]]. The term MAN is applied to the interconnection of [[local area networks]] (LANs) in a city into a single larger network which may then also offer efficient connection to a [[wide area network]]. The term is also used to describe the interconnection of several LANs in a metropolitan area through the use of [[Point-to-point (telecommunications)|point-to-point connections]] between them.<ref>{{Citation |title=802 IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks: Overview and Architecture |journal=P802-Rev/D1.6 (Revision of IEEE STD 802-2001, Incorporating IEEE STD 802A-2003, and IEEE STD 802B-2004) |quote=A MAN is optimized for a larger geographical area than is a LAN, ranging from several blocks of buildings to entire cities. |date=2002 |pages=1–68 |publisher=IEEE Computer Society|isbn=9780738182193|url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/servlet/opac?punumber=6422301}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author1=Kenneth C. Laudan |author2=Jane P. Laudon |title=Management Information Systems: Managing the Digital Firm |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780130156822 |url-access=registration |edition=10th |date=2001}}</ref>

== History ==
By 1999, [[local area network]]s (LANs) were well established and providing data communication in buildings and offices.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/java/quotes1999.html|title=Quotes in 1999|quote=Then one day, hardware was ridiculously cheap, software knew about the hardware, and you could actually plug a couple of machines together and they'd talk to each other. The real year of the LAN had quietly happened.|website=Cafe au Lait Java News and Resources|access-date=December 25, 2022|archive-date=April 14, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160414043142/http://www.ibiblio.org/java/quotes1999.html|url-status=live}}</ref> For the interconnection of LANs within a city, businesses relied primarily on the [[public switched telephone network]]. But while the telephone network was able to support the packet-based exchange of data that the various LAN protocols implemented, the bandwidth of the telephone network was already under heavy demand from [[circuit-switched]] voice, and the [[telephone exchanges]] were ill-designed to cope with the traffic spikes that LANs tended to produce.<ref name="Gatekeepers">{{cite book |editor =IGIC, Inc. Staff |date=1994 |title=Fiber Optic Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs)  |publisher=Information Gatekeepers Inc |isbn=9781568510552}}</ref>{{rp|11}}

To interconnect local area networks more effectively, it was suggested that office buildings are connected using the [[single-mode optical fiber]] lines, which were by that time widely used in long-haul telephone trunks. Such [[dark fibre]] links were in some cases already installed on customer premises and telephone companies started to offer their dark fibre within their subscriber packages. Fibre optic metropolitan area networks were operated by telephone companies as private networks for their customers and did not necessarily have full integration with the public [[wide area network]] (WAN) through gateways.<ref name="Gatekeepers"/>{{rp|12}}

Besides the larger companies that connected their offices across metropolitan areas, universities and research institutions also adopted dark fibre as their metropolitan area network backbone. In [[West Berlin]] the BERCOM project built up a multifunctional broadband communications system to connect the [[mainframe computers]] that publicly funded universities and research institutions in the city housed. The BERCOM MAN project could progress at speed because the [[Deutsche Bundespost]] had already installed hundreds of miles of fibre optic cable in West Berlin. Like other metropolitan dark fibre networks at the time, the dark fibre network in West Berlin had a star topology with a hub somewhere in the city centre.<ref name="Gatekeepers"/>{{rp|56}} The backbone of the dedicated BERCOM MAN for universities and research institutions was an optical fibre double ring that used a high-speed [[Ring network|slotted ring protocol]] developed by the GMD Research Centre for Innovative Computer Systems and Telephony. The BERCOM MAN backbone could thus support two times 280&nbsp;Mbit/s data transfer.<ref name="Gatekeepers"/>{{rp|57}}

[[Image:WDM operating principle.svg|400px|thumb|Wavelength division multiplexing operating principle]]
The productive use of [[dense wavelength-division multiplexing]] (DWDM) provided another impetus for the development of metropolitan area networks in the 2000s. Long haul DWDM, with ranges from 0 to 3000+&nbsp;km, had been developed so that companies that stored large amounts of data on different sites could exchange data or establish mirrors of their [[file server]]. With the use of DWDM on the existing fibre optic MANs of carriers, companies no longer needed to connect their LANs with a dedicated fibre optic link.<ref name="Alwan">{{cite book |author = Vivek Alwayn |date= 1994 |title= Optical Network Design and Implementation  |publisher= Cisco Press |isbn= 9781587051050}}</ref>{{rp|14}} With DWDM companies could build dedicated MANs using the existing dark fibre network of a provider in a city. MANs thus became cheaper to build and maintain.<ref name="Alwan"/>{{rp|15}} The DWDM platforms provided by dark fibre providers in cities allow for a single fibre pair to be divided into 32 wavelengths. One wavelength could support between 10&nbsp;Mbit/s and 10&nbsp;Gbit/s. Thus companies that paid for a MAN to connect different office sites within a city could increase the bandwidths of their MAN backbone as part of their subscription. DWDM platforms also alleviated the need for protocol conversion to connect LANs in a city, because any protocol and any traffic type could be transmitted using DWDM. Effectively it gave companies wishing to establish a MAN choice of protocol.<ref name="Alwan"/>{{rp|16}}

[[File:AlumRockViewSiliconValley w.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|right|Looking west over northern [[San Jose, California|San Jose]] and other parts of [[Silicon Valley]] technology hub. Between 2002 and 2003 the [[Sprint Corporation]] built five [[Metro Ethernet]] rings to connect the metropolitan areas.]]
[[Metro Ethernet]] uses a fibre optic ring as a [[Gigabit Ethernet]] MAN backbone within a larger city. The ring topology is implemented using [[Internet Protocol]] (IP) so that data can be rerouted if a link is congested or fails.<ref>{{cite book |author = Matthew Liotine |date= 2003 |title= Mission-critical Network Planning |url = https://archive.org/details/missioncriticaln00liot_321 |url-access = limited |publisher= Artech House |isbn= 9781580535595 | page = [https://archive.org/details/missioncriticaln00liot_321/page/n123 105]}}</ref> In the US the [[Sprint Corporation|Sprint]] was an early adopter of fibre optic rings that routed IP packets on the MAN backbone. Between 2002 and 2003 Sprint built three MAN rings to cover [[San Francisco]], [[Oakland]] and [[San Jose, California|San Jose]], and in turn connected these three metro rings with a further two rings. The Sprint metro rings routed voice and data, were connected to several local telecom exchange points and totalled 189 miles of fibre optic cable. The metro rings also connected many cities that went on to become part of the [[Silicon Valley]] tech-hub, such as [[Fremont, California|Fremont]], [[Milpitas]], [[Mountain View, California|Mountain View]], [[Palo Alto]], [[Redwood City]], [[San Bruno]], [[San Carlos, California|San Carlos]], [[Santa Clara, California|Santa Clara]] and [[Sunnyvale]].<ref>{{citation |date= November 2003 |title= Fiber in the Loop  |volume= 15 |publisher= Information Gatekeepers Inc |issue= 11 | page = 2}}{{Full citation needed|date=April 2023}}</ref>

The metro Ethernet rings that did not route IP traffic instead used one of the various proprietary [[Spanning Tree Protocol]] implementations; each MAN ring had a ''root bridge''.<ref>{{cite book |author = Matthew Liotine |date= 2003 |title= Mission-critical Network Planning |url = https://archive.org/details/missioncriticaln00liot_321 |url-access = limited |publisher= Artech House |isbn= 9781580535595 | page = [https://archive.org/details/missioncriticaln00liot_321/page/n124 106]}}</ref> Because [[layer 2]] switching can not operate if there is a loop in the network, the protocols to support L2 MAN rings all need to block redundant links and thus block part of the ring.<ref name="Alwan"/>{{rp|41}} Capsuling protocols, such as [[Multiprotocol Label Switching]] (MPLS), were also deployed to address the drawbacks of operating L2 metro Ethernet rings.<ref name="Alwan"/>{{rp|43}}

Metro Ethernet was effectively the extension of [[Ethernet]] protocols beyond the [[local area network]] (LAN) and the ensuing investment in Ethernet led to the deployment of [[carrier Ethernet]], where Ethernet protocols are used in [[wide area network]]s (WANs). The efforts of the [[Metro Ethernet Forum]] (MEF) in defining best practice and standards for metropolitan area networks thus also defined carrier Ethernet.<ref>{{cite book |author = Jeffrey S. Beasley & Piyasat Nilkaew |date= 2012 |title= Networking Essentials: Networking Essentials |publisher= Pearson Education |isbn=  9780133381702 | pages = 10–4}}</ref> While the IEEE tried to standardise the emerging Ethernet-based proprietary protocols, industry forums such as the MEF filled the gap and in January 2013 launched a certification for network equipment that can be configured to meet ''Carrier Ethernet 2.0'' specifications.<ref>{{cite book |author=Charles E. Spurgeon |author2=Joann Zimmerman |date= 1994 |title= Ethernet Switches: An Introduction to Network Design with Switches  |publisher= O'Reilly |isbn= 9781449367268 | page = 49}}</ref>

== Metropolitan Internet exchange points ==
[[File:Fiber-Optic Installation in New York City.jpg|thumb|[[Stealth Communications|Stealth Fiber Crew]] installing a 432-count dark fibre cable underneath the streets of [[New York City]].]]
[[File:AMS-IX optical patch panel.jpg|thumb|An [[optical fiber]] [[photonic switch]] at the AMS-IX]]

[[Internet exchange point]]s (IXs) have historically been important for the connection of MANs to the national or global [[Internet]]. The [[Boston Metropolitan Exchange Point]] (Boston MXP) enabled metro Ethernet providers, such as the HarvardNet to exchange data with national carriers, such as the [[Sprint Corporation]] and [[AT&T]]. Exchange points also serve as low-latency links between [[campus area network]]s, thus the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] and the [[Boston University]] could exchange data, voice and video using the Boston MXP. Further examples of metropolitan Internet exchanges in the USA that were operational {{as of|2002|lc=on}} include the Anchorage Metropolitan Access Point (AMAP), the [[Seattle Internet Exchange]] (SIX), the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Access Point (DFMAP) and the Denver Internet Exchange (IX-Denver).<ref>{{cite book |author=Marlyn Kemper Littman |date=2002 |title=Building Broadband Networks |url=https://archive.org/details/buildingbroadban0000litt |url-access=registration |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-1-4200-0001-6 |page=[https://archive.org/details/buildingbroadban0000litt/page/78 78]}}</ref> [[Verizon]] put into operation three regional metropolitan exchanges to interconnect MANs and give them access to the Internet. The [[MAE-West]] serves the MANs of [[San Jose, California|San Jose]], [[Los Angeles]] and [[California]]. The [[MAE-East]] interconnects the MANs of [[New York City]], [[Washington, D.C.]], and [[Miami]]. While the MAE-Central interconnects the MANs of [[Dallas]], [[Texas]], and [[Illinois]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Gary B. Shelly |author2=Jennifer Campbell |date=2011 |title=Discovering the Internet: Complete  |publisher=Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1-111-82072-5 |page=345}}</ref>

In larger cities several local providers may have built a [[dark fibre]] MAN backbone. In London, the [[metro Ethernet]] rings of several providers make up the London MAN infrastructure. Like other MANs, the London MAN primarily serves the needs of its urban customers, who typically need a high number of connections with low bandwidth, a fast transit to other MAN providers, as well as high bandwidth access to national and international long-haul providers. Within the MAN of larger cities, metropolitan exchange points now play a vital role. The [[London Internet Exchange]] (LINX) had by 2005 built up several exchange points across the [[Greater London]] region.<ref>{{cite book |editor=Sachar Paulus |editor2=Norbert Pohlmann |editor3=Helmut Reimer|date=2005 |title=ISSE 2005 — Securing Electronic Business Processes: Highlights of the Information Security Solutions Europe 2005 Conference |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-8348-0011-4 |page=324}}</ref>

Cities that host one of the international Internet exchanges have become a preferred location for companies and [[data centre]]s. The [[Amsterdam Internet Exchange]] (AMS-IX) is the world's second-largest Internet exchange and has attracted companies to Amsterdam that are dependent on high-speed internet access. The Amsterdam metropolitan area network has benefited too from high-speed Internet access.<ref name="Springer">{{cite book |date=2015 |title=Comparative Study of Smart Cities in Europe and China 2014  |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-662-46867-8}}</ref>{{rp|105}} Similarly Frankfurt has become a magnet for data centres of international companies because it hosts the non-profit [[DE-CIX]], the largest Internet exchange in the world.<ref name="Springer"/>{{rp|116}} The business model of the metro DE-CIX is to reduce the transit cost for local carriers by keeping data in the metropolitan area or region, while at the same time allowing long-haul low-latency peering globally with other major MANs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ixreach.com/news/ix-reach-announced-official-reseller-de-cix-new-york/|title=IX Reach announced as official reseller of DE-CIX New York|date=March 28, 2014|website=www.ixreach.com|publisher=IX Reach|access-date=March 8, 2019|archive-date=April 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408133747/https://www.ixreach.com/news/ix-reach-announced-official-reseller-de-cix-new-york/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Community network]]
*[[E-government]]
*[[Municipal wireless network]]
*[[Smart city]]
*[[Wireless community network]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Metropolitan area networks| ]]