There are several different categories of networks which have different purposes. A personal area network (PAN) spans a small space, ranging from a few inches or centimeters to a few yards or meters. A local area network (LAN) connects computers in a specified area. This could be used for universities, office buildings, etc. One similar category is the campus area network (CAN), which connects the campus buildings of, for example, a school or university so that all the devices on the campus are connected to the network. To reach an even greater distance, a wide area network (WAN) can go across several cities or even different countries using nodes. A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a type of network that spans across a city or at least part of a city. Finally, a storage area network (SAN) connects storage devices by using network technology. Thus, choosing a network depends on the size of the area that needs the network connection.