Computers connected to a LAN can share information and/or share peripheral equipment.

What does a computer do in a LAN?

They function to link computers together and provide shared access to printers, file servers, and other services. LANs in turn may be plugged into larger networks, such as larger LANs or wide area networks (WANs), connecting many computers within an organization to each other and/or to the Internet.

What happens when a computer connected to a network?

If you have a home computer network, the computers are also using TCP/IP to connect. The TCP/IP protocol allows each computer to "see" the other computers on the network, and share files and printers. When computers connect on the same network, it is called a local area network, or LAN.