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Ok well now I'm looking into what sort of IP cameras I need to buy, and all these unexpected options come up. One especially confusing option is WAN or LAN. Why is it important to have WAN and LAN on the IP camera?

Well I believe I have the answer to this question. I came across a short article on the internet describing WAN and LAN options and I thought I'd post the best part:

ACTi's IP cameras provide two RJ-45 connectors. One is WAN and one is LAN. Both of them are 10/100. The difference between a WAN and a LAN is that WAN is to be connected to the internet, while LAN is to be connected to a local network. Since the internet's bandwidth is very critical, ACTi provides hardware QoS (Quality of Service) on the WAN port to ensure the bandwidth when uploading video streams through the internet. Also, the WAN port is equipped with PPPoE (Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet) which enables the IP camera to be connected to an ADSL or cable modem without the need to go through a router first. If the IP cameras are to be deployed at a large area, it will be very costly to provide routers to each IP camera. Using IP cameras with PPPoE built-in, installers will be able to save a lot of cost over routers.

Hope this helps!

Much appreciated, my friend. I googled it and came up with a similar answer, but not in so few words. Thanks again.

No problem.