Lecture 2:

The Internet and World Wide Web :

E-Commerce Infrastructure

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Objectives
In this lecture, you will learn about:
The origin, growth, and current structure of the

Internet
Emergence of the World Wide Web
How packet-switched networks are combined to form

the Internet
How Internet protocols and Internet addressing work

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Objectives
The differences among internets, intranets, and

extranets
Options for connecting to the Internet, including cost

and bandwidth factors

About Internet2 and the Semantic Web

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What is the Internet?

Host A

18 M Hosts

1M= Nets

net 3
net 1

Main Internet Activities:

E-mail Transfer
Files
Join Discussion
Groups
World Wide Web
Communicate Live

Internet
net 2
net 4

300 M Users

150 Countries
router

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A global network of computers that

allows many millions of computer
users to share and exchange
information
The systems of interconnected
networks
Use TCP/IP Internet Protocol
Suite

Host B

What is the World Wide Web (WWW or W3)?

The Web is a universe of linked pages
Early Web pages were static, like a magazine page, consisted of

laid-out text and images & links to other pages

Today, many Web pages are multimedia creations, full of sound,
video, animation, and interactivity
To access the Web, you need a standard Internet connection and
some browser software
Todays leading Web browsers have evolved from Web navigation
tools to all-in-one Internet launchpads
With the birth of JAVA and ActiveX to the browser, you can enjoy
animation, tickertape text, live audio & video, and interactive
games
Using helper applications or plug-ins, you can run many of the
latest Web applications (e.g., view animation)
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The Internet and the World Wide Web

Computer network
Any technology that allows people to connect computers

to each other
The Internet
A large system of interconnected computer networks

spanning the globe

World Wide Web
A subset of computers on the Internet

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Origins of the Internet

Early 1960s
U.S. Department of Defense funded research to explore

creating a worldwide network

In1969, Defense Department researchers
Connected

four

computers

into

network

called

ARPANET
Throughout 1970s and 1980s
Academic researchers connected to ARPANET and

contributed to its technological developments

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New Uses for the Internet

1972
E-mail was born

Mailing list
E-mail address that forwards any message received to

any user who has subscribed to the list

Usenet
Started by group of students and programmers at Duke

University and the University of North Carolina

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Growth of the Internet

In 1991, NSF
Eased restrictions on commercial Internet activity
Began implementing plans to privatize the Internet

Network access points (NAPs)

Basis of new structure Internet

Network access providers

Sell Internet access rights directly to larger customers

and indirectly to smaller firms and individuals through

ISPs

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Growth of the Internet

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Emergence of the World Wide Web

The Web
Software that runs on computers connected to the

Internet
Vannevar Bush
Speculated that engineers would eventually build a

memory extension device (the Memex)

In the 1960s
Ted Nelson described a similar system called hypertext

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Emergence of the World Wide Web

(Continued)
Tim Berners-Lee
Developed code for hypertext server program

Hypertext server
Stores files written in hypertext markup language
Lets other computers connect to it and read files

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

Includes set of codes (or tags) attached to text

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Packet-Switched Networks
Local area network (LAN)
Network of computers located close together

Wide area networks (WANs)

Networks of computers connected over greater distances

Circuit
Combination of telephone lines and closed switches that

connect them to each other

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Packet-Switched Networks (Continued)

Circuit switching
Centrally controlled, single-connection model

Packets
Files and e-mail messages on a packet-switched network

that are broken down into small pieces

Travel

from computer to computer along the

interconnected networks until they reach their
destinations

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Routing Packets
Routing computers
Computers that decide how best to forward packets

Routing algorithms
Rules contained in programs on router computers that

determine the best path on which to send packet

Programs apply their routing algorithms to information

they have stored in routing tables

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Router-based Architecture of the Internet

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Internet Protocols
Protocol
Collection of rules for formatting, ordering, and error-

checking data sent across a network

Rules contributing to success of Internet
Independent networks should not require any internal

changes to be connected to the network

Packets that do not arrive at their destinations must be
retransmitted from their source network
Router computers act as receive-and-forward devices
No global control exists over the network

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TCP/IP
TCP
Controls disassembly of a message or a file into packets

before transmission over Internet

Controls reassembly of packets into their original formats

when they reach their destinations

IP
Specifies addressing details for each packet

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IP Addressing
Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4)
Uses a 32-bit number to identify computers connected to

the Internet
Base 2 (binary) number system
Used by computers to perform internal calculations

Subnetting
Use of reserved private IP addresses within LANs and

WANs to provide additional address space

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IP Addressing (Continued)
Private IP addresses
Series of IP numbers not permitted on packets that travel

on the Internet
Network Address Translation (NAT) device
Used in subnetting to convert private IP addresses into

normal IP addresses
Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)
Protocol that will replace IPv4
Uses a 128-bit number for addresses

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Internet Service Provider (ISP)

Commercial organization with a permanent connection to

Internet
Sells temporary connections to subscribers

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Domain Names
Sets of words assigned to specific IP addresses

Top-level domain (or TLD)

Rightmost part of a domain name

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers

(ICANN)
Responsible

for managing domain names

coordinating them with IP address registrars

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Top-level Domain Names

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Web Page Request and Delivery Protocols

Web client computers
Run software called Web client software or Web browser

software
Web server computer
Runs software called Web server software

Client/server architecture
Combination of client computers running Web client

software and server computers running Web server

software
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Web Page Request and Delivery Protocols

(Continued)
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
Set of rules for delivering Web page files over the

Internet
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
Combination of the protocol name and domain name
Allows user to locate a resource (the Web page) on

another computer (the Web server)

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Electronic Mail Protocols

Electronic mail (e-mail)
Must also be formatted according to common set of rules

E-mail server
Computer devoted to handling e-mail

E-mail client software

Used to read and send e-mail
Example: Microsoft Outlook, Netscape Messenger

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Electronic Mail Protocols (Continued)

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
Specifies format of a mail message

Post Office Protocol (POP)

POP message can tell the e-mail server to
Send mail to users computer and delete it from e-mail server
Send mail to users computer and not delete it
Simply ask whether new mail has arrived
Provides support for Multipurpose Internet Mail

Extensions (MIME)

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Markup Languages and the Web

Text markup language
Specifies set of tags that are inserted into text

Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)

Older and complex text markup language
A meta language

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

Not-for-profit group that maintains standards for the Web

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Intranets and Extranets

Intranet
Interconnected network that does not extend beyond

organization that created it

Extranet
Intranet extended to include entities outside boundaries

of organization
Connects companies with suppliers, business partners, or

other authorized users

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Public and Private Networks

Public network
Any computer network or telecommunications network

available to the public

Private network
A private, leased-line connection between two companies

that physically connects their intranets

Leased line
A permanent telephone connection between two points

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Virtual Private Network (VPN)

Extranet that uses public networks and their protocols
IP tunneling
Effectively creates a private passageway through the

public Internet
Encapsulation
Process used by VPN software

VPN software
Must be installed on the computers at both ends of the

transmission

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Internet2 and the Semantic Web

Internet2
Experimental test bed for new networking technologies
Has achieved bandwidths of 10 Gbps and more on parts

of its network
Used by universities to conduct large collaborative

research projects

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Internet2 and the Semantic Web (Continued)

Semantic Web
Project by Tim Berners-Lee
If successful
Would result in words on Web pages being tagged (using XML)
with their meanings

Resource description framework (RDF)

Set of standards for XML syntax

Ontology
Set of standards that defines relationships among RDF

standards and specific XML tags

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Summary
TCP/IP
Protocol suite used to create and transport information

packets across the Internet

POP, SMTP, and IMAP

- Protocols that help manage e-mail

Languages derived from SGML
Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

Extensible Markup Language (XML)

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Summary
Intranets
Private internal networks

Extranet
Used when companies want to collaborate with suppliers,

partners, or customers
Internet2
Experimental network built by a consortium of research

universities and businesses

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END OF LECTURE 2

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