E-Commerce

Unit II

The Internet as a Network Infrastructure

The Internet is the most well known component of the information super highway
network infrastructure. Its very general infrastructure targets not only one electronic commerce
application, such as video-on-demand or home shopping ,but a wide range of computer
services, such as e- mail, EDI, information publishing, Information retrieval and video
conferencing.

The Internet Te rminology

The Internet is a mesh that envelops thousands of interconnected network linking
computers worldwide. It is estimated that every thirty minutes a major network links to the
INTERNET. The interconnected computers include stand-alone computers, LANs, MANs, and
WANs.
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard
Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to link several billion devices worldwide. It is an
international network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business,
and government packet switched networks, linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless, and
optical networking technologies. The Internet carries an extensive range of information resources
and services, such as the inter- linked hypertext documents and applications of the World Wide
Web(WWW), the infrastructure to support email, and peer-to-peer networks for file sharing and
telephony. The Internet, referring to the specific global system of interconnected IP networks.

NSFNET: ARCHITECTURE AND COMPONENTS:

 National Science Foundation (NFS) has created five super computer centers for complex
and wider range of scientific explorations in mid-1980s. Until then, supercomputers were
limited to military researchers and other who can afford to buy.
 NSF wanted to make supercomputing resources widely available for academic research.
And the logic is that the sharing of knowledge, databases, software, and results was
required. So NSF initially tried to use the ARPANET, but this strategy failed because of the
military bureaucracy and other staffing problems. So, NSF decided to build its own
network, based on the ARPANET's IP technology.
 The NFSNER backbone is initially connected to five supercomputing networks with initial
speed 56 kbps telephone leased lines. It was considered fast in 1985 but it is too slow
according to modern standards.

Since every university could not be connected directly to the center, need of access structure was
realized and accordingly each campus joined the regional network that was connected to the
closest center. With this architecture, any computer could communicate with any other by
routing the traffic through its regional networks, where the process was reserved to reach the
destination. This can be depicted in the three level hierarchical models as shown in the figure:
 Fig1: Figure1 shows the structure of the Inte rnet hie rarchy from national backbone to
campus network.
This abstraction is not completely accurate because it ignores commercial network providers,
international networks, and interconnections that bypass the strict hierarchy.

Water distribution systems may be useful analogy in understanding the technology and
economics of the NSFNET program.
1. We can think of the data circuits as pipes that carry data rather than water.
2. The cost to an institution was generally a function of the size of the data pipe entering the
campus.
3. The campuses installed plumbing and appliances such as computers, workstations and
routers. And Service cost as an infrastructure cost such as classrooms, libraries and water
fountains.

 But there is no extra charge for data use.

 The mid- level networks acted like cooperatives that distributed data from the national
backbone to the campuses. They leased data pipes from the telephone companies, and
added services and management. So each member could access the pipe and either
consume or send data.
 Some funding was also provided by the federal government.
 This model was a huge success but became a victim of its own success and was no longer
effective. One main reason for it was-the network's traffic increased until, eventually, the
computer controlling the network and the telephone lines connecting them became
saturated. The network was upgraded several times over the last decade to accommodate
the increasing demand.

The NSFNET Backbone

 The NSFNET backbone service was the largest single government investment in the NSF-
funded program. This backbone is important because almost all network users throughout
the world pass information to or from member institutions interconnected to the U.S.
NSFNET.
  The current NSFNET backbone service dated from 1986, when the network consisted of a
small number of 56-Kbps links connecting six nationally funded supercomputer centers. In
1997, NSF issued a competitive solicitation for provision of a new, still faster network
service.
 In 1988, the old network was replaced with faster telephone lines, called T-1 lines that had
a capacity of 1.544 Mbps compared to the earlier 56 Kbps, with faster computers called
routers to control the traffic.
 By the end of 1991, all NSFNET backbone sites were connected to the new ANS-provided
T-3 backbone with 45 Mbps capacity. Initial 170 networks in July 1988 to over 38,000 and
traffic of initial 195 million packets to over 15 terabytes. Discussions of electronic
commerce were due to the economic factor. The cost to the NSF for transport of
information across the network decreased.
 It fell from approximately $10 per megabyte in 1987 to less than $1.0 in 1989. At the end
of 1993, the cost was 13 cents. These cost reduction occurred gradually over a six- year
period. Cost reductions were due to new faster and more efficient hardware and software
technologies.

Mid-Level Regional Networks

 Mid level Regional Networks are often referred to as regional networks, are one element of
the three-tier NSFNET architecture.
 They provide a bridge between local organizations, such as campuses and libraries, and the
federally funded NSFNET backbone service.
 The service of Mid Level Regional Networks tends to vary from sub state, statewide and
multistate coverage.

State and Campus Networks

 State and campus networks link into regional networks.

 The mandate for state networks is to provide local connectivity and access to wider area
services for state governments, K-12 schools, higher education, and research institutions.
 Campus networks include university and college campuses, research laboratories, private
companies, and educational sites such as K-12 school districts.
 These are the most important components of the network hierarchy, as the inve stment in
these infrastructures far exceeds that of the government's investments in the national and
regional networks.
 Fig2: Figure2 shows the Network hierarchy in campus network interconnecting
multiple local area networks to the Inte rnet

New architecture for NSFNET backbone

NSF issued a solicitation for a high speed network architecture that would change the
nature of the internet routing and operations. The solicitation was for Network Access Point
(NAP) Manager and Routing Arbiter (RA) organization and a provider of very high speed
Backbone Network Services.
In the new architecture thirteen core nodal stations were replaced by three “priority”
network access points connected by very high bandwidth networks running at minimum speeds
of up to 155Mbps.

To each NAP, a variety of commercial networks, international networks and federal

networks can be connected. The mid-level networks are connected to the NSFNET architecture
through commercial networks like SprinNet.
Network Access Points
The Network Access Points (NAPs) were defined as transitional data communications
facilities at which Network Service Providers (NSPs) would exchange traffic, in replacement of
the publicly- financed NSFNet Internet backbone. A network access point (NAP) is one of
several major Internet interconnection points that serve to tie all the Internet access providers
together. The NAPs provide major switching facilities that serve the public in general.

Routing Arbiter
A Routing Arbiter (RA) is an element that is introduced into the NAP architecture. RA
organization implements the concept of policy-based network routing that enables routing of
traffic between different network operators.

New architecture for NSFNET backbone

NSF issued a solicitation for a high speed network architecture that would change the
nature of the internet routing and operations. The solicitation was for Network Access Point
(NAP) Manager and Routing Arbiter (RA) organization and a provider of very high speed
Backbone Network Services.
In the new architecture thirteen core nodal stations were replaced by three “priority”
network access points connected by very high bandwidth networks running at minimum speeds
of up to 155Mbps.
To each NAP, a variety of commercial networks, international networks and federal
networks can be connected. The mid-level networks are connected to the NSFNET architecture
through commercial networks like SprinNet.

Network Access Points

The Network Access Points (NAPs) were defined as transitional data communications
facilities at which Network Service Providers (NSPs) would exchange traffic, in replacement of
the publicly- financed NSFNet Internet backbone. A network access point (NAP) is one of
several major Internet interconnection points that serve to tie all the Internet access providers
together. The NAPs provide major switching facilities that serve the public in general.
Routing Arbiter
A Routing Arbiter (RA) is an element that is introduced into the NAP architecture. RA
organization implements the concept of policy-based network routing that enables routing of
traffic between different network operators.

VBNs (very high bandwidth networks)

The NSFNET Backbone Network includes switching nodes located at six supercomputer
sites: San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC)^ National Center for Supercomputer
Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois, Cornell National Supercomputer Facility
(CNSF), Pittsburgh Supercomputer Center (PSC), John von Neumann Center (JVNC) and the
National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The six nodes are interconnected by 56-
Kbps internodes trunks
The vBNs is a private backbone, originally specified to run at 155Bbps and connecting
up the NSF supercomputer centers (Cornell, NCSA, SDSC, PSC, and UCAR). The NSF is
retaining its acceptable use policy on this infrastructure, in that it is to be utilized for research
and education use only. The supplier of the vBNs service is required to connect to the Internet at
all of the exchange points specified by NSF
INTERNET GOVERNANCE
Inte rnet
A network of networks or internet is a group of two or more networks that are:
 Interconnected physically
 Capable of communicating and sharing data with each other
 Able to act together as a single network.
Machines on one network can communicate with machines on other networks, and send data,
files and other information back and forth.

Characteristics of Network of Networks

1. Inte roperable
Interoperable means that the standards allow communication across networks. This does
not limit the access of information to a proprietary site, location, machine or brand name.
2. Packet Switched
Connections are not fixed from point to point for the duration of the transmission. A
telephone call is circuit switched, which means a dedicated path is established to transmit your
entire conversation. When data is sent packet switched over a internet, it transmits a small part of
the data, verifies it is correct, then sends more information toward the destination.
Packet switched networks do not require all of the information to be delivered through
the same path. By not dedicating the path for the duration of the connection, this method allows
more connections to be sending information across the same space and allows for sharing
resources.”
3. Data Network
A network that carries data information (digital-computer) instead of voice information
(analog-telephone). There are many instances where these definitions of data and voice are
starting to overlap computers connecting to regular phone lines are technically c arrying data over
a voice line and in some progressive parts of the country digital phone lines are starting to make
appearances.

Architecture of the Internet

The web physically consists of your personal computer, web browser software, a
connection to internet service provider computers called servers that host digital data and routers
and switches to direct the flow of information.
The web is known as client-server system. Your computer is client, the remote computers
that some electronic files are the servers.
The network allows all of the computers to communicate with one another. A home
computer may be linked to the internet using a phone- line modem, DSL or cable modem that
talks to an internet service provider (ISP).
A computer in a business or university will usually have a network interface card (NIC)
that directly connects it to a local area network (LAN) inside the business. The business can then
connect its LAN to an ISP using a high speed phone line like a TI line.
ISPs then connect to larger ISPs, and the largest ISP‟s maintain fiber-optic “backbones”
for an entire nation as region backbones around the world are connected through fiber-optic
lines, undersea cables, or satellite links.
In this way, every computer on the internet is connected to every other computer on the
internet.
Working of Internet
To visit any website,
 Enter the URL of website in web browser.
 Browser requests the web page from the web server that hosts the site.
 Server sends the data over the internet to computer.
 Web browser interprets the data displaying it on your computer screen.

The “glue” that holds the web together is called hypertext and hyperlinks. This feature
allows electronic files on the web to be linked so that you can jump easily between them. On the
web, navigate through pages of information – commonly known as browsing or surfing-based on
what interests you at that particular moment.
To access the web need a web browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet
Explorer. Web pages are written in a computer language called Hypertext Markup Language or
HTML.

INTERNET GGOVERNING SOCIETYS

ISOC: Short for Internet Society. The ISOC is an international, nonprofit organization
founded in 1992 to provide leadership in Internet related standards, education, and policy. It
states that its mission is “to assure the open development, evolution and use of the Internet for
the benefit of all people throughout the world”.
IAB: Short for Internet Architecture Board. The IAB is chartered both as a committee of
the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and as an advisory body o f the Internet Society
(ISOC). Its responsibilities include architectural oversight of IETF activities, Internet Standards
Process oversight and appeal, and the appointment of the RFC Editor. The IAB is also
responsible for the management of the IETF protocol parameter registries.
IETF: Short for Internet Engineering Task Force, the main standards organization for the
Internet. The IETF is a large open international community of network designers, operators,
vendors, and researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth
operation of the Internet.
It is open to any interested individual. The IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) is the
body that defines standard Internet operating protocols such as TCP/IP. The IETF is supervised
by the Internet Society Internet Architecture Board (IAB). IETF members are drawn from the
Internet Society-‟s individual and organization membership.
It is organized into a large number of Working Groups(WG) each dealing with a specific
topic. Each group is intended to complete work on that topic and then shut down. Each working
group has an appointed chair (or sometimes several co-chairs), along with a charter that
describes its focus and what and when it is expected to produce.
The working groups are organized into areas by subject matter. Current areas include:
Applications, General, Internet, Operations and Management, Real-time Applications and
Infrastructure, Routing, Security, and Transport. Each area is overseen by an area director (AD),
with most areas having two co-ADs. The ADs are responsible for appointing working group
chairs. The area directors, together with the IETF Chair, form the Internet Engineering Steering
Group (IESG), which is responsible for the overall operation of the IETF.
RFC: In internetworking arid computer network engineering, Request for Comments
(RFC) documents are a series of memoranda .encompassing new research, innovations, and
methodologies applicable to Internet technologies
Through the Internet Society, engineers and computer scientists may publish discourse in
the form of an RFC memorandum, either for peer review or simply to convey new concepts,
information. The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) adopts some of the proposals
published in RFCs as Internet standards.
OVERVIEW OF INTERNET APPLICATIONS

Inte rnet Applications: Two major types

 The Public Information Eg.: Company annual Reports, Product and Customer Service
Information
 Fee Based Information Eg.: Commercial work that are Protected by copyright.

Inte rnet provides broad range of services:

 Individual Home Group Communications : Group Conferencing, mailing lists, list server,
Decision Support Systems
 Information Transfer and Delivery: Text based E- mail, news groups/Services bulletin
boards. Digital audio and video communications

Inte rnet services and tools:

 Electronic Mail: The ability to send messages in a few second to a computer anywhere in
the world is the reason for its wide usage. Example: elm, pine, Eudora, etc. It is being used
for both internal and external corporate communication between enterprises and their
customers, suppliers and collaborator.
 E-mail to Fax: Allows user to send and receive fax via email. User sends n email to a
special address including the home number of the recipient‟s fax machine. A computer
looks at the phone the phone number and routes the message to the destination fax
machine. Faxes can be sent to multiple fax machines. Sender receives an e- mail containing
the outcome as success or failure. It is example of digital convergence trend of two
technologies (facsimile and electronic mail).
 Collaboration Via bulletin Boards: In news group any one can post and retrieve
information through the global bulletin board. In USENET service, a massive collection of
topic specific forums help participants to send, receive debate issues, ask questions and
provide answers. Several discussion groups focus on software, hardware, medicine,
politics, manufacturing, etc.
 Information Publishing and Databases: several tools like Gopher/ Veronica, TP/Archie,
WWW-exist for accessing information. Gopher program lists different host computers and
the subject areas of information they contain. Anonymous FTP allows users to connect and
download. Files from one computer to another. WWW is currently the most popular
Internet „”navigation tool” for finding and netting information in a multimedia format with
color graphics, audio and video. Users can transverse the Internet, going around the web of
documents as they follow the links in one document to another.

Inte rnet service provide r

An Internet service provider (ISP, also called Internet access provider or IAP) is a
company that offers its customer‟s access to the Internet. The ISP connects to its customers using
a data transmission technology appropriate for delivering Internet Protocol datagram‟s, such as
dial-up, DSL, cable modem or dedicated high-speed interconnects.
ISPs may provide Internet e-mail accounts to users which allow them to communicate
with one another by sending and receiving electronic messages through their ISPs‟ servers. (As
part of their e-mail service, ISPs usually offer the user an e- mail client software package,
developed either internally or through an outside contract arrangement.) ISPs may provide other
services such as remotely storing data files on behalf of their customers, as well as other services
unique to each particular ISP.
  Typical home user connection Dial Up DSL
 Broadband wireless access Cable Internet
 ISDN WiFi
 Typical business type connection
 DSL SHDSL

Ethernet technologies
A single connection is established to an upstream ISP and is used to transmit data to or
from areas of the Internet beyond the home network; this mode of interconnection is often
cascaded multiple times until reaching a Tier 1 carrier. ISPs with more than one point of
presence (PoP) may have separate connections to an upstream ISP at multiple PoPs, or they may
be customers of multiple upstream ISPs and may have connections to each one of them at one or
more point of presence.
A Virtual ISP (VISP) is an operation which purchases services from another ISP
(sometimes called a “wholesale ISP” in this context) which allow the VISPs customers to access
the Internet using services and infrastructure owned and operated by the wholesale ISP.
Free ISPs are Internet Service Providers (ISPs) which provide service free of charge.
Many free ISPs display advertisements while the user is connected; like commercial television,
in a sense they are selling the users‟ attention to the advertiser. Other free ISPs, often called free
nets, are run on a nonprofit basis, usually with volunteer staff. There are also free shell providers
and free web hosts.

The Business of Internet Comme rcialization:

The US government‟s 1991 decision to end subsidizing the NSFNET back-bone

beginning in 1995 sparked a massive restructuring aimed at shaping the internet into a faster and
more productive tool for the business. In the past, because of government sponsorship, the
internet followed a voluntary policy called Acceptable Usage Policy (AUP) that allowed only
non-profit, educational, and government use. AUP rules prohibited users from sending
unsolicited e- mails messages urging people to buy their products. These policies were relaxed in
1991 by the National Science Foundation. The new policies allowed many commercial uses,
including “announcements of new products or services for use in research or instruction, but not
advertising of any kind.” As a result, the Internet is seeking enormous growth in the number of
people and business using its services.
This opens the door wide enough to allow the engineering departments of many
companies to use the internet, especially those in computer and communications companies.

Commercialization of Inte rnet Service Providers

Commercial Internet Service Providers (ISPs) exist to provide for-pay access to the
various internet applications and resources for both companies and individuals. There are four
general categories of ISP: Telco/cable/on- line companies, national independents, regional, and
local ISPs:

 Teclo/Cable/Online companies. – these are long distance telephone companies (AT&T,

MCI, and Sprint), RBOCs (Ameritech, Pacific Bell), Cable TV (Time Warner, TCI), and
online service operators (Compuserve, America Online, Prodigy). They are rapidly
entering the internet service provider marketplace. Sprint was first to enter in 1991, with
 ATT in 1993, MCI and Ameritech in 1994, CompuServe and Prodigy in early 1995, and
others announcing monthly.
Early telecommunications transmissions used analog signals, which were
transferred over copper wires. Today, telephone and cable companies still use these same
lines, though most transmissions are now digital. For this reason, most new
telecommunications wiring is done with cables that are optimized for digital
communication, such as fiber-optic cables and digital phone lines. Since both analog and
digital communications are based on electrical signals, transmitted data is received
almost instantaneously, regardless of the distance. This allows people to quickly
communicate with others across the street or across the globe.
Commercial online services are large computer systems that are available around
the nation (and around the world.) Unlike most public access UNIX services and IP
service providers, commercial online services offer a variety of services other than
Internet access, such as databases of information, online games, file libraries, etc.

 National Independents- these are commercial, for profit entities offering connectivity
services nationwide or internationally in some cases, which are positioned to compete in
the evolving commercial marketplace. PSI and UUNET are among the firms presently
competing in this market.
The telco/cable/online combo faces a strong challenge from wellentered existing
Internet service providers called national independents. These are the dominant players
in the Internet access hierarchy and provide other smaller service providers with
backbone connectivity. National ISPs offer very high speed connections to the Inernet,
upto 45Mbps.

 Regional- in the past, these were nonprofit university-affiliated enterprises that offered
services within one state or within regional interstate areas. With the elimination of NSF
subsidies, however, these enterprises are aggressively entering the commercial
marketplace. SURAnet, NEARnet, NYSERnet, and BARRnet are examples.
 Local Service Providers- These are small businesses that support 10-1000 customers.
They usually operate in one physical location and offer services to business and
individuals within a single metropolitan area.
Inte rnet Connectivity Options
The ISP marketplace offers a wide range of connectivity options designed to give
customers (individuals, small business, or large organizations) the needed performance.
The choise available can be broadly classified into three categories:

1. Individual and Light Usage Options

Dial- up connections are the most cost-effective method of accessing the
internet for lower volume, intermittent use, from anywhere. This service option
requires the customer to have a single telephone line and hardware/ software,
such as a modem and a TCP/IP packages.

Dial- up Internet access is a form of Internet access that uses the facilities of
the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to establish a dialed connection to
an Internet service provider (ISP) via telephone lines. The user's computer
or router uses an attached modem to encode and decode Internet Protocol packets
and control information into and from analogue audio frequency signals,
respectively. Dial- up internet is sometimes used where Broadband internet access
is not available; primarily in rural or remote areas. Broadband Internet
access (cable, DSL, and FTTx) has been replacing dial- up access in many parts
of the world. Broadband connections typically offer speeds of 700kbit/s or higher
for two-thirds more than the price of dial- up on average. In addition broadband
connections are "always on", thus avoiding the need to connect and disconnect at
the start and end of each session. Finally, unlike dial- up, broadband does not
require exclusive use of a phone line and so one can access the Internet and at the
same time make and receive voice phone calls without having a second phone
line.
However, many areas still remain without high speed Internet despite the
eagerness of potential customers. This can be attributed to population, location,
or sometimes ISPs' lack of interest due to little chance of profitability and high
costs to build the required infrastructure. Some dial-up ISPs have responded to
the increased competition by lowering their rates and making dial-up an attractive
option for those who merely want email access or basic web browsing.

2. Mid-Range Options
ISDN is ideal for intermittent access to the internet for high0volume data
applications like video. There are two types of ISDN connections: Basic Rate
Interface (BRI) and Primary Range Interface (PRI). The BRI maximizes the
transmission capability of existing copper wires, allowing for the simultaneous
transmission of voice and data over a single twisted pair connection. It allows a
maximum speed range of 64-128 Kbps. The ISDN PRI is an international
standard for sending voice, video, or data over T-1 phone lines.
 ISDN is a circuit-switched telephone network system, which also provides access
to packet switched networks, designed to allow digital transmission of voice
and data over ordinary telephone copper wires, resulting in potentially better
voice quality than an analog phone can provide. It offers circuit-switched
connections (for either voice or data), and packet-switched connections (for data),
in increments of 64 kilobit/s.

3. Heavy-Volume Options
Private circuits are ideal for those who want to make extensive use of the
internet and required a dedicated line ot operate at high bandwidth. This service
is often intended for companies that have extensive computer facilities or
experience and are seeking to argument existing enterprise wide communication
capability with the internet connections.

A leased line is a service contract between a provider and a customer, whereby

the provider agrees to deliver a symmetric telecommunications line connecting
two or more locations in exchange for a monthly rent (hence the term lease). It is
sometimes known as a "private circuit" or "data line" in the UK. Unlike
traditional PSTN lines it does not have a telephone number, each side of the line
being permanently connected to the other. Leased lines can be used for
telephone, data or Internet services. Some are ring down services, and some
connect to PBXes.
Typically, leased lines are used by businesses to connect geographically distant
offices. Unlike dial-up connections, a leased line is always active. The fee for the
connection is a fixed monthly rate. The primary factors affecting the monthly fee
are distance between end points and the speed of the circuit. Because the
connection does not carry anybody else's communications, the carrier can assure
a given level of quality.
An Internet leased line is a premium internet connectivity product, delivered over
fiber normally, which is dedicated and provides uncontended, symmetrical
speeds, full-duplex. It is also known as an Ethernet leased line, DIA line, data
circuit or private circuit.
For example, a T-1 channel can be leased, and provides a maximum transmission
speed of 1.544 Mbit/s. The user can divide the connection into different lines
for multiplexing data and voice communication, or use the channel for one data
circuit. Leased lines, as opposed to DSL, are being used by companies and
individuals for Internet access because they afford faster data transfer rates and
are cost-effective for heavy users of the Internet.