MODULE 3:

The Internet and the World Wide Web

The vocabulary of the IT era is unique, comprised of a confusing variety of

buzzwords, abbreviations, and words that are just as likely to confuse as to inform.
Although the meanings of many of these new words sometimes get confused and blurred,
they have become part of our everyday vocabulary. “The Web” and “the Internet” are two
terms we use interchangeably, but these two are in fact two different things.

The Internet
The computer and communications industries have undergone a complete change
thanks to the Internet. This unprecedented integration of capacities was made possible
by the development of the telegraph, telephone, radio, and computer. The Internet serves
as a platform for global broadcasting, a method of information transmission, and a way for
people to collaborate and communicate with their computers and other people regardless
of where they are in the globe. The Internet is one of the best examples of the
advantages of continued investment and dedication to information infrastructure research
and development. Government, business, and academics have worked together to
develop and use this innovative new technology since the early days of packet switching
research.
The internet is defined as a worldwide network connecting to millions of
computers via dedicated routers and servers. When computers are connected to the
internet, end-users could start sending and receiving different types of information.
These types of information can be sent and received via electronic mails, text or video
chats and/or conferencing, and computer programs, among others.
Now, most telephone companies all over the world also function as internet service
providers. In the Philippines, PLDT, Inc. (formerly known as Philippine Long Distance
Telephone Company) is the largest network company; Smart Communications, Inc. and
Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc. (commercially known as Sun Cellular) are collaborating with
PLDT while Globe Telecom has acquired Bayan Telecommunications (commonly known as
BayanTel or Bayan). These telecommunication companies use high-speed fiber-optic
cables to transmit data. But no one actually owns “the Internet.” Large internet service
providers own infrastructure through which internet is delivered.
Today, according to the 2018 Global Digital suite of reports from We Are Social and
Hootsuite, there are more than 4 billion people anywhere in the world connecting to the
internet for various reasons.

Figure 1. Uses of the Internet

A Brief History of the Internet

The story of the Internet, and networking in general, can be traced back to the late
1950s. The US was in the depths of the Cold War with the USSR, and each nation closely
watched the other to determine which would gain a military or intelligence advantage. In
1957, the Soviets surprised the US with the launch of Sputnik, propelling us into the space
age. In response to Sputnik, the US Government created the Advanced Research Projects
Agency (ARPA), whose initial role was to ensure that the US was not surprised again. It
was from ARPA, now called DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), that
the Internet first sprang.
ARPA was the center of computing research in the 1960s, but there was just one
problem: many of the computers could not talk to each other. In 1968, ARPA sent out a
request for proposals for a communication technology that would allow different
computers located around the country to be integrated together into one network. Twelve
companies responded to the request, and a company named Bolt, Beranek, and Newman
(BBN) won the contract. They began work right away and were able to complete the job
just one year later: in September 1969, the ARPANET was turned on. The first four nodes
were at UCLA, Stanford, MIT, and the University of Utah.

The Internet Today

Even though today’s internet bears little resemblance to its forebear of almost 50
years ago, it still functions in basically the same way. The internet has evolved into
something different from the special-purpose, restricted-use network its planners
originally envisioned it to be.
The advancement of hypertext-based technology known as the World Wide Web,
WWW, or just simply the Web, has provided channels for displaying text, graphics,
animations, etc. Its other features of enabling easy search and offering navigation tools
prompted the internet’s unpredictable worldwide growth.
Today, the internet connects thousands of networks and billions of users around
the world. The number of internet users as of April 2021 is 4.72 billion which means that
more than 60 percent of the world’s population is now online. Despite this huge number,
the internet has no central ownership. It means that no single person or group controls
the network. Although there are several organizations (such as the Internet Society and
the World Wide Web Consortium) that propose standards for internet-related
technologies and guidelines for their appropriate use, these organizations almost
universally support the internet’s openness and lack of centralized control.

Structure of the Internet

Individuals and organizations connect to the internet through an internet service
provider (ISP). Depending on your ISP, this connection may be an ADSL
connection—which comes in via the telephone line—or it may be a dedicated fiber-optic
cable. If there is no physical cabling to your home, then your external connection may be
via 3G, 4G, or 5G technology, or even via satellite.
In the home, your ISP supplies a device (e.g., a home hub) that provides an
outgoing connection from your home network to that of the service provider. This
combined device offers a wide range of network features. It usually has an Ethernet
switch, with a few ports for wired devices, and a wireless access point for wireless
connections. A router manages the outgoing connection and a modem (sometimes
provided as a separate box) converts the signal to a suitable type for the outgoing media.

Figure 2. LAN Connection to ISP

The link from your home router to the internet is itself part of a larger network
belonging to the ISP. It may cover a small geographic area, such as a town, but could
extend many tens of miles to rural outposts. It may support a few hundred or several
thousand users.

How Data Travels the Internet

When we are sending a message (e.g., text, photos, and videos) over the internet,
the message is actually divided up and transmitted via segments of electronic data and
then reassembled when it reaches the destination device or computer. You can see the
effects of a slow internet connection when this picture loads, as parts of the image
appear one after the other.
Each unit of data, or piece of a photo for example, is segmented into a single
package referred to as a data packet. The structure of data packets depends on the
types of packets they are and on the protocol. Every data packet contains a header and a
payload. The payload makes up the majority of the packet and contains the data being
carried (e.g., the photo itself).
The packet headers can be thought of as envelopes, in that they contain the
destination IP address and source IP address just like a traditional envelope. Headers
contain overhead or descriptive information about the packet, the service, and other
transmission-related data. Data transfer over the internet requires breaking down the
data into IP packets, which are defined in Internet Protocol (IP).

Internet Protocol (IP)

If you imagine your message broken up into puzzle pieces, you can thank Internet
Protocol for tagging each piece with the source and destination address to ensure your
packets are delivered to their intended location. The Internet Protocol is a protocol, or set
of rules, for routing and addressing packets of data so that they can travel across
networks and arrive at the correct destination.
An IP address works like a return address on a letter in the mail. When your
computer sends a message to your friend, it is tagged with your IP address so that your
friend’s computer knows where to send a response, which will also be tagged with the
unique IP Address of your friend’s computer.

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

The data packets are divided up and assembled back together by the additional
connection-based protocol known as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). Additionally,
TCP ensures that the pieces are constructed correctly, without any duplicates or missing
pieces, and alerts the transmitting computer when your message has been received and
fully put together.
As TCP is a connection based protocol, it is also responsible for maintaining the
connection between the sending and receiving computers from before the first piece of
the message until after the final piece is sent.
IP packets may be lost or delivered in a different order on some networks due to
their unpredictable behavior. TCP minimizes these problems by rearranging the packet
data or requesting redelivery because it is renowned for reliability and precision while
dividing and reassembling data packets. Because of this accuracy, there may be a
trade-off between speed and accuracy, sometimes with a delay of several seconds.

User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

UDP is an alternative protocol to TCP and is used to establish low latency and
loss-tolerating connections between applications on the internet. This is specifically
chosen for time-sensitive applications like gaming, playing videos, and video and voice
calls made over the internet.
UDP is considered a connectionless protocol because it doesn’t require a virtual
circuit to be established before any data transfer occurs. Unlike TCP, UDP does not
guarantee that data packets will get to their correct destinations. It simply sends the data
out and relies on the devices in between the origin and destination to route the data
where it is supposed to go.
To illustrate, think of a package that is to be delivered by a courier with a tracking
system versus one without. With a tracking system or a tracking number, you would be
able to see if the package you sent arrived at its destination. This is how TCP works.
UDP, on the other hand, is like sending the package without a tracking number, you
wouldn’t be able to confirm delivery unless the receiver informs you about it.