Chapter 4

Data Communications,
Computer Networks
&
The Internet
 Outline
oData Communication

oComputer Network

oTypes of Network

oINTERNET

oServices of the Internet

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 Data Communication
 Communication is the process of
sharing ideas, information and
messages with others in a particular
time and place.

 Data communication is the exchange of

information between two agents

 The media used to transmit data may be

guided or unguided.

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 Elements of Data Communication
 Five basic elements are needed for
any communication system.
 Source
 Medium
 Receiver
 Message
 Protocol

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Sender
 The computer or device that is used for sending data is called
sender, source or transmitter. In modern digital communication
system, the source is usually a computer.
Receiver
 The device or computer that receives the data is called receiver.
The receiver can be a computer, printer or a fax machine.
Transmission Medium
 The means through which data is sent from one location to
another is called transmission medium. Wired and Wireless
transmission media
Message
 The messages or units of information that travel from one device
to another

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 Protocols
 Protocols are rules under which data
transmission takes place between sender and
receiver.
 The data communication follows some
communication protocols to communicate and
exchange data.
 Examples
 TCP/IP- Transfer Control Protocol
 HTTP- Hypertext Transfer Protocol
 FTP File Transfer Protocol
 DHCP---dynamic host configuration protocol
 DNS domain name system
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Simplified Communications Model - Diagram

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 Modes of Data Transmission
 The manner in which data is transmitted
from one location to another location is
called data transmission mode.
 There are three modes for transmitting
data from one location to another. These
are:
 Simplex
 Half duplex
 Full duplex

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 Simplex Transmission
 In simplex mode, data is transmitted in only
one direction. A terminal can only send data
and cannot receive it or it can only receive data
but cannot send it.
 It is not possible to confirm successful
transmission of data in simplex mode.
 Examples
 Speaker, radio and television broadcasting
 There is no return signal.

SENDER UNIDIRECTIONAL RECEIVER

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 Half Duplex Transmission
 In half duplex mode, data can be transmitted in
both directions but only in one direction at a
time.
 During any transmission, one is the transmitter
and the other is receiver. So each time for
sending or receiving data, direction of data
communication is reversed, this slows down
data transmission rate.
 In half duplex modes, transmission of data can
be confirmed.
BIDIRECTIONAL
SENDER/ RECEIVER RECEIVER/ SENDER
BIDIRECTIONAL

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 Full Duplex Transmission
 In full mode, data can be transmitted in both
directions simultaneously.
 It is a faster mode for transmitting data because
no time wastes in switching directions.
 Full Duplex Mode
 Example of full duplex is Computer network set in
which both the users can send and receive at the
same time.

SENDER/ RECEIVER/
BIDIRECTIONAL
RECEIVER SENDER

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 Simplex, Half Duplex & Full Duplex
Simplex Half Duplex Full Duplex

Cost Cheapest Expensive Most

communicati Expensive
on
Data One way Two way one Simultaneous
transmission at a time transmission

Bandwidth Low Medium High

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 Data Transmission Channels
 A channel is a medium that carries a signal from
the transmitter to the receiver.
 The range of frequencies that can be transmitted
over a transmission medium is called band Width
of a channel.
 The rate of data transmission is directly
proportional to the band width.

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 Types of Data Transmission Channels
 Narrow-band:-It is the smaller band and has slow
data transmission rate. E.g. telegraph line.

 Voice- band: It is the wider band and has better

data transmission rate than the narrow band. E.g.
telephone lines are used for voice-band channel.

 Broad-band: - It is the widest band and has used

to transmit large volume of data with high speed.
E.g. communications satellites and optical fibers
are used for broad band channels.
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 Computer Network
 It is a collection of computers and peripheral
devices connected by communication links that
allow the network components to work
together.

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 Networking Hardware
 There are wide range of hardware systems used in a
computer network.
 The major networking hardware are:
 Computers
 Network Interface Card (NIC)
 Network Cable
 Hub/Switch
 RJ45

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 Goals of Computer Networks
 Networks increase efficiency and reduce costs.
Computer networks achieve these goals in four primary
ways:
i. Sharing of Hardware resources
ii. Sharing of software and Database
iii. Sharing data/information
iv. Networking management

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 Sharing Hardware
 Computer networks enable us to share expensive
hardware resource among several computers.
 A typical example of shared resource is
 Printer
 Central Disk storage

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 Sharing Programs/Software
 Application (software) sharing occurs
when several users at different locations
run application programs that are
installed centrally in one location
(example LMS).
 Advantage of sharing software/programs
 Saves disk space
 Reduces maintenance
 Reduce licensing cost

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 Advantages and Disadvantage
 Advantages Computer Network
 Speed (emailing)
 Cost of hardware
 Security
 Centralized Software Management
 Resource Sharing
 Disadvantages Computer Network
 Expensive to Install
 Requires Administrative Time
 Server May Fail
 Cables May Break

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 Other benefits of computer networks
 Networks Supporting the Way We Live
 Networks Supporting the Way We Learn
 Networks Supporting the Way We Work
 Networks Supporting the Way We Play

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 Other benefits of computer networks
 Resource sharing ( server, CPU and hard disk)
 To share databases
 To share application programs
 To undertake parallel processing
 High reliability by having alternative sources of supply.
 Money saving
 Increase system performance.
 Powerful communication medium among widely
separated people.

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 Types of Computer Networks
 Based on Geographical Location.
 LAN-Local Area Network
 MAN-Metropolitan Area Network
 WAN-Wide Area Network
 Based on the Network Architecture
 Peer-to-peer (P2P)
 Client/Server
 Based on Network Topology
 Physical Topology
 Logical Topology
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 Based on Geographical Location

 LAN-Local Area Network

 MAN-Metropolitan Area Network

 WAN-Wide Area Network

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 LAN - Local Area Networks
 LAN refers to networks that have small
geographical coverage usually within a building
or a campus.
 LANs are found in most organizations,
businesses, government offices, educational
institutions.
 A LAN is very useful for sharing resources,
such as data storage and printers.
 LAN is owned by an organization
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 LAN- Local Area Networks
 LANs can be built with relatively inexpensive
hardware, such as hubs, network adapters and
Ethernet cables.
 The smallest LAN may only use two computers,
while larger LANs can accommodate thousands of
computers.
 LANs are typically used for single sites where
people need to share resources among themselves
but not with the rest of the outside world.
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 LAN hardware devices
 The major LAN devices are:
 Network Interface Card (NIC)
 Network Cable
 Hub
 Switch
 Modem
 RJ-45

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 LAN

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 Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
 It is a network that transmits data and information
over citywide distance. (City to City Connection)
 It consists of a computer network across an entire
city.
 A MAN is larger than a LAN, which is typically
limited to a single building or site.
 Depending on the configuration, this type of
network can cover an area from several miles to
tens of miles.
 A MAN is often used to connect several LANs
together to form a bigger network.
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 Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

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 Wide Area Network (WAN)
 Wide area networks are networks that cover very large
geographical area such as a country or the whole world.
 WAN usually use combination of several types of
communication media such as cables, satellites,
microwaves, and fiber-optics.
 Because a WAN has no geographical limitations, it can
connect computers and other devices in separate cities
or on opposite sides of the world.
 A multinational corporation with linked computers in
different countries is using a WAN.
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 Wide Area Network (WAN)
 A WAN can contain multiple smaller networks, such as LANs or
MANs.
 The Internet is the best-known example of a public WAN

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 Based on the Network Architecture
 Peer-to-Peer network
 Client/Server network
 The type of network you choose to implement
depends on the :
 Size of the organization
 Level of security required
 Level of administrative support available
 Amount of network traffic
 Network budget
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 Peer-to-Peer (P2P)
 In a peer-to-peer network, workstations are
connected to each other and do not rely on a
server for global software and data, data
processing tasks, or communication within the
network.
 Basically, a peer-to-peer network consists of few
workstations connected together that can share
resources and communicate with each other.
 Each workstation are at the same level.
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 Peer-to-Peer (P2P)

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 Client/Server Network
 A Client/Server network is a distributed
network in which many workstations (called
Clients) are connected to a central host
computer (called the Server).
 Servers the providers of a service and

 Clients service requesters

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 Example of client-server network

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 Server
 A dedicated server is one that services the
network by storing data, applications,
resources, and also provides access to
resources required by the client.
 These servers can also control the
network’s security from one centralized
location or share it with other specially
configured servers.
Client
 Client computer takes the advantages of
powerful processing capabilities of both the
client and the server.
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 Specialized Servers
 Servers for large networks have become specialized to
accommodate the expanding needs of users.
 types of servers included on many large networks.
 File Servers: A computer that stores and manages files for multiple users
on a network
 Web server: A computer dedicated to responding to requests (from the
browser client) for web pages
 Print Servers
 Database Servers
 Application Servers
 Mail Servers
 Proxy Server

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 Advantages of Client/Server network
▪ Facilitate resource sharing
▪ centrally administrate and control
▪ Facilitate system backup and improve
fault tolerance
▪ Enhance security
▪ only administrator can have access to Server
▪ Support more users
▪ difficult to achieve with peer-to-peer
networks

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 Disadvantages of Client/Server network

 High cost for Servers

 Need expert to configure the network
 Introduce a single point of failure to
the system.

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 Network Topology
 Network Topology refers to the way in which
multiple devices are interconnected via
communication links.
 Network topology is the arrangement of the
elements of a communication network.
 There are two types of topology:
✓Logical Topology

✓Physical Topology
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 Logical Topology
 Logical topology is bound to network protocols and
describe how data is moved across the network
 Logical topology is some times called protocols.
 A protocol is a formal description of a set of
rules and conventions that govern how
devices on a network communicate.
 Connections to the Internet may use multiple
protocols.
 TCP/IP is a suite of protocols that work
together to transmit data.
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 Physical Topologies
 Physical topology is the layout of wiring, cables, the
locations of nodes, and the interconnections between the
nodes and the cabling or wiring system between them
 Four fundamental type of Physical topology:
• Bus
• Ring
• Star
• Mesh
• Hybrid
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 Bus Topology
 Bus networks use a common backbone to connect
all devices.
 In the bus network topology, every workstation or
computer/server is connected to a main cable
called the bus.
 A device wanting to communicate with another
device on the network sends a broadcast message
onto the wire that all other devices see, but only the
intended recipient actually accepts and processes
the message.
 Bus networks work best with a limited number of
devices.
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 Bus Topology
Advantage of Bus Topology
 Easy to connect a computer to a linear bus.
 Requires less cable length than a star topology.
Disadvantage of Bus topology
 Entire network shuts down if there is a break in the
main cable.
 Terminators are required at both ends of the
backbone cable.
 If more than a few dozen computers are added to a network
bus, performance problems will result.
 Difficult to identify the problem if the entire
network shuts down.
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 Ring Topology
 A network topology that is set up in a circular fashion in which
data travels around the ring in one direction and each device
on the ring acts as a repeater to keep the signal strong as it
travels.
 It is an active topology- Each workstation transmits data
 The workstations are connected in a closed loop configuration.
 Adjacent pairs of workstations are directly connected
 In a ring network, every device has exactly two neighbors for
communication purposes.
 All messages travel through a ring in the same direction (either
"clockwise" or "counterclockwise").
 Ring topologies are found in some office buildings or school
campuses
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49
 Advantage and Disadvantage of Ring Topology
 Advantage
 Easier to locate a defective node or cable problem
 Handles high-volume network traffic
 Disadvantage
 A failure in any cable or device breaks the loop and
can take down the entire network.
 Expensive
 Requires more cable and network equipment at the
start
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 Star Topology
 Any single cable connects only two devices
 Cabling problems affect two nodes at most
 Requires more cabling than ring or bus
networks
 More fault-tolerant
 Easily moved, isolated, or interconnected with
other networks
 Scalable
 Every node on the network is connected through a
central device is called switch/hub

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 Star Topology

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 Advantage and Disadvantage of Star Topology

Advantage
 Easy to install and wire.
 No disruptions to the network when connecting or
removing devices.
 Easy to detect faults and to remove parts.
Disadvantage
 If the hub, switch, or concentrator fails, nodes
attached are disabled.

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 Mesh Topology
 Not common on LANs
 Most often used in WANs to interconnect LANS
 Each node is connected to every other node
 Allows communication to continue in the event of a
break in any one connection
 Provides redundant paths through the new work

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 Merits and Demerits of Mesh Topology
Merits
 Improves Fault Tolerance
Demerits
▪ The most Expensive
▪ Difficult to install and manage
▪ Difficult to troubleshoot

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 Hybrid Topology Types

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 Transmission Media
 Transmission media is a pathway that carries
the information from sender to receiver.
 Data is transmitted normally through electrical
or electromagnetic signals
 There are two types of transmission media,
namely guided and unguided.
 Guided transmission media are cables like
twisted pair cables, coaxial cables, and fiber optic
cables.
 Unguided transmission media are wireless,
such as infrared, radio waves, and microwaves
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 Network Transmission Media

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 Guided/Wired media
Three major groups of cabling connect
the majority of networks:
Twisted-pair cable
➢ Unshielded Twisted-Pair (UTP) cables
➢ Shielded Twisted-Pair (STP) cables

Coaxial cable
➢Thicknet
➢Thinet

Fiber-optic cable
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 Guided Media
 Twisted-pair Cable
 Is a copper wire similar to the common
telephone line
 each of the pair of wire are twisted
 It can be Shielded (STP) or Unshielded (UTP)
 UTP:
 the most popular cable around the world
 used not only for networking but also for the
traditional telephone
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 Twisted Pair Cables

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 Guided Transmission Media
Coaxial cable
 A type of wire that consists of a center wire
surrounded by insulation and then a grounded
shield of braided wire.
 The shield minimizes electrical and radio
frequency interference.
 More expensive than standard telephone wire
much less susceptible to interference and can
carry much more data
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Coaxial Cable Networks

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 Transmission Media
Fiber Optic Cables
 can be used over greater distances
 2km without the use of repeaters.
 one fiber could replace hundreds of copper cables
 high bandwidth
 Low loss of signals
 The diameter could be millionths of a meter.

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Fiber Optic Cable

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Type Distance Speed Cost Advantages Disadvantages

Easy to install; widely Susceptible to

100 m
10 Mbps to Least
UTP

available and widely interference; can cover

1000 Mbps expensive
used only a limited distance

More Reduced crosstalk; Difficult to work with;

100 m

10 Mbps to
STP

expensive more resistant to EMI can cover only a

100 Mbps
than UTP than Thinnet or UTP limited distance
Difficult to work with
500 m (Thicknet)
185 m (Thinnet)

Relatively (Thicknet); limited

Less susceptible to
inexpensive bandwidth; limited
Coaxial

10 Mbps to EMI interference than

, but more application (Thinnet);
100 Mbps other types of copper
costly than damage to cable can
media
UTP bring down entire
network
Cannot be tapped, so
10 km and above

2 km and farther

security is better; can

100 Mb to 100
Fiber-Optic

be used over great

Gb single
distances; is not
mode Expensive Difficult to terminate
susceptible to EMI;
100 Mbps to
has a higher data rate
single

multi

9.92 Gb multi
than coaxial and
twisted-pair cable
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 Wireless Media
 Wireless Transmission Media is a form
of unguided media.
 Wireless communication involves no
physical link established between two
or more devices, communicating
wirelessly.
 Wireless signals are spread over in the
air and are received and interpreted by
appropriate antennas.

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 INTERNET
 The internet is the global network of networks,
which interconnects thousands of computer
systems and millions of people around the world.
 It is a “network of networks” that consists of
smaller domestic, academic, business, and
government networks, which together carry
various information and services.

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 INTERNET
 The internet provides services such as e-mail,
online chat, file transfer and the interlinked Web
pages and other documents of the
World(WWW).
 The Internet offers access to data in the form of
text, graphics, sound, software and also people
through a variety of services and tools for
communication exchange.

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 INTERNET
 When you connect your computer to the Internet via
your Internet Service Provider (ISP), you become part
of the ISPs network, which is connected to other
networks that make up the Internet
 The Internet is not a closely controlled by ‘single’
system, but an assemblage of independent networks
united by the common use of TCP/IP protocol.
 It grew out of an experiment begun in the 1960's by
the U.S. Department of Defense , ARPANET (The
Advanced Research Projects Agency Network)
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 Internet
To connect to the Internet, the following are needed:
 Computer (Desktop, laptop, cellphone)
 Telephone line (cable)
 Modem and/or router
 Switch or hub
 ISP (Internet Service Provider)
 Web browser
 IP Address (example 192.168.1.20)
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 Web Browsers
Software program that allows a person to
view WWW documents.
Examples of browsers are:
 Netscape,
 Mozilla Firefox
 Google chrome
 opera
 Microsoft Internet Explorer,
 Microsoft Edge
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 Search Engine
 A website that will help you search the
Internet for key words, subjects, etc.
URL -UNIFORM RESOURCE LOCATOR
 The unique address of any web page.
 It tells your computer where the
information is stored so it can be viewed
Example: http://www.cnn.com

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 Domain
 A way to indicate what type of website you may be viewing.
 some common domains are
.com-commercial,
.org- non-profit and research organizations,
.gov- government agency,
.edu-education.
 You might also see addresses that add a country code as the
last part of the address such as:
 et(Ethiopia)
 ca (Canada)
 uk (United Kingdom)
 us (United States of America)
 au (Australia)
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 How to connect to the Internet?
Dial-up Connection
 On-demand connection: a phone line that has a dial
tone and can be accessed as needed
 Initiated on demand, when a user tries to call a remote
peer.
 The computer, which provides Internet access is known
as ‘Host/server’ and the computer that receives the
access, is ‘Client’/Terminal’.
 The CLIENT computer uses MODEM to access a
“SERVER“ to establish a dial-up connection
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 How to connect to the Internet?
Leased Connection
 It called dedicated or broadband internet connection
 Always connected, unless a system administrator or
power failure takes the leased-line down
 It is the secure, dedicated and most expensive, level of
Internet connection.
 With leased connection, a computer is dedicatedly and
directly connected to the Internet using high-speed
transmission lines.
 It is connected all the time (24/7)

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 Expensive than dial-up connection
 Internet Services
Internet is best characterized by the services it
provides.
oWWW- World Wide Web
oE-mail- Electronic Mail
oFTP- File Transfer Protocol
oVoIP- Internet Telephony
oTelnet- Telephone Network
oIRC- Internet Relay Chat
oEcommerce- Electronic Commerce
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 WWW (World Wide Web)
 www is the most important service provided by Internet.
 WWW is a set of sites that you can go for information.
 Hyperlinks within WWW documents can take you quickly
to other related documents.
 The web is the process of sharing common information of
the world by the help of the Internet services.
 The WWW includes education, health, games, chat, sport,
news and others.
 To access the web, we need web browsers like Netscape,
Internet Explorer, AltaVista, Google Chrome, Mozilla
Firefox etc.
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 Tim Berners-Lee
 WWW is Developed in 1989 by Tim Berners-Lee of
the European Particle Physics Lab (CERN) in
Switzerland
 Father of W .W .W
 The inventor of HTML (hypertext Markup Language)
 He Invented the W. W.W while working at CERN, the
European Particle Physics Laboratory.

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 Electronic Mail
 Email is the most frequently used application of
the Internet which this is used for sending a
message electronically over the internet, from
the sender to the receiver.
• To create, send, and receive e-mail messages,
you need an e-mail account and program on an
Internet mail server with a domain name.
E.g Abebekebede@gmail.com
bezawitbekele@yahoo.com
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 File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
 Using FTP programs, we can upload or download
files. But to do this there should be an admission
from the remote computer.
 There are two computers involved in an FTP
transfer: a FTP server and FTP client.
 The FTP server, running FTP server software,
listens on the network for connection requests
from other computers.
 The client computer, running FTP client software,
initiates a connection to the server
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Internet Telephony (Voice over IP)
 Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is a methodology
and group of technologies for the delivery of Voice
communications and Multimedia sessions over
Internet Protocol (IP) networks, such as the
Internet.
 Other terms commonly associated with VoIP are IP
telephony, Internet telephony.
 E.g. Skype, VIBER, WhatsApp, Imo, telegram

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 Telnet (Remote Login)
 It is a program that allows you log in from your own
computer to a remote computer directly through the
Internet and you can work on that computer.
 The term "telnet" is a mashing together of "telephone"
and "network”
 For example, if I travelled abroad and had use of
machine with Internet access, I could use telnet to login
to my account on csserver at AAU provided I have an
account on the machine.

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 Internet Relay Chat-IRC
 Internet Relay Chat is one of the most popular and
most interactive services on the Internet.
 Using an IRC client (program) you can exchange
text messages interactively with other people all
over the world

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 E-Commerce

87
 Electronic-Commerce
• E-Commerce or Electronic Commerce means
buying and selling of goods, products, or services
over the internet
• Many business now have website that allow
Internet users to buy their goods or services.
• Shopping can take place using a computer at home,
from work or at a cyber café.
• Online stores like Amazon, Flipkart, Shopify, Myntra,
Ebay, Quikr, Olx are examples of E-commerce websites
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 E-COMMERCE EXAMPLES:
 An individual purchases a book on the Internet.
 A government employee reserves a hotel room
over the Internet.
 A business buys office supplies on-line or through
an electronic auction.
 A manufacturing plant orders electronic
components from another plant within the
company using the company's intranet.
Types of e-commerce

❖ Business-to-business (B2B)
❖ Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
❖ Consumer-to-business (C2B)
❖ Consumer-to-consumer (C2C)
B2B e-commerce
 B2B e-commerce is simply defined as ecommerce
between companies. About 80% of e-commerce is
of this type.
Examples:
 Intel selling microprocessor to Dell
B2C e-commerce
 Business-to-consumer e-commerce, or commerce
between companies and consumers, involves
customers gathering information; purchasing
physical goods or receiving products over an
electronic network.
 Example:
 HP selling me a laptop
 CONSUMER TO BUSINESS (C2B)
 C2B is a business model where the end
consumers create products and services which
are consumed by businesses and organizations.
 Individual customers offer to sell products and
services to companies who are prepared to
purchase them.
What is C2C ecommerce?
 Consumer-to-consumer e-commerce or C2C is
simply commerce between private individuals or
consumers.
 C2C is a business model that facilitates the
transaction of products or services between
customers
Example:
 Abebe buying a car from kebede
Advantage and Disadvantage of E-commerce

Advantages of E-commerce
Faster buying/selling procedure
Easy to find products.
Buying/selling in 24/7.
Low operational costs
better quality of services.
Easy to start and manage a business.
No need of physical company set-ups.
Customers can easily select products from
different providers without moving around
physically.
Advantage and Disadvantage of E-commerce

Disadvantages of E-commerce
There is no guarantee of product quality.
There are many hackers who look for
opportunities, and thus an ecommerce site,
service, payment gateways, all are always prone to
attack.
Network failures can cause unpredictable effects
on the total processes.
There is the possibility of credit card number
theft