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Networks and

Telecommunication
Introduction to Networking
⚫ Communication: An act of imparting knowledge or
information; transmitting; giving to another.
An act of sending and receiving information.
⚫ Networks: A group of devices linked by wires or
broadcast so information can be sent to one or all.
⚫ Some information is widely available like radio and
television broadcast. However, most of the
information is not public like ATM transactions,
credit card authorization codes.
⚫ With so much information linkages - an information
highway is being constructed.
⚫ National Information Infrastructure (NII): a seamless
web of communication networks, computers,
databases, and consumer electronics being
constructed in US.
Network Applications/Uses
⚫ Internet: The largest of all networks. Most of the
sites on net are connected through the same
telephone line we use for phone calls.
⚫ Fax: A facsimile machine is a telephone copy
machine. We insert the original document into the
machine at our end and a copy comes out at
another facsimile machine. Fax machines predates
the use of telephones. The fax process was first
invented in 1842 by Alexander Bain (a Scottish
clock-maker).
⚫ Fax-back Services: Many companies now have this
facility whereby when you call the company and
dial certain numbers, the fax machine at the
companies end sends the required information to
you through fax.
Network Applications/Uses
⚫ Voice Mail: A network application which gets
activated when the call is not answered. An
automated attendant answers the call and routes
you to press certain keys of your phone to connect
you to concerned department. Even then if no one
answers, then you can leave a voice or video mail.
Helps in dealing with the problem of phone tagging.
⚫ Online Services: Networks were introduced
through large commercial information service
providers such CompuServe, America Online
(AOL), Microsoft Network. Only paid subscribers
were able to locate important information or
exchange emails. Now these services have been
eclipsed by the success of www.
Network Applications/Uses
One-to-one Communication:
⚫Electronic Mail: Convenient and cost &
time efficient method of communication.
A typical email address has two parts:
user’s name and domain name.
⚫It is instant and impulsive. It is a double-
edged sword. So always be careful while
you use this. Follow some guidelines and
principles of ethics.
Network Applications/Uses
Group Communication:
⚫Newsgroup: Users Network (Usenet) is a
collection of thousands of ongoing topical
discussions. Each newsgroup covers a specific
topic.
⚫Internet Relay Chats: even more faster than
email and allows users to chat with others in
real time.
⚫Network Games: Multiplayer games are the hot
attraction over internet.
⚫Video Conferencing: To save business time and
money, cameras at more than one location help
in transmitting videos of participants to those
locations.
Network Applications/Uses
Exchanging Files
⚫ Uploading: Sending the file to another system.
Downloading: Transferring a file from another
computer to yours.
⚫ ASCII and Binary files: ASCII (American Standard
Code for Information Interchange) files can easily be
transferred, as they have very limited set of
characters and little formatting. Binary files on the
other hand have lot of formatting and they can be
not transferred easily between networks that use
different protocols.
⚫ Shared Disks: Files can easily be exchanged on Local
Area Networks (LANs).
Network Applications/Uses
Exchanging Files
⚫ FTP on Internet: Easy to transfer files through web.
The internet tool used to transfer files from one
machine to another is FTP (File Transfer Protocol).
When files are made available on the web, all you
have to do is to click the hyperlink that initiates the
download process.
⚫ Binary Files as E-mail attachment: Binary files can
easily be transferred in the same networks as
attachments. However, when different networks are
involved we first need to convert binary file into
ASCII file through encoding and then to reconvert
that ASCII file into binary file by decoding process.
Network Applications/Uses

Dominant Encoding Schemes:


⚫UUcoding (Binary to ASCII)
UUdecoding (ASCII to Binary)
Used for Unix-to-Unix emailing.
⚫MIME (Multipurpose Internet Mail
Extension). It uses a form of encoding
called “Base64” which allows messages
to pass through a networks various email
gateways (other computers).
Data Communication
⚫ The invention of computers and setting up of
networks of computers in 1950s was a major
breakthrough that marked the beginning of
the electronic transfer of information or data
communication.
⚫ Data communication is the exchange of data
between two devices via some form of wired
or wireless transmission medium.
⚫ It includes the following:
i. transfer of data;
ii. method of transfer; and
iii. preservation of data during transmission.
Characteristics of Effective
Communication

⚫ Delivery: The system must deliver data


to correct or intended destination.
⚫ Accuracy: The system must deliver data
accurately.
⚫ Timeliness: The system must deliver the
data in a timely manner without much
time-lags.
Data Communication Components
1. Message: It is the information that is to be
communicated.
2. Sender: The sender is the device that sends the
message.
3. Receiver: The receiver is the device that receives
the message.
4. Medium: The transmission medium is the
physical path that communicates the message
from sender to receiver. It can be guided
(twisted pair, coaxial wires) or unguided (satellite,
wireless transmission).
5. Protocol: These are the set of rules that
coordinated the exchange of information for one
system to another.
Data Transmission Modes
DTM refers to the direction of signal flow between
two linked devices. The various modes are:
1. Simplex: This transmission is unidirectional. The
information flows in one direction across the circuit,
with no capability to support response in the other
direction. Eg. Television.
2. Half Duplex: In this transmission, each communicating
device can receive and transmit information but not at
the same time. When one device is sending the other
can only receive at that point of time. Eg: wireless
handsets generally used by military personnel.
3. Full Duplex: Also known as duplex mode, allows both
communicating devices to transmit and receive data
simultaneously. Eg: Telephone networks.
Data Communication Measurement
⚫ Measurement of quality of data that can
pass down a communication link in a given
time is done in terms of bandwidth.
⚫ Bandwidth refers to the maximum volume
of information that can be transferred over
any communicating medium. It is measured
in bits per second (bps). So 1kbps means
1000 bits per second.
Levels of Bandwidth
⚫ Narrowband: This is a single transmission
channel of 64 kbps or less. In
narrowband there can be a number of 64
kbps transmissions but not more than
1.544 million bits per second (mbps).
⚫ Wideband: The band capacity lies
between 1.544 mbps (also called T1 line)
and 45 mbps (T3 line).
⚫ Broadband: The band capacity is equal to
45 mbps or a T3 line.
Computer Network
⚫ A computer network is a collection of two or
more computers, which are connected together
to share information and resources. Computers
in a network are interconnected by telephone
lines, coaxial wires, satellite links, radio and/or
some other communication technique.
⚫ Types of Networks:
Depending on the size of network, the distance
it covers, and the type of links used in
interconnection, networks are classified into
three types: Local Area Network (LAN),
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), and Wide
Area Network (WAN).
Local Area Network (LAN)
⚫ It is a computer network that spans only a
geographical area, such as an office, home or
building.
⚫ One computer is designated as the file server,
which stores all the software that controls the
network along with the software that can be
shared by the computers attached to the network.

⚫ Other computers connected to the server are


called workstations.
⚫ Usually, a LAN offers a bandwidth of 10 to 100
mbps.
⚫ Maximum distance they cover are only a few
kilometers.
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
⚫ It is a network of computers spread over
a metropolitan area such as a big city and
its suburbs.
⚫ This network is usually reserved for the
metropolitan areas where the city
bridges its local area networks with a
series of backbones, making one large
network for the entire city.
⚫ Eg: cable television network.
Wide Area Network (WAN)
⚫ It is a system of interconnecting many
computers over a large geographical areas such
as cities, states, countries or even the whole
world.
⚫ These kind of networks use telephone lines,
satellite links, and other long range
communication technologies to connect.
⚫ WAN is usually a public network designed to
connect small and intermediate size networks
together.
⚫ The largest WAN in existence is the internet.
⚫ Eg: a company with offices in New Delhi,
Chennai and Mumbai may connect the LANs for
each of those locations to each other through a
WAN.
Network Topologies
⚫ The term topology refers to the way a
network is laid out, either physically or
logically.
⚫ It is the geometric representation of the
relationship of all the links.
⚫ There are five basic topologies: Bus, Ring,
Star, Tree and Mesh.
Bus Topology
⚫ Bus topology uses a bus or backbone (a single cable) to
connect all the devices with terminators at both ends.
⚫ The backbone act as a shared communication medium
and each node (file server, workstations and peripherals)
is attached to it with an interface connector.
⚫ When a message passes through the network, it passes
through each station, the station checks the message’s
destination address. If the address matches the station’s
address, the station receives the message, otherwise it
passes it to the next station.
Advantages of Bus Topology
⚫ Connecting a computer or peripheral to a linear
bus is easy.
⚫ This topology requires least amount of cabling
and is therefore less expensive than other
cabling arrangements.
⚫ It is easy to extend a bus by joining two cables
to a longer cable with a connector.
Disadvantages of Bus Topology
⚫ Entire network shuts down if there is a
failure in the backbone.
⚫ Heavy traffic can slow down a bus because
computers in such network do not
coordinate with each other to reserve time
to transmit.
Ring Topology
⚫ In ring topology, computers are
placed on a circle of cable without
any terminated ends since there are
no unconnected ends.
⚫ Every node has exactly two
neighbours for communication
purpose.
⚫ All messages travel through the ring
in the same direction (clockwise or
counterclockwise) until reaches its
destination.
⚫ Each node in the ring incorporates a
repeater. When a node in the ring
receives a signal intended for another
device, its repeater regenerates the
bits and passes them along the wire.
Advantages of Ring Topology
⚫ Ring topology is easy to install and
reconfigure.
⚫ Every computer is given equal access to
the ring. Hence, no single computer can
monopolize the network.

Disadvantages of Ring Topology


⚫ Failure in any cable or node breaks the
loop and can take down the entire
network.
⚫ Maximum ring length and number of
nodes are limited.
Star Topology
⚫ In star topology, devices are not
directly linked to each other but
they are connected via a
centralized network component
known as hub or concentrator.
⚫ The hub act as a central controller.
⚫ If a node wants to send data to
another node, it boosts up the
message to the intended node.
⚫ Usually twisted pair cable are used,
however, coaxial, or fiber optic
cables can also be used.
Advantages of Star Topology
⚫ Star topology is easy to install and wire.
⚫ The network in not disrupted even if a
node fails or removed from the circuit.
⚫ Fault detection and removal of faulty
parts is easier.
Disadvantages of Star Topology
⚫ It requires a longer length of cable.
⚫ If the hub fails, nodes attached to it are
disabled.
⚫ The cost of hub makes the network
costly than Bus and Ring topologies.
Tree Topology
⚫ A tree topology combines the characteristics
of linear bus and star topologies.
⚫ It consists of groups of star-configured
workstations connected to a bus backbone
cable.
⚫ Not every node plugs directly to the central
hub.
⚫ The majority of nodes connect to a
secondary hub that in turn is connected to
the central hub.
Tree Topology
Advantages of Tree Topology
⚫ It allows isolation and prioritizing
communications from different nodes.
⚫ It permits easy expansion of existing
network.

Disadvantages of Tree Topology


⚫ If the backbone line breaks, the entire
segment goes down.
⚫ It is more difficult to configure and wire
than other topologies.
Mesh Topology
⚫ In a mesh topology, every node has a
dedicated point-to-point link to every other
node.
⚫ Message sent on a mesh network can take any
of the several possible paths from source to
destination.
⚫ A fully connected mesh network has n(n-1)/2
physical links to link n devices.
⚫ To accommodate these many links, every
device on the network must have n-1
communication (input /output) ports.
Advantages of Mesh Topology
⚫ The use of large number of links
eliminates network congestion.
⚫ If one link becomes unusable, it does not
disable the entire network.

Disadvantages of Mesh Topology


⚫ The amount of required cabling is very large.
⚫ As every node is connected to the other,
installation and reconfiguration is very
difficult.
⚫ The amount of hardware required is
expensive.
Communication Protocols
⚫ Computers adhere to certain rules
(protocols) that define the manner in
which communication takes place.
⚫ A computer protocol is the set of rules
that coordinates the exchange of
information.
⚫ Open System Interconnection (OSI)
Model is a standard reference model for
communication between two end users
in a network.
The OSI Model
⚫ In 1983, the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) published a document
called ‘The Basic Reference Model for Open
Systems Interconnection’, which visualize
network protocols as a seven-layered model.
⚫ This model lays the framework for the design
of network systems that allow for
communication for all types of computer
systems.
⚫ It consists of seven separate but related layers:
Physical, Data link, Network, Transport,
Session, Presentation and Application.
Categories of the OSI Layers
7. Application
⚫ The seven layers of the OSI reference
model can be divided into two categories:
6. Presentation
⚫ Upper Layers: These consists of three
layers: Application, Presentation and
Session. These layers deals with
5. Session
application issues, and are closest to the
end users. These are implemented only in
4. Transport the software.

3. Network
⚫ Lower Layers: These comprises the
Transport, Network, Data Link and
Physical layers. These layers handle the
2. Data Link data transport issues. The last two layers
are implemented in both hardware and
1. Physical
software, while the two above layers are
generally implemented in software.
Physical Layer
⚫ It defines the physical and electrical
characteristics of the network.
⚫ This layer determines what kind of NIC
and hub are to be used in each computer.
⚫ It acts as a conduit between the computers
networking hardware and the networking
software.
⚫ This layer also defines which transmission
technique is to be used to send data over
the cable.
Data Link Layer
⚫ Its function is to transform the data into a line
that is free of transmission errors and is
responsible for node-to-node delivery.
⚫ On the sender side, data link layer divides the
message into streams of bits called ‘frames’.
⚫ These data frames are then transmitted
sequentially to the receiver.
⚫ It also performs ‘flow control of the frames’ in
order to match the data transfer speed of the
sender to the data processing speed of the
receiver.
⚫ On the receiver end it also detects and corrects
any errors in the transmitted data.
Network Layer
⚫ This layer provides the physical routing of the
data, that is, it determines the path between the
sender and receiver.
⚫ It receives the data from transport layer,
encapsulate it with network’s protocol and send
it to data link layer for segmentation and
transmission.
⚫ At the receiver’s end, this layer organizes frames
received from data link layer into packets.
⚫ This layer also manages traffic problems such as
switching, routing, and controlling the
congestion of data packets.
⚫ Network layer provides a ‘uniform addressing
mechanism’ so that more than one network can
be interconnected.
Transport Layer
⚫ The basic function of this layer is to handle
error recognition and recovery of data
packets.
⚫ It establishes, maintains, and terminates
communications between the sender and
the receiver.
⚫ At the receiving end, transport layer rebuilds
packets into the original message, and to
ensure that the packets arrived correctly, it
also sends receipts of acknowledgement.
Session Layer
⚫ The session layer organizes and
synchronizes the exchange of data
between the sending and receiving
applications.
⚫ This layer establishes the control
between the two computers in a session,
regulating which side transmits when and
for how much duration.
⚫ It lets each application at one end know
the status of the other at the other end.
Presentation Layer
⚫ Its function is to ensure that information
sent from the application layer of one
system would be readable by the application
layer of another system.
⚫ This is where application data is packed or
unpacked, ready for use by the running
application.
⚫ This layer also manages security issues such
as data encryption and compresses data so
that fewer bits need to be transferred on
the network.
Application Layer
⚫ It is the entrance point to access the OSI
model and to utilize the networks resources.
⚫ This layer represents the service that directly
support applications.
⚫ This layer is closest to the end users.
⚫ It includes network software that directly
serves the user, providing such things as the
user interface and application features such as
electronic mail, USENET, newsreaders, etc.
ISO/OSI Reference Model

File Transfer, Email, Remote Login

ASCII Text, Sound (Syntax layer)

Establish/manage connection

End-to-end control & error checking


(ensure complete data transfer): TCP

Routing and Forwarding Address: IP

Two party communication: Ethernet

How to transmit signals and coding


Transmission Media
⚫ Transmission media refers to the physical
media through which communication signals
are transmitted.
⚫ This transmission occurs in the form of
electromagnetic signals.
⚫ Electromagnetic signals include power, voice,
radio waves, infrared light, visible light,
ultraviolet light, X rays and Gamma rays.
⚫ Transmission media can be divided into two
broad categories: guided media ad unguided
media.
Guided Media
⚫ Guided media use a cabling system that
guide the signal along a specific path.
⚫ It is also known as bound media.
⚫ There are four basic types of guided
media: open wire, twisted pair, coaxial
cable, and optical fiber.
Unguided Media
⚫ In unguided transmission media the data
flow through air,
⚫ They are not bound to follow a fixed
channel.
⚫ Some of the common unguided media of
transmission are: radio frequency
transmission, microwave, and satellite
transmission.
Network Devices
⚫ The devices that interconnect individual
computers and ensure that they
communicate easily and efficiently.
⚫ Network devices are:
1. Network Interface Card (NIC);
2. Hub;
3. Repeater;
4. Switch;
5. Bridge;
6. Router; and
7. Gateway.
Network Interface Card (NIC)
⚫ NIC is the first contact between a machine and the
network.
⚫ It connects clients, servers, and peripherals to the
network via a port.
⚫ Most network interfaces come as small circuit board
that can be inserted onto one of the computer
motherboard’s slot.
⚫ Modern computers sometimes include network
interface as a part of their main circuit boards
(motherboards).
⚫ Each network interface is associated with a unique
address called its Media Access Control (MAC)
address.
⚫ The MAC address helps in sending information to its
intended destination.
Hub
⚫ A hub is a small box that connects individual
devices on a network so that they can
communicate with one another.
⚫ The hub operates by gathering the signals from
individual network devices, optionally amplifying
the signals, and then sending them onto all other
connected devices.
⚫ Amplification of signal ensures that devices on
the network receives reliable information.
⚫ A hub can be thought as the center of a bicycle
wheel, where the spokes (individual computers)
meet.
⚫ It is also known as concentrator.
⚫ It works at the physical layer of the OSI model.
Repeater
⚫ It is an electronic device that operates on
the physical layer of OSI (Open Systems
Interconnection) model.
⚫ Signals that carry information in the
network can travel only a fixed distance.
⚫ A repeater installed on the link receives
signal, regenerates it, and sends the
refreshed copy back to the link.
⚫ A hub can be thought of as a multiport
repeater.
Switch
⚫ Like a hub, a switch too connects individual
devices on a network so that they can
communicate with one another.
⚫ Switches work on the data link layer of the
OSI model. A switch is generally more
intelligent than a hub.
⚫ Unlike hubs, network switches are capable
of inspecting the data packets as they are
received, determining the source and the
destination device of that packet, and
forwarding that packet appropriately.
⚫ Thus they help in reducing overall network
traffic.
Bridge
⚫ A bridge filters data traffic at a network
boundary.
⚫ It reduces the amount of traffic on a LAN by
dividing it into two segments.
⚫ Bridges operates at the data link layer of the OSI
model. It inspect the incoming traffic and then
decides whether to forward or discard it.
⚫ When a frame enters a bridge, the bridge not
only regenerates the signals but also checks the
address of the destination and forwards the new
copy only to the segment to which the address
belongs. Ex: Ethernet Bridge
Router
⚫ A router is an essential network device for
interconnecting two or more devices.
⚫ Routers sole aim is to trace the best route for
information to travel.
⚫ As network traffic changes during the day, routers
can redirect information to take less congested
routes.
⚫ A router creates/maintains a table, called ‘Routing
table’ that stores the best routes to certain network
destinations.
⚫ Routers are generally expensive and difficult to
configure.
⚫ Their failure may result in significant impairment of
network services.
⚫ Most routers operate at Network layer of OSI model.
Gateway
⚫ A gateway is an internetworking device,
which joins two different network protocols
together.
⚫ It works on all seven layers of OSI model.
⚫ Gateways also known
converters.
as protocol

⚫ A gateway accepts the packet formatted for


one protocol and converts the formatted
packet into another protocol.
⚫ A network gateway can be implemented
completely in software, hardware, or as a
combination of both.
What is the difference between:
Bridge, Router and Gateway?
⚫ Bridge: It is a device to interconnect two
LANs that use the SAME logical link control
protocol but may use different medium
access control protocols.
⚫ Router: It is a device to interconnect
SIMILAR networks, e.g. similar protocols
and workstations and servers.
⚫ Gateway: It is a device to interconnect
DISSIMILAR protocols and servers, say
Macintosh and IBM LANs and equipments.
Internet and World Wide Web
Introduction to Internet
⚫ Internet is the most talked about computer
terminology in recent years.
⚫ It is revolutionizing and enhancing the ways of
human interaction and communication.
⚫ The word internet is derived from two words:
INTERconnection and NETwork.
⚫ Also referred to as ‘Net’, Internet is a
worldwide system of computer networks, that is,
it is a network of networks.
⚫ Rather than moving through geographical space,
it moves your ideas and information through
cyberspace – the space of electronic movement
of ideas and information.
Key Definitions
⚫ Internet: The internet is a global network
of interconnected networks, connecting
private, public and university networks in
one cohesive unit.
⚫ Intranet: An intranet is a private enterprise
network that uses internet and web
technologies for information gathering and
distribution within an organization.
⚫ Extranet: An extranet is a community of
interest created by extending an intranet
to selected entities external to an
organization.
What Was the
“Victorian Internet”
The Telegraph
⚫ Invented in the 1840s.
⚫ Signals sent over wires that were
established over vast distances.
⚫ Used extensively by the U.S. Government
during the American Civil War, 1861 –
1865.
⚫ The electronic signal standard of +/- 15 v. is
still used in network interface cards today.
Evolution of Internet
⚫ Internet traces its origin back to 1960s,
when it grew out of an experiment
conducted by US Department of Defense.
⚫ The Department was successful in
creating a network that will sustain itself
even if a part of it gets damaged.
⚫ They called it ARPANET (Advanced
Research Projects Agency Network).
⚫ This network was the forerunner of
today’s internet.
Evolution of Internet
⚫ By 1970s, Advanced Research Project Agency
(ARPA) helped in the development of a new
protocol known as TCP/IP (Transmission
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) for
transferring data between the networks.
⚫ The TCP/IP is the core of internet.
⚫ Internet really took-off in the 1980s when the
National Science Foundation used APRANET
to link its five regional computer centers at
major universities for sharing work of many
users.
Evolution of Internet
⚫ Again in 1980s, Usenet newsgroups and
Electronic Mail (email) came into picture.
⚫ However, internet really became popular
in 1990s after the development of World
Wide Web (www).
⚫ Before that, it was opened to a handful
of sites only.
⚫ Isn’t it amazing that as recently as June
1993 there were only 130 websites, but
now there are millions.
Evolution of Internet
⚫ In 1991, CERN released World Wide Web,
also known as ‘web’.
⚫ The CERN team developed the protocol
based on hypertext (http) that makes it
possible to connect content on the web
with hyperlinks.
⚫ WWW permitted access to information
using a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and
the use of hypertext links across the
network.
⚫ Today the internet has become a repository
for every consumable type of information.
A Brief Summary of the
Evolution of the Age of
E-

Internet WWW
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1995
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1989
Named
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ARPAN
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Mathematical 1958
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1948
1948 1995
Internet Organizations and
Committees
⚫ Who owns the internet?
⚫ There is nobody who really owns the internet
but there are some governing bodies
overseeing the technical aspects of the
internet.
⚫ Internet is a loosely organized international
collaboration of autonomous, interconnected
networks, which supports host-to-host
communication through voluntary adherence
to open protocols and procedures defined by
Internet Standards.
Internet Organizations and
Committees
Important Governing Bodies of Internet:
⚫ Internet Society (ISOC): It is concerned with the
growth and evolution of internet and the way in
which the internet is and can be used.
⚫ Internet Architectural Board (IAB): It is the
technical advisory group of the ISOC and is
chartered to provide oversight of the
architecture of the internet and its protocols.
⚫ Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF): It is the
self organized group of people who provides
technical and other contributions to the
engineering and evolution of internet and its
technologies.
Internet Organizations and
Committees
⚫ Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG):
This group is responsible for the technical
management of IETF activities and the Internet
standards’ development process.
⚫ Internet Research Task Force (IRTF): Its main
purpose is to create research groups that
focus on the internet protocols, applications,
architecture, and technology.
⚫ Internet Assigned Number Authority (IANA):
The task of IANA is to assign protocol
parameters such as internet addresses, domain
names, and protocol numbers for the Internet.
Internet Organizations and
Committees
⚫ Internet Networking Information System
(InterNIC): InterNIC is a collaborative
activity of AT&T, Network Solutions Inc.,
and NSF (National Science Foundation). It
provides directory and database services,
the internet white pages, and domain name
registration.
⚫ World Wide Web Consortium (W3C): It
was founded in 1994 to develop common
protocols for the evolution of the World
Wide Web.
Basic Internet Terms
Web page:
⚫ The World Wide Web consists of files, called
pages or web pages, which contain information
and links to resources throughout the internet.
⚫ A web page is an electronic document written in
a computer language called HTML (HyperText
Markup Language).
⚫ These pages are linked to one another through a
system of connections (hyperlinks), which enable
the user to jump from one web page to another
by clicking on the link.
⚫ Web pages are also known as HTML documents.
Web Site
⚫ A web site is a set of related web pages,
published by an organization or individual.
⚫ Normally a web site contains a home page
along with other additional web pages.
⚫ It is the area on the Web, which is assessed
by its own address (known as URL).
⚫ The quality, detail and style of web site vary
enormously, depending on how it is designed.
Home Page
⚫ A home page is the starting point or a
doorway to the web site.
⚫ It is like the table of content of a book as
it usually provides an overview of what
could be found at the web site.
⚫ If there is not much information, home
page is the only page of the web site.
⚫ Home page is also known as the index or
index page.
Browser
⚫ A browser is a computer program that
accesses web pages and displays them on the
computer screen.
⚫ It is the basic software that is needed to find,
retrieve, view, and send information over
the internet.
⚫ Some of the most famous browsers are:
Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape,
Google Chrome, Opera Mini, UC Browser.
⚫ There are two types of browsers: Graphical
(example: IE, Netscape) and Text (Example:
Lynx).
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
⚫ Each web page has a unique address,
called URL that identifies its location on
the internet.
⚫ Web browser utilize the URL to retrieve
a file from the computer on which it
resides.
⚫ Usually the format of URL consist of four
parts: protocol, server (or domain), path,
and filename.
Hypertext
⚫ Hypertext refers to that text that
connects to other documents.
⚫ A hyperlink is used to ‘jump’ to another
part of the same page or to load to a
different web page.
⚫ Usually hypertext links appear in
different color (typically in blue and
underlined) from the rest of the text.
⚫ Hyperlink words often provide a hint
about the connected page.

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