E BUSINESS

UNIT II TECHNOLOGY INFRASTRUCTURE

1. Internet is ---
o • A computer network consisting of a worldwide network of computers
that use the TCP/IP network protocols to facilitate data transmission
and exchange.
o • The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks
that use the standard Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions
of users worldwide.
o • The term Internet actually refers to the combined collection of
academic, commercial, and government networks connected over
international telecommunication backbones and routed using IP
addressing.
The internet has gained popularity rapidly as it is used for various purposes. Few of
the main applications of internet are listed below –

WORLD WIDE WEB AND ITS EVOLUTION

The World Wide Web, abbreviated as WWW or W3 and commonly known as the
Web, is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet.

With a web browser, one can view web pages that may contain text, images, videos,
and other multimedia and navigate between them via hyperlinks.

The World-Wide Web was developed to be a pool of human knowledge, and human
culture, which would allow collaborators in remote sites to share their ideas and all
aspects of a common project.

Evolution of WWW

In March 1989, Tim Berners-Lee wrote a proposal that referenced ENQUIRE, a

database and software project he had built in 1980, and described a more elaborate
information management system.
on November 12, 1990, with help from Robert Cailliau, Tim Berners- Lee published
a more formal proposal to build a "Hypertext project" called "WorldWideWeb" (one
word, also "W3") as a "web" of "hypertext documents" to be viewed by "browsers"
using a client– server architecture.
This proposal estimated that a read-only web would be developed within three
months and that it would take six months to achieve "the creation of new links and
new material by readers, to achieve universal authorshipl" as well as "the automatic
notification of a reader when new material of interest to him/her has become
available."

A NeXT Computer was used by Berners-Lee as the world's first web server and also
to write the first web browser, WorldWideWeb, in 1990.

Tools needed were a working Web the first web browser (which was a web editor as
well); the first web server; and the first web pages, which described the project itself.

On August 6, 1991, Tim Berners-Lee posted a short summary of the World Wide
Web project on the alt.hypertext newsgroup.

This date also marked the debut of the Web as a publicly available service on the
Internet. The first photo on the web was uploaded by Berners-Lee in 1992, an image
of the CERN house band Les Horribles Cernettes.
The first server outside Europe was set up at SLAC to host the SPIRES- HEP
database in 91 – 92.
The concept of hypertext originated with older projects from the 1960s, such as the
Hypertext Editing System (HES) at Brown University by Ted Nelson and Douglas
Engelbart.

Tim Berners Lee introduced the concept of the Universal Document Identifier
(UDI), later known as Uniform Resource Locator (URL) and Uniform Resource
Identifier (URI); the publishing language HyperText Markup Language (HTML);
and the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP).

In 1993, a graphical browser was developed by a team at the National Center for
Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
(NCSA-UIUC), led by Marc Andreessen. This was the first web browser ever.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

The term file transfer protocol (FTP) refers to a process that involves the transfer of
files between devices over a network. The process works when one party allows
another to send or receive files over the Internet. Originally used as a way for users
to communicate and exchange information between two physical devices, it is now
commonly used to store files in the cloud, which is usually a secure location that is
held and accessed remotely.

• File transfer protocol (FTP) is a way to download, upload, and transfer files
from one location to another on the Internet and between computer systems.
• FTP enables the transfer of files back and forth between computers or through
the cloud.
• Users require an Internet connection in order to execute FTP transfers.
• FTP is an essential tool for those who build and maintain websites.
• Many FTP clients are free to download, although most websites already have
the FTP built-in.

FTP Process
The FTP process can be broken down into just a couple of key steps.

• First, a user logins to an FTP server (although a login might not be required).
• The FTP client interacts with the server upon a request, which is the second
step.
• With FTP, a user can then upload, download, or move files on the server.

Other Protocols

File transfer protocol is one of many different protocols that dictate how computers
and computing systems behave on the Internet. Other such protocols include the
following:

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP): Designed to transmit data across the web.
The term HTTP is a short form for HyperText Transfer Protocol. HTTP is basically
the backbone of the world wide web (WWW). It is basically an internet standard that
assists in the process of transferring various web pages all over the internet. HTTP
helps in defining how a web browser responds to all of its web requests.

All the web addresses of the web pages consist of a domain name and protocol along
with their path to the main web page. A majority of the web addresses consist of
http:// in their respective URLs that show the HTTP protocol.

• Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP): Provides access to bulletin

board or email messages from a shared service
• Network Time Protocol (NTP): Synchronizes clock times on computers
over a network

INTRANET

It refers to a private network that companies use for ensuring secure collaboration
and communication among all the employees. The intranet is very useful when we
want to store some useful, crucial information.

Here, we have used the prefix “intra” which means inside or within. Thus, in simpler
words, a company’s digital workplace that remains centralised is known as the
intranet. It helps an organisation streamline all documents, individuals, projects,
tools, etc., within the workplace.

Extranet
The extranet is also very similar to the intranet. It is a private network existing within
an organisation. But the difference is that the extranet makes use of the internet for
connecting to all the outsiders (it happens in a controlled manner). Thus, the extranet
helps an organisation connect with its suppliers and customers. It thus helps a team
in an organisation work in collaboration.

In simpler words, the extranet refers to an extended version of an organisation’s

intranet that lets an organisation authorise various users who are present outside the
organization. It is a private, controlled network that lets partners and third parties
access some specific information in the organisation without granting them complete
access to the entire network.
 Parameters Intranet Extranet

Basics It refers to a private network that The extranet helps an

the companies use for ensuring organisation connect with its
secure collaboration and suppliers and customers. It thus
communication among all the helps different teams in an
employees. organisation to work in
collaboration.

Types of Internal departments of a Business partners, suppliers, and

Users company and all the employees customers make use of the
of an organisation make use of extranet.
the intranet.

Used for An intranet is used for An extranet is used for sending

establishing communication emails, accessing data, checking
among internal employees, used the status of various orders, and
in telephone directories, and many more.
many more.

Security It is highly secure in nature. It is It establishes a very secure

configured in the firewall under connection using the VPN
the 100 security level. technology over the level of
Internal Medium security.

Regulating A single organisation performs Multiple organisations perform

Authority the regulation of the intranet. the regulation of the extranet.

Owners A single organisation owns it. Multiple organisations can own

it.

.
MEANING OF SERVER

A server is any computer used to present (or “serve”) files or make programs
available to other computers associated with it through a network (such as a LAN or
a WAN). In computing, a server is a piece of computer hardware or software
(computer program) that endows with functionality for other programs or devices,
called "clients"

The foremost work of a Web server computer is to act in response to requests from
Web client computers. The three main elements of a Web server are the hardware
(computers and related components), operating system software, and Web server
software.

All three of these elements must work together to provide sufficient capacity in a
given situation. We will discuss all these terms in a more elaborate manner in the
coming sub head but prior to that let’s talk about different types of web

server.

Different Types of Web Server

1. Static web server: Static web server is a stack which consists of a computer
(hardware) with an HTTP server (software). It is called as “static” because the server
sends its hosted files as-is to your browser’

2. Dynamic web server: It consists of a static web server plus extra software, most
commonly an application server and a database. It is called "dynamic" because the
application server updates the hosted files before sending content to your browser
via the HTTP server.

For example, to produce the final Web Pages you see in the browser, the application
server might fill an HTML template with content from a database. Sites like MDN
or Wikipedia have thousands of Web Pages. Typically, these kinds of sites are
composed of only a few HTML templates and a giant database, rather than thousands
of static HTML documents. This setup makes it easier to maintain and deliver the
content. There are many other different types of servers, such as:

• File server: It is a computer and storage device dedicated to storing files. Any user
on the network can store files on the server.
It is well versed from the above term that the term web server can refer to hardware
or software, or both of them working together. On the hardware side, aweb serveris
a computer that storesweb server softwareand a website's component files. On
thesoftwareside, aweb serveri ncludes several parts that control how web user’s
access hosted files.

Print server: It is a computer that manages one or more printers and a network
server is a computer that manages network traffic.

• Database server: It is a computer system that processes database queries

WEB SERVER HARDWARE

1989, the first web server, known as CERN http, was created, along with a browser
called World Wide Web. As we know that a web server is software and hardware
that uses HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and other protocols to act in response
to client requests made over the World Wide Web. The foremost situation of a web
server is to exhibit website content through storing, processing and delivering web
pages to users. Besides HTTP, web servers also hold up SMTP (Simple Mail
Transfer Protocol) and FTP (File Transfer Protocol), used for email, file transfer and
storage. If we go more into the relevance of a topic which focuses on a hardware
perspective, it is a web server that stores web server software and a website's
component files

Meaning of Hardware Servers

A hardware server is the actual computer that stores the website data and delivers it
to site visitors when they demand it by click on the website. These big computers
are housed in datacenters that are manned by a gamut of security squad and other
security measures such as video surveillance, CCTV monitoring in brick-and-
mortar mode or cloud mode.

WEB SERVER SOFTWARE

A web server software that uses HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and other
protocols to respond to client requests made over the World Wide Web. A web server
software, dedicated to running this software, which can gratify client requests on the
World Wide Web. Web servers can repeatedly be found embedded in devices such
as printers, routers, webcams and serving only a Local network. On the software
side, a web server includes several parts that control how web user’s access hosted
files. At a minimum, this is an HTTP server. An HTTP server is software that
understands URLs (web addresses) and HTTP (the protocol your browser uses to
view web pages). An HTTP server can be accessed through the domain names of the
websites it stores, and it delivers the content of these hosted websites to the end user's
device

Web Stone is popular benchmarking software that measures performance onvarious

types of Web pages (static and dynamic) such as:

● HTML: This is the standard static Web page containing only HTML tags.

Features of Web Server Software

Various features of web server software are explained below:

● CGI: Common Gateway Interface or CGI protocol causes the Web server to run
another program and return the result to the Web server.

● API: Application Programming Interface or API is a set of protocols that uses

“multithreading” to handle user requests of the dynamic Web page

Various features of web server software are explained below:

● CGI: Common Gateway Interface or CGI protocol causes the Web server to run another
program and return the result to the Web server.

● API: Application Programming Interface or API is a set of protocols that uses

“multithreading” to handle user requests of the dynamic Web pages.

● Client Request Processing: A Web server processes client requests that are sent using HTTP
protocol, both for static and dynamic pages

● IP-Sharing or Virtual Server: A Web server can work as many virtual Web servers, serving
many businesses with individual domain names but all domains directing to the same IP address
of the computer.
● Logical File: A Web server can have a logical file name corresponding

to a physical file. The physical file may be in the same computer or in another computer, and
also the logical name and the physical name do not have to be the same. The Web server
translates a logical URL into a physical file address.

● Security: Web servers are located publicly on the Internet or privately in

an organizational intranet, usually behind the firewalls. The public documents are configured to
be viewed by anonymous users. For extranet users, the files and folders are configured for
validation of username and password. Access controls provide or deny access to files based on
the username or by extranet company URL. Web servers allow processing digital certificates and
private/public key pairs and also support Secure Socket Layer (SSL)

● Site Management: Web server provides tools to manage multiple Web

sites, file security, virtual file, and log file analysis Administration of a Web server can be
performed from a remote computer in the network Administrators can grant or deny Web access
to individual computers, groups of computers, or entire domains. Administrators can stop and
restart all Web services without stopping and restarting the computer Site management also
include authoring tools such as Microsoft Front page 2000.

● Application Development: Application development includes Web editors and extensions to

produce We