OSI MODEL * The Open Systems Interconnection model (OSI model) was a product of the Open Systems Interconnection

effort at the International Organization for Standardization. * It is a way of sub-dividing a communications system into smaller parts called layers. * Similar communication functions are grouped into logical layers. * A layer provides services to its upper layer while receiving services from the layer below. * On each layer, an instance provides service to the instances at the layer above and requests service from the layer below. * Two instances at one layer are connected by a horizontal connection on that layer. * The OSI model is not a protocol, it is a model for understanding and designing a network architecture that is inter-operable, flexible and robust. TCP/IP Architecture All People Seem To Need Data Processing

OSI Model Physical Layer * The physical layer is concerned with sending raw bits between the source and destination nodes. The source and the destination nodes have to be agreed on a number of factors such as: 4 Signal Encoding : 0 or 1 4 Medium : what is the medium used and its properties.ex coaxial cable. 4 Bit Interval or Bit rate 4 Bit Synchronization : is the transmission synchronous or asynchronous 4 Transmission Type : Serial or Paralel 4 Transmission Mode: simplex, half-duplex or full-duplex. 4 Topology : star, mesh, ring or bus? Data Link Layer * This layer is responsible for transmitting a group of bits between the adjacent node. The group of bits is generally known as frame or packet. The network layer passes a data unit to the data link layer. * At this stage, the data link layer adds the header and trailer information to this. * This now becomes a data unit to be passed to the physical layer. * This layer performs the following function: 4 Addressing : Headers and trailers are added containing the adjacent nodes and removed on a successful delivery. 4 Framing : Grouping of bits received from the network layer into manageable units called frame.

4 4 4 4 4

Flow Control : This avoids overwriting the receivers buffer by regulating the amount of data that can be sent. Media Access Control (MAC) : who decide who can send data, when and how much. Synchronization : Header have bits, which tell the receiver when a frame is arriving. this layer also contains bits to synchronize the timing to know the bit interval to recognize the bit correctly. Error Control : it incorporates the CRC to ensure the correctness of the frame. Node to node delivery : its also responsible for error-free delivery of the entire frame/packet to the next adjacent node.

Network Layer This layer is responsible for routing a packet within the subnet that is, from source to destination nodes across multiple nodes in the same network or across multiple networks. * This layer also ensures the successful delivery of a packet to the destination node. * This layer performs the following functions: 4 Routing : To find the optimal route. 4 Congestion Control : which is based on the two approaches (i) Increase on the resources (ii) Decrease the word. 4 Accounting and billing : This layer has to carry out accounting function to facilitate this billing based on how many packets are routed, when, etc. When packets are sent across national boundaries, the rates may change, thus making this accounting function complex. Transport Layer * This layer is the first end to end layer. All the lower layers were the protocols between the adjacent nodes. * Therefore, a Header of the transport layer contains information that helps send the message to the corresponding layer at the destination node, although the message, broken into packets, may travel through a number of intermediate nodes. * The responsibilities of the transport layer are as follows : 4 Host-to-host message delivery : Ensuring that all the packets of a message sent by a source node arrive at the intended destination. 4 Application-to-application communication : The transport layer enables communication between two applications running on different computers. 4 Segmentation and reassembly : The transport layer breaks a message into packets, numbers them by adding sequence numbers at the source, and use the sequence numbers at the destination to reassemble the original message. 4 Connection : The transport layer might create a logical connection between the source and the destination for the duration of the complete message transfer for better control over the message transfer. 4 Flow Control : * Session Layer * The main functions of the session layer are to establish, maintain and synchronise the interaction between two communication hosts.

* * * *

It makes sure that a session once established is closed gracefully, and abruptly. The session layer checks and establishes connection between the hosts of two different users. The session layer also decides whether both users can send as well as receive data at the same time or whether only one host can send and the other can receive. The responsibilities of the session layer are : * Session and sub sessions : this layer divides a session into sub session for avoiding retransmission of entire message by adding the checkpoint features. * Synchronization : this layer decides the order in which data needs to be passed to the transport layer. * Dialog control : this layer also decides which user application sends data and at what point of time and whether the communication is simplex, half duplex or full duplex. * Session closure : this layer ensures that the session between the host is closed gracefully.

Presentation Layer * When two hosts are communicating with each other they might use different coding standards and character sets for representing data internally. For instance, one host could be using ASCII code for character representation, where as other host could be using EBCDIC. This layer is taking care of such differences. * This layer is also responsible for (a) data encryption and decryption for security and (b) data compression and decompression for more efficiency in data transmission. * The responsibilities of the presentation layer are : * Translation : The translation between the senders message formats is done by the presentation layer if the two formats are different. * Encryption : The presentation layer performs data encryption and decryption for security. * Compression : For efficient transmission, the presentation layer performs data compression before sending and decomposition at the destination. Application Layer * It is the topmost layer in OSI model which enables the user to access the network. This layer provides user interface for network applications such as remote login, World Wide Web, FTP, email and remote data base access. * The responsibilities of the application layer are : 4 Network abstraction : The application layer provides an abstraction of the underlying network to an end user and an application. 4 File access and transfer : It allows a user to access, download or upload files from/to a remote host. 4 Mail services : It allows logging in a host which is remote. 4 World Wide Web (WWW) : Accessing the web pages is also a part of this layer. TCP/IP * Is Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol. * Is a set of rules that enables communication across interconnected networks.

* * *

Developed in the year 1970. TCP/IP was developed before OSI therefore its layer do not match with the OSI model. Transmits data by: 4 Breaking the data into small units called data packets. 4 Sending the data packets across the network. 4 Reassembling the data packets into the original form.

Development of TCP/IP * The organizations responsible for the development of TCP/IP are: 4 Internet Society (ISOC) Established in 1992. Responsible for developing: Internetworking techniques. Standards for the internet. Protocols that are part of TCP/IP. 4 Internet Architecture Board (IAB) Responsible for developing and publishing Internet standards referred to as Request for Comments (RFCs). Features of TCP/IP * TCP/IP 4 Enables wide connectivity. 4 Ensures data delivery. 4 Creates virtual networks. 4 Provides platform-independent protocols. 4 Supports a cross-platform client-server framework. 4 Is robust and scalable. 4 Is preferred over other protocols for Internet communication. TCP/IP Architecture * TCP/IP uses layered architecture for transmission of data. * TCP/IP is a condensed version of OSI model. * Unlike seven layers of OSI model, TCP/IP architecture consists of four layers.

OSI Model

TCP/IP Architecture

TCP/IP Architecture (Contd.) * Application layer 4 Is the topmost layer and corresponds to the top three layers of the OSI model i.e. layer 5, 6 and 7. 4 Defines the protocols for communication between computers in a network. 4 Accepts a request for exchange of data. 4 Translates the data received to a format recognized by the protocols. 4 Establishes a connection between computers. 4 Allows an end user to run various applications on the Internet and use the Internet in different days. 4 Protocols that operate at this level are File Transfer Protocol (FTP), Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP), Telnet, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) and (HTTP) 4 The data unit initially created in application layer are called message. * Transport layer 4 Corresponds to the Transport layer of the OSI model. 4 Responsible for reliable communication and error-free delivery of data. 4 Takes care of sequencing of data packets and maintaining data integrity. 4 Also called the host-to-host layer. 4 The protocols that operate at this level are Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP). Internet layer or Network layer 4 Corresponds to the Network layer of the OSI model. 4 Provides Internet and Physical addresses for the computers. 4 Transmits data packets to multiple networks. 4 This is layer is concerned with the format of datagrams as defined in the Internet Protocol (IP) and also about the mechanism of forwarding datagrams from the source computer to the final destination via one or more routers. Thus this layer is also responsible for actual routing of datagrams. 4 Protocols that operate at this level are Internet Protocol (IP), Address Resolution Protocol (ARP), Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP), and Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP). Network Access layer or Data Link Layer 4 Corresponds to the Data Link layer and the Physical layer of the OSI model. 4 Responsible for physical transmission of data. 4 Protocols that operate at this level are classified as LAN-oriented (Ethernet, Token Ring and ArcNet) and WAN-oriented (Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP), X.25, and Frame Relay) protocols.

This layer covers Media Access and control (MAC)strategies i.e. who can send and when, etc. This also deals with the frame formats (e.g. Ethernet) and so on.

Physical Layer 4 Corresponds to the Physical layer of the OSI model. 4 This layer deals with the hardware level, voltages, etc, and there is nothing significantly different here in case of TCP/IP. Data Transmission by TCP/IP

Source Destination Data moves down from the Application layer through all the layers to the Network Access layer. Each layer processes the data before it reaches the network cables. At the destination computer, data is passed back through all the layers and gets processed so that it regains its original form. TCP/IP Protocols * The protocols available in the TCP/IP suite are as follows: 4 IP 4 TCP 4 UDP 4 ICMP 4 ARP 4 RARP 4 SNMP 4 FTP 4 Telnet SMTP * Internet Protocol (IP) 4 Is a connectionless protocol i.e. the no connection between the sender and receiver is established. 4 Contains the IP address of the destination host 4 Finds a route for a datagram to reach the destination host 4 Does not guarantee that a datagram will reach the destination host so it is an unreliable transport protocol

4 4 4 4

IP does not have any error checking or tracking mechanisms. Therefore IPs job is restricted to forwarding a datagram from its initial source on to the final destination through a series of routers. However it does not any way check to see if the datagram reached its next destination. IP assumes that the underlying medium is reliable and makes the best possible effort of delivery. There could be many reasons that the datagrams could be lost such as bit errors during transmission, a congested router, disabled links, and so on. IP lets reliability become the responsibility of the transport layer (i.e. TCP).

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) 4 Is a connection-oriented protocol 4 Ensures delivery of data to a specified destination 4 It supports heterogeneous environments 4 Provides for safe and complete delivery of data User 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 Datagram Protocol (UDP) Is a connectionless protocol (not reliable but faster) Breaks data into packets called UDP datagrams The protocol was designed by David P. Reed in 1980 and formally defined in RFC 768. UDP uses a simple transmission model without implicit handshaking dialogues for providing reliability, ordering, or data integrity. Thus, UDP provides an unreliable service and datagrams may arrive out of order, appear duplicated, or go missing without notice. UDP assumes that error checking and correction is either not necessary or performed in the application, avoiding the overhead of such processing at the network interface level. Time-sensitive applications often use UDP because dropping packets is preferable to waiting for delayed packets, which may not be an option in a real-time system.[1] UDP's stateless nature is also useful for servers answering small queries from huge numbers of clients. Unlike TCP, UDP is compatible with packet broadcast (sending to all on local network) and multicasting (send to all subscribers).[2]

Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) 4 Provides messaging services for IP 4 Allows IP to send error messages to the source host if a datagram is undeliverable or destination machine is unreachable. However it does not prevent sending computer to from sending more datagrams for receiving computer. Therefore ICMP does not involve any error correction machanism. 4 The Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) is one of the core protocols of the Internet Protocol Suite. 4 It is chiefly used by the operating systems of networked computers to send error messages indicating, for example, that a requested service is not available or that a host or router could not be reached. 4 ICMP can also be used to relay query messages.[1]

4 4 4 *

It is assigned protocol number 1[2] ICMP messages are typically generated in response to errors in IP datagrams (as specified in RFC 1122) or for diagnostic or routing purposes. ICMP errors are always reported to the original source IP address of the originating datagram.[1]

Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) 4 Determines the MAC address of the destination host from its IP address and provides this MAC address to IP 4 Only IP Address of the node is not good enough. There must be a process of obtaining physical address of a computer based on its IP Addresses, in order to be able to finally actually transmit the frame/datagram over the network, to which the node belongs. 4 This process is called address resolution. 4 This is required because at the hardware level, computers identify each other based on the physical addresses hard-coded on their NICs. Input Output IP Add ------- ARP------------------Physical Add Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) 4 Determines the IP address of a host from its MAC address and provides it to IP 4 That is, it performs a job exactly opposite to that of ARP. Input Output Phy Address--- RARP ------- IP Address In RARP, the host interested in knowing its IP address broadcasts an RARP query datagram. This datagram contains its physical address. Every computer on the network receives the datagram. The centralized computer (server) contains a list of the physical addresses and their corresponding IP addresses for all diskless workstations. Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) 4 Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is an "Internetstandard protocol for managing devices on IP networks. 4 Devices that typically support SNMP include routers, switches, servers, workstations, printers, modem racks, and more.[1] 4 It is used mostly in network management systems to monitor networkattached devices for conditions that warrant administrative attention. 4 Monitors the performance of network devices such as, routers, hubs, bridges and computers File Transfer Protocol (FTP) 4 File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is a standard network protocol used to transfer files from one host to another over a TCP-based network, such as the Internet. 4 FTP is built on a client-server architecture and utilizes separate control and data connections between the client and server.[1] 4 FTP users may authenticate themselves using a clear-text sign-in protocol but can connect anonymously if the server is configured to allow it.

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 *

The first FTP client applications were interactive command-line tools, implementing standard commands and syntax. Graphical user interface clients have since been developed for many of the popular desktop operating systems in use today.[2][3] The original specification for the File Transfer Protocol was written by Abhay Bhushan and published as RFC 114 on 16 April 1971, before TCP and IP even existed.[2] It was and later replaced by RFC 765 (June 1980) and RFC 959 (October 1985), the current specification.[2] Several proposed standards amend RFC 959, for example RFC 2228 (June 1997) proposes security extensions and RFC 2428 (September 1998) adds support for IPv6 and defines a new type of passive mode.[4] Enables file transfer between two computers Uses TCP as the transport protocol for transferring files

Telnet 4 Telnet is a network protocol used on the Internet or local area networks to provide a bidirectional interactive text-oriented communications facility using a virtual terminal connection. 4 User data is interspersed in-band with Telnet control information in an 8bit byte oriented data connection over the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). 4 Telnet was developed in 1969 beginning with RFC 15, extended in RFC 854, and standardized as Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Internet Standard STD 8, one of the first Internet standards. 4 Allows you to connect your computer to a remote computer and access its resources Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) 4 Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is an Internet standard for electronic mail (e-mail) transmission across Internet Protocol (IP) networks. 4 SMTP is specified for outgoing mail transport and uses TCP port 25. 4 The protocol for new submissions is effectively the same as SMTP, but it uses port 587 instead. 4 SMTP connections secured by SSL are known by the shorthand SMTPS, though SMTPS is not a protocol in its own right. 4 Enables you to send messages to and receive messages from other computer users by using e-mail addresses Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) 4 The Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is a communications protocol used by hosts and adjacent routers on IP networks to establish multicast group memberships. 4 IGMP is an integral part of the IP multicast specification. 4 It is analogous to ICMP for unicast connections. 4 IGMP can be used for online streaming video and gaming, and allows more efficient use of resources when supporting these types of applications. 4 IGMP is used on IPv4 networks.

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) 4 The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a networking protocol for distributed, collaborative, hypermedia information systems.[1] 4 HTTP is the foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web. 4 The standards development of HTTP has been coordinated by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), culminating in the publication of a series of Requests for Comments (RFCs), most notably RFC 2616 (June 1999), which defines HTTP/1.1, the version of HTTP in common use. 4 HTTP functions as a request-response protocol in the client-server computing model. 4 In HTTP, a web browser, for example, acts as a client, while an application running on a computer hosting a web site functions as a server. 4 The client submits an HTTP request message to the server. 4 The server, which stores content, or provides resources, such as HTML files, or performs other functions on behalf of the client, returns a response message to the client. 4 A response contains completion status information about the request and may contain any content requested by the client in its message body. 4 A client is often referred to as a user agent (UA). As well as web browsers, web crawlers are another common user agent. Routing The process of using an IP address to find a route for a data packet so that it reaches its destination host is called routing. Routing enables the exchange of data between remote hosts on different networks. In TCP/IP networks, remote hosts are connected by using routers. When data is sent through a TCP/IP host to another TCP/IP host, IP at source host checks the destination host: 4 Local host: The source host directly sends data to local destination host. 4 Remote host: The source host sends data to its default gateway.

* * * *

There are two types of routing: 4 Static Routing Involves manual creation and updation of routing tables and is ideal for small networks. 4 Dynamic Routing Is the process of dynamically updating a routing table and is ideal for large networks. Is a function of routing protocols. Routing Information Protocol (RIP) Open Shortest Path First (OSPF) To detect faulty routes in both static and dynamic routing, Windows OS use the tracert utility provided by TCP/IP.

Assigning IP Addresses * In a TCP/IP network, the system administrator needs to assign unique IP addresses to all the hosts so that each host can be identified in the network. * There can be two types of addressing: 4 Static Addressing Is the process of assigning IP addresses manually in small networks. Results in duplicate IP addresses. 4 Dynamic Addressing Is the process of assigning IP addresses dynamically. Can solve connectivity problems. Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) * DHCP automatically assigns IP addresses to hosts. * It is implemented on a DHCP server. It manages and controls all IP-related information. * The hosts that dynamically obtain addresses from a DHCP server are called DHCP clients. * A DHCP server assigns an IP address to a host only when the host requests for an address. It also assigns a subnet mask, a default gateway, and a DNS address to a host. * You need to create a scope (range) of IP addresses for the DHCP server.

Address Resolution * In a TCP/IP network, all the hosts are assigned unique IP addresses for identification. Each host has a MAC address to communicate with other hosts. * To enable communication between hosts, the MAC addresses of the hosts need to be resolved from their IP addresses. For this, the IP addresses first need to be resolved from their host names. * It is of two types: 4 IP address resolution 4 Host name resolution IP Address Resolution * The process of mapping the IP address of a host to its MAC address is called IP address resolution. * For implementing IP address resolution, TCP/IP provides a protocol called ARP. * ARP maintains a table (ARP cache) with the IP addresses of network hosts and the corresponding MAC addresses. * ARP resolves an IP address by using two methods: 4 Checks the ARP cache of source host 4 ARP broadcasts a message (ARP request) containing the IP address of the host whose MAC address is required. * ARP can resolve the IP addresses of local and remote hosts. RARP * It is a protocol using which a network host can determine its IP address from its MAC address. * It is the logical inverse of ARP. * The computers that do not know their IP addresses at startupuse RARP. * Every network has an RARP server that maintains a table of MAC addresses and the co rresponding IP addresses. Host Name Resolution * The process of mapping a host name to the corresponding IP address is called host name resolution. * Methods of host name resolution: 4 HOSTS file Is used to resolve host names in small networks. 4 Domain Name System (DNS) Is used to resolve host names in large networks. Domain Name System (DNS) * Is a service that automates the process of host name resolution in large networks. * Organizes the computers in a network hierarchically, like an inverted tree structure. The inverted tree structure is known as domain name space. * Maps to the Application layer of the TCP/IP network model. * On receiving a host name query, systematically searches from the topmost domain to the second level domain until the host is traced. Network Management * Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) 4 Enables a network administrator to manage a computer network by:

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Setting terminal values Monitoring network events Collects information about the condition of the network from the network devices at fixed intervals. Compares the present information with the past performance of the networks to facilitate troubleshooting.

Repeaters * A repeater, also known as regenerator, is an electronic device, which simply regenerates a signal. * It works at the physical layer of OSI model * Signals travelling across a physical wire travel some distance before they become weak ( in a process called attenuation), or get corrupted as other signals/noises interfere with them. * This means that the integrity of the data that the signal carries, is in danger. * A repeater receives such a signal, which is likely to become weak or corrupted, and regenerates it. Bridges * A bridge is a computer that has its own processor, memory and two NIC cards to connect to two portions of a network. * A bridge does not run application programs, but instead, facilitates host-to-host communication within a network. * It operates at the physical as well as data link layers of the OSI protocol hierarchy. * The main idea of using a bridge is to divide a big network into smaller subnetwork known as segments. Routers * A router operates at the physical, data link and network layer of the OSI model. * A router is termed as an intelligent device. * Therefore, its capabilites are much more than those of a repeater or a bridge. * A router is useful for interconnecting two or more networks. * These networks can be heterogeneous, which means that they can differ in their physical characteristics such as frame size, transmission rates, topologies, addressing, etc. * Thus, if a router has to connect such different networks, it has to consider all these issues. * A router has to determine the best possible transmission path, among several available. INTERNET * 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. * It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless and optical networking technologies. * The Internet can also be defined as a worldwide interconnection of computers and computer networks that facilitate the sharing or exchange of information among users. * The motive behind the creation of the internet were twofold: 4 Researchers wanted to communicate with each other and share their research papers and documents.

The U.S. military system wanted a strong communication infrastructure to withstand any nuclear attack by the erstwhile Soviet Union. Paul Baran first introduced the concept of store and forward packet switching which were first used by the Advanced Research Project Agency (ARPA) of the U.S. Department of Defence in 1966.

WWW * 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. * It is an application that runs on 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. * In 1989, Tim Berrners-Lee at the Conseil Europeen pour la Recherche Nucleaire (CERN), now known as the European Laboratory for Particle Physics, started the WWW project. * Right now he is the Director of the World Wide Web Consortium, * His goals were in two areas: * Developing ways of linking document that were not stored on the same computer, but were scattered across many different physical locations. * Enabling users to work together-a process called collaborative authoring. * The first web browser, Mosaic was launched by National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) in 1993. * In 1994, Netscape Communications came up with a new browser called Netscape Navigator. * To avoid proprietary influences, the WWW project shifted from CERN to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1995 and in now known as W3 Consortium. This Consortium coordinates the development of WWW standards and ensures uniformity and minimum duplication of efforts. * The first web browser, Mosaic was launched by National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) in 1993. * In 1994, Netscape Communications came up with a new browser called Netscape Navigator. * To avoid proprietary influences, the WWW project shifted from CERN to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1995 and in now known as W3 Consortium. This Consortium coordinates the development of WWW standards and ensures uniformity and minimum duplication of efforts. Web Server * A web server is a computer program that waits from requests from remote clients (i.e. Web browsers) from documents stored on the server computer, retrieves them, and sends these back to the clients. * Web server can refer to either the hardware (the computer) or the software (the computer application) that helps to deliver content that can be accessed through the Internet.[1] * The most common use of Web servers is to host Web sites but there are other uses like data storage or for running enterprise applications. * The primary function of a web server is to deliver web pages on the request to clients. This means delivery of HTML documents and any additional content that may be included by a document, such as images, style sheets and scripts.

A client, commonly a web browser or web crawler, initiates communication by making a request for a specific resource using HTTP and the server responds with the content of that resource or an error message if unable to do so.

Proxy Server * In computer networks, a proxy server is a server (a computer system or an application) that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. * A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource, available from a different server. * The proxy server evaluates the request according to its filtering rules. For example, it may filter traffic by IP address or protocol. * If the request is validated by the filter, the proxy provides the resource by connecting to the relevant server and requesting the service on behalf of the client. Web Browser * A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. * An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier (URI) and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content. * [1] Hyperlinks present in resources enable users easily to navigate their browsers to related resources. * A web browser can also be defined as an application software or program designed to enable users to access, retrieve and view documents and other resources on the Internet. * Although browsers are primarily intended to access the World Wide Web, they can also be used to access information provided by web servers in private networks or files in file systems. * The major web browsers are Internet Explorer, Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari, and Opera. * LAN, MAN and WAN