INTRODUCTION TO

THE INTERNET
SOME COMMON TERMS
• The Internet is a network of computers spanning the
globe. It is also called the World Wide Web.

• An Internet Browser is a software program that

enables you to view Web pages on your computer.
Browsers connect computers to the Internet, and allow
people to “surf the Web.”

• Internet Explorer is one of the browsers most

commonly used. There are other browsers available as
well, including FireFox, Chrom etc.
• Webpage: a hypertext document connected to the World
Wide Web
• A site or area on the World Wide Web that is accessed by
its own Internet address is called a Website.
• A Web Page is like a page in a book. Websites often have
several pages that you can access by clicking on links. A
Web site can be a collection of related Web pages.
• Each Website contains a home page (this is the original
starting page) and may also contain additional pages.
• Different computers will have different home pages. You
can set your own webpage.
LAYOUT OF A WEB PAGE

1.Title bar – tells you the name of the web page

2.Menu bar – has commands for moving around the webpage, printing, etc
3.Tool bar – short cuts to commands. Each picture represents a command
4.Address bar – webpage address. If you want to go directly to a web page,
you will need to know the address.
URL - UNIFORM RESOURCE
LOCATORS Path
File
Name

• http://www.PU.EDU.PK/admissions/main.html

Protocol World
Wid Domai
Web e n nsio
n Country
Name e
Ext Ext

a system

• IP – Internet Protocol
• 173.194.45.64
– Can’t exceed 255

5
PARTS OF A WEB ADDRESS
• A web address is typically composed of four parts:
• For example, the address http://www.google.ca is made up
of the following areas:
• http://
– This Web server uses Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). This
is the most common protocol on the Internet.
• www
– This site is on the World Wide Web.
• Google
– The Web server and site maintainer.
• com
– This tells us it is a commercial site.
ADDRESSES ON THE WEB:
IP ADDRESSING
• Each computer on the internet does have a unique
identification number, called an IP (Internet Protocol)
address.
• The IP addressing system currently in use on the
Internet uses a four-part number.
• Each part of the address is a number ranging from 0 to
255, and each part is separated from the previous part
by period,
• For example, 106.29.242.17
• Endings of web pages tells us a bit about the page. Some common
endings to web addresses are:
– com (commercial)
– edu (educational institution)
– gov (government)
– net (network)
– org (organization)
• You might also see addresses that add a country code as the last part
of the address such as:
– ca (Canada)
– uk (United Kingdom)
– fr (France)
– us (United States of America)
– au (Australia)
TYPES OF WEBSITES
• Portal
• News
• Informational
• Business/ Marketing
• Educational
• Entertainment
• Advocacy
• Blog
• Wiki
• Social Network
• Personal
HYPERTEXT MARKUP LANGUAGE
• Hypertext Markup Language (HTML): helps developer
create Web pages
– Determines look and location of content
• The public files on the web servers are ordinary text
files, much like the files used by word-processing
software.
• To allow Web browser software to read them, the text
must be formatted according to a generally accepted
standard.
• The standard used on the web is Hypertext markup
language (HTML).
HYPERTEXT MARKUP LANGUAGE
• HTML uses codes, or tags, to tell the Web browser software
how to display the text contained in the document.
• For example, a Web browser reading the following line of text:
• <B> A Review of the Book<I>Wind Instruments of the
18th Century</I></B>
• recognizes the <B> and </B> tags as instructions to display
the entire line of text in bold and the <I> and </I> tags as
instructions to display the text enclosed by those tags in
italics.

• A Review of the Book Wind Instruments of the 18th

Century
ISP
• An ISP (Internet Service Provider) is a regional or
national access provider. A regional ISP usually provides
Internet access to a specific geographic area. A
national ISP is a business that provides Internet access
in cities and towns nationwide.
BANDWIDTH
• Bandwidth: speed at which data is communicated
– Also called transmission rate or bit rate
• Bits per second (bps): unit of measure for bandwidth
• Baseband: communications medium that can carry
only one transmission at a time
• Broadband: communications medium that can carry
multiple transmissions simultaneously

13
MEDIA
• Twisted pair cable: pairs of insulated copper wires
twisted together
– Twisting reduces electromagnetic interference (EMI)
– Flexible, reliable, and low cost
– Connects devices with RJ-45 connector plug
• Coaxial cable: for cable television transmission
– Used for Internet connections via cable
• Optical fiber: uses light to represent bits
– Not susceptible to interference
– Can carry signals for longer distances

14
MEDIA (CONTINUED)
• Radio frequency (RF) technologies: use radio waves
to carry bits
– Popular examples: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• Microwaves: high-frequency radio waves that can
carry signals with high accuracy over long distances
– For outside transmission, weather conditions may degrade
the quality
• Microwave signals can be transmitted by satellite links

15
NETWORKS
• Network: combination of devices (or nodes) connected
through a communication media
• Any compatible device that can transmit and receive on
a network can be part of a network

16
TYPES OF NETWORKS
• Computer networks are classified by reach and
complexity
• Three basic types of networks: LANs, MANs, and WANs

• Local area network (LAN): established by a single

organization and shared among employees
– Server-based LAN: a single computer controls the network
– Peer-to-peer LAN: no central device controls
communications

17
TYPES OF NETWORKS
(CONTINUED)
• Wireless LANs (WLANs) offer advantages:
– Easier installation
– More scalable
– More flexible: equipment is easily moved
• WLAN drawback: wireless networks are less secure

18
TYPES OF NETWORKS
(CONTINUED)
• Metropolitan area network (MAN):
– Links multiple LANs within a large city
– Typically uses fiber optic or wireless broadband
connections between LANs
• Wide area network (WAN):
– Far-reaching system of networks composed of LANs or
MANs
– May be public or private

19
NETWORKING HARDWARE
• Networks use a variety of devices to connect computers
and peripheral devices
• Network interface card (NIC): connects a device to a
hub, switch, bridge, or router, which connects to a LAN
or WAN
• Hub: central location to connect devices to LAN;
broadcasts all communications to all devices
• Switch: a hub that sends communications only to
designated devices on the network

20
NETWORKING HARDWARE
(CONTINUED)
• Bridge: connects two networks
• Router: routes data packets to the next node on the
path to the final destination
• Repeater: amplifies or regenerates signals
• Modem: translates communication signals from analog
to digital and vice versa
• Dial-up connection: slower type of connection
through modem, usually no faster than 56 Kbps

21
PROTOCOLS
• Protocol:
– set of rules governing communication between computers
– Data Carriers
• Some protocols are designed for WANs, LANs, and
wireless communications
• Most important set of protocols for telecommunications
and networks is called TCP/IP

22
TCP/IP
• TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet
Protocol): a set of related protocols
– TCP ensures packets arrive accurately and in proper order
– IP ensures efficient delivery of packets from node to node
• Internet backbone: highest speed channels
• IP number: unique numerical identification for a network
device

23
TCP/IP (CONTINUED)
• Static IP address: a permanent address assigned to a
device
• Dynamic IP address: temporary IP number assigned
to a device for the duration of the connection
– Provides flexibility when the number of IP addresses is
limited

24
HTTP
• Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP): transfer and
download Web information
• HTTPS: HTTP secure for confidential data exchange
• Domain name: unique name for a Web site,
constructed with letters
– URL also refers to the domain name

• File Transfer Protocol (FTP): used to transmit whole

files
• POP
• SMTP

25
GENERATIONS IN MOBILE
COMMUNICATIONS
• Networking professionals refer to generations of mobile
communication technologies
– First generation (1G): analog
– Second generation (2G): used digital voice encoding
– Third generation (3G): increased speeds that support
video, videoconferencing, Internet access
– Fourth Generation (4G): digital only, with packet switching
and tighter security

26
DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER LINE
(DSL)
• Digital subscriber line (DSL): data remains digital
through entire transmission
• Uses telephone lines connected to DSL bridge (DSL
modem)

• Downstream: speed of receiving from network

• Upstream: speed of transmitting to network

27
E-COMMERCE
THAT’S ALL