Telecommunications,

the Internet, and

Wireless Technology
Networking and Communication Trends
• Firms in the past used two different types of networks: telephone
networks (handled voice communication) and computer networks
(handled data traffic).
• Telephone and computer networks are slowly converging into single
digital network using Internet standards.
• Both voice and data communication networks have grown more
powerful (faster), more portable (smaller and mobile), and less
expensive.
• Typical Internet connection speed: In 2000 – 56 kilobits per second
Today – 1000 kilobits per second
• Voice and data communication as well as Internet access are
increasingly taking place over broadband wireless platforms (i.e. cell
phones, handheld digital devices, and PCs in wireless network).
 What is a Computer Network?
• A network consists of two or more connected computers.
• Major components in a simple network:
 Client Computer
 Server Computer
 Network Interfaces (NICs)
 Connection Medium
 Network Operating System Software
 Hub or Switch
• Hub or Switch are connection point between the computers.
• Hubs are devices that connect network components. Sends data packet
to other connected devices.
• Switch has more intelligence than hub and can filter and forward data to
specified destination on the network.
• Routers are devices used to route packets of data through different
networks, ensuring that data sent gets to the correct address.
What is a Computer Network? (cont.)
 What is a Computer Network? (cont.)
• Networks in Large Companies:
 Hundreds of local area networks (LANs) linked to firm wide corporate
network.
 Number of powerful servers support a corporate website, a corporate
intranet, and sometimes an extranet.
 Mobile Wireless LANs (Wi-Fi networks)
 Videoconferencing System
 Telephone Network
 Wireless Cell Phones
What is a Computer Network? (cont.)
Key Digital Networking Technologies
Key Digital Networking Technologies (cont.)
Key Digital Networking Technologies (cont.)
Key Digital Networking Technologies (cont.)
Communications Networks
Communications Networks (cont.)
Communications Networks (cont.)
Communications Networks (cont.)
 The Global Internet
• What is the Internet?
 Internet is the world’s largest implementation of client/server
computing and internetworking, linking millions of individual
networks all over the world.
 Began in the early 1970s as a US Department of Defense network
to link scientists and university professors around the world.
 It has become the world’s most extensive public communications
system.

• Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a commercial organization

with a permanent connection to the Internet that sells
temporary connections to retails subscribers.
 The Global Internet (cont.)
• Internet Addressing and Architecture
 Every computer on the Internet is assigned a unique IP address.
 IP address is a 32-bit number represented by four strings of numbers
ranging from 0 to 255 separated by periods.
 IP address of www.microsoft.com is 207.46.250.119.
 Domain Name System (DNS) converts IP addresses to domain names,
English like names that correspond to the unique 32-bit numeric IP
address.
 The most common domain extensions are
› .com (commercial organizations/businesses)
› .edu (educational institutions)
› .gov (government institutions)
› .net (network computers)
› .org (non-profit organizations)
› .info (information providers)
The Global Internet (cont.)
 The Global Internet (cont.)
• Internet Addressing and Architecture (cont.)

 No one owns the Internet and it has no formal management.

However worldwide Internet policies are established by a number
of professional organizations and government bodies, including
the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), which helps define the
overall structure of the Internet; the Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), which assigns IP
addresses; and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which
sets Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) and other programming
standards for the web.

 The Future Internet: IPv6 (128-bit addresses) and Internet2.

Internet Services and
Communication Tools
 Internet Services and
Communication Tools (cont.)
 Internet Services and
Communication Tools (cont.)
 Internet Services and
Communication Tools (cont.)
The Wireless Revolution
The Wireless Revolution (cont.)
The Wireless Revolution (cont.)
The Wireless Revolution (cont.)
The Wireless Revolution (cont.)