INTERNET ARCHITECTURE AND PROTOCOLS

Definition of the Internet

The term “Internet” refers to a network of networks. It is a global communication system that
links together thousands of individual networks (be it private, public, academic, business or
government networks). Essentially, the internet is a collection of interlinked computer networks,
connected by copper wires, fiber-optic cables, wireless connections, etc., And as a result, a
computer can virtually link to other computers in any network. Thanks to these connections,
users can exchange messages, communicate in real time (and get instant messages and
responses), share data and programs, and gain access to an infinite amount of information.

Internet architecture is a meta-network, which refers to a congregation/collection of thousands

of different networks interacting/communicating with a single common protocol. In simpler
terms, it is an internetwork that is connected using protocols.

*ROUTERS: Dedicated computers that transmit data between networks within the Internet.
Different Host Computers can be connected to one or more routers depending on where and how
far these Host computers are located.
*HOSTS: are basically computers connected to the Internet e.g.: laptop,tablet,e.t.c. Hosts have
an IP address and are reachable by the said IP address or domain name, e.g.: jkuat.ac.ke ( host
computer for Jkuat) may have the IP address: 105.10.134.76

Any user wishing to connect to this network must store their information in IP packets that are
sent to the first network to cross. The first network encapsulates the IP packet in package A,
which is then sent through the network until it reaches an exit door, where it is decapsulated and
the IP packet is retrieved. The IP address is looked up to determine the next network to cross
using a routing algorithm, and so on till reaching the destination terminal

● The dictionary definition of a Protocol in relation to computing is a set of rules governing

the exchange or transmission of data between devices. We can define this term deeper by
stating that an Internet Protocol (IP) is a protocol, or set of rules, for routing and
addressing packets of data so that they can travel across networks and arrive at the correct
destination. A Packet is essentially data traversing the internet divided into smaller
pieces. /*This idea of packets originated in the 1950’s during the Cold War, where
the Americans feared attacks from the Soviet Union. They therefore came up with a
decentralisation method, in which there would be a decentralised network with
multiple paths, forwarding messages divided into packets which would be routed
independently with each router along the path forwarding the packet to another
router along the path/*.

o The advantage of decentralisation and redundancy is that decentralised networks

with redundant paths provide robustness in network design.
 ● IP information is attached to each packet, and this information helps routers to send
packets to the right place. Every device or domain that connects to the Internet is
assigned an IP address, and as packets are directed to the IP address attached to them,
data arrives where it is needed.

● Once the packets arrive at their destination, they are handled differently depending on
which transport protocol is used in combination with IP. The most common transport
protocols are TCP and UDP.

● TCP/IP

The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a transport protocol, meaning it dictates the way
data is sent and received. Every TCP/IP packet contains a TCP header in the data section. TCP
establishes a connection with the destination/recipient before sending any data. Once
transmission starts, TCP makes sure that every packet arrives in sequence. Each packet that
comes via TCP will be acknowledged by the recipient. If reception is not acknowledged, missing
packets will be forwarded again. Since TCP and IP were originally designed to be used together,
they are often referred to as the TCP/IP suite.

● UDP/IP

Another popular transport protocol is the User Datagram Protocol, or UDP. Although it is
quicker than TCP, it is also less dependable. UDP does not ensure that all packets are sent and
are received in the correct order, and it does not create a connection before sending or receiving
data.

● Why is the Internet Protocol Important?

Essentially, it allows connected devices to communicate with each other, regardless of any
differences in their internal processes, structure or design. Network protocols are the reason you
can easily communicate with people all over the world, and thus play a critical role in modern
digital communications.

It uses the TCP/IP protocol. Any two networks that have different hardware, software, and
architecture/design can be connected by this protocol. Every node on a network has the ability to
communicate with every other node on the network thanks to the end-to-end transmission
provided by the TCP/IP protocol.

Layers Of Internet Architecture

The Internet Architecture consists of 3 layers:

1. Internet Protocol

2. Transfer Control Protocol

3. Application layer/protocol

IP

In order to communicate, we need our data to be encapsulated as Internet Protocol (IP) packets.
These IP packets travel across number of hosts in a network through routing to reach the
destination. However IP does not support error detection and error recovery, and is incapable of
detecting loss of packets.

TCP

TCP stands for “Transmission Control Protocol”. It provides end to end transmission of data, i.e.,
from source to destination. It is a very complex protocol as it supports recovery of lost packets.

Application layer

The application layer of the internet architecture is the layer through which users interact and it
provides services to the user.

There are several protocols involved in the application layer. They are as follows;
 1. TELNET.

This stands for TELetype NETwork. It allows Telnet clients to access resources of the telnet
server. This protocol is used to virtually access a computer and provide a two-way, collaborative
and text-based communication channel between 2 machines.

It follows a user command Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol for creating remote
sessions.

Telnet is a type of client server protocol that can be used to open a command line on a remote
computer. Users can use this to ping a port and find out whether it is open. Based on how FTP
works, telnet can be used along with telnet in order to send files.

Users will remotely connect to a machine using telnet via a username and password to enable
them run command lines as if logged in to the computer in person. The IP address will match the
computer telnetted rather than the one used to make the connection.

Uses of telnet

telnet can be used for various activities for example editing files, running various programs and
checking email.

Security

As we have explained, all that is needed to access the server is a username and password hence
all someone needs to do is to monitor activities of the user to gain their information and they can
access their computers. Hence it is not very secure.

2.File Transfer Protocol.

This protocol is used to transfer files between device over TCP/IP. FTP is not only just a
protocol, it is also a program that facilitates transmission of these files.

In an FTP transaction, there are 2 computers involved. The end user which is referred to the local
host and the remote host which is the server. These 2 computers need to be connected via a
network and configured properly to transfer files via FTP. For this to work, the server must be set
up for FTP transactions and the client must have FTP software installed.

How the FTP works.

FTP relies on two communications channels between the client and the server which are

1. A command channel for controlling the conversation

2. A data channel for transmitting file content.

The FTP transaction would then go like this;

A user logs on to the FTP server.

The client initiates a conversation with the server when the user requests to download the file.

Using FTP, a client can upload, download, delete, rename, move and copy files on a server.

FTP work in 2 sessions.

● Active mode. After a client initiates a session via a command channel request, the server
creates a data connection back to the client and begins transferring data.

● Passive mode. The server uses the command channel to send the client the information it
needs to open a data channel. Because passive mode has the client initiating all
connections, it works well across firewalls and network address translation gateways.
Some common uses of FTP include;

● Backup. FTP can be used by backup services or individual users to backup data from one
location to a secured backup server running FTP services.

● Replication. Similar to backup, replication involves duplication of data from one system
to another but takes a more comprehensive approach to provide higher availability and
resilience. FTP can also be used to facilitate this.

● Access and data loading. FTP is also commonly used to access shared web hosting and
cloud services as a mechanism to load data onto a remote system.

3.Trivial File Transfer Protocol.

This is basically a more simplified version of FTP as it does not have all the tools that FTP has.

It is simple in the sense that it has no authentication and security features while transferring files
as a result it is effective in transferring boot files or configuration files between machines in a
local setup.

Since it lacks any security features, it is dangerous to be used on the internet.

Data transfer through TFTP is initiated through port 69.

4.Network File System

This protocol allows hosts to mount file systems over a network and interact with those file
systems as though they are mounted locally. This means that this enables sharing of said file
systems over the network.

NFS has enabled system admins to share a portion of a file system on a network which can be
accessed via a remote computer when access is authorized. Clients with authorization can even
mount their own file systems for the rest of the network to access.

To use an NFS protocol, the host needs to meet the following requirements.

● Installed NFS server software.

 ● Have at least one network connection to share files

● Configured to accept and respond to NFS requests over the network connection.

5.Simple Mail Transfer Protocol.

SMTP for short. SMTP is a set of communication guidelines (protocols) that allow software to
transmit an electronic mail over the internet.

This protocol is what is used for sending messages to other computer users using an email
address.

● It can send a single message to one or more recipients.

● Sending messages like text, voice, video or graphics.

● It can also send messages on networks outside the internet.

SMPT is a protocol, which means its main purpose is to set up communication rules between
servers. The servers have a way of identifying themselves and announcing what kind of
communication they are trying to perform. They also handle errors for example if a recipient
address is wrong, then the server replies with an error message.

Working of SMTP

1. Composition of mail. A user first will compose an email using a Mail User
Agent(MUA) which is a program that is used to send and receive mail. The message
contains 2 parts, the body and the header. The body contains the message while the
header contains the necessary information such as sender and recipient address. Think of
it as a normal letter where the letter is the body while the envelope is the header
containing addresses.

2. Submission of mail. After composing an email, the mail client then submits the
completed e-mail to the SMTP server by using SMTP on TCP port 25.
 3. Delivery of mail. E-mail addresses contain two parts: username of the recipient and
domain name. For example, [email protected], where " Forza " is the username of the
recipient and "gmail.com" is the domain name.
If the domain name of the recipient's email address is different from the sender's domain
name, then MSA will send the mail to the Mail Transfer Agent (MTA). To relay the
email, the MTA will find the target domain. It checks the MX record from Domain Name
System to obtain the target domain. The MX record contains the domain name and IP
address of the recipient's domain. Once the record is located, MTA connects to the
exchange server to relay the message.

4. Receipt and processing of mail. Once the incoming message is received, the exchange
server delivers it to the incoming server (Mail Delivery Agent) which stores the e-mail
where it waits for the user to retrieve it.

5. Access and retrieval of mail. The stored email in MDA can be retrieved by using MUA
(Mail User Agent). MUA can be accessed by using login and password.

6.Domain Name System(DNS)

The Domain Name System (DNS) turns domain names into IP addresses, which browsers use to
load internet pages. Every device connected to the internet has its own IP address, which is used
by other devices to locate the device. DNS servers make it possible for people to input normal
words into their browsers, such as Forza.com, without having to keep track of the IP address for
every website.

How DNS works

The process of DNS resolution involves converting a hostname (such as www.Forza.com) into a
computer-friendly IP address (such as 192.168.1.1). An IP address is given to each device on the
Internet, and that address is necessary to find the appropriate Internet device - like a street
address is used to find a particular home. When a user wants to load a webpage, a translation
must occur between what a user types into their web browser (Forza.com) and the
machine-friendly address necessary to locate the forza.com webpage.
Functions of the application layer

Here are some potential functions of the application layer:

1.Transferring and accessing files

The application layer allows users to send each other files through a network. The file
transfer can occur over the internet between different networks or within the same network. The
application layer also is the layer that allows users to access files, such as from cloud-based
storage or from a database.

2 Sending emails and engaging in other communication types

The application layer facilitates many of the communication tools people use. For example,
email is an example of the application layer. The layer allows you to receive emails, download
files and send information. Email systems also enable direct communication through chat or
video.

3. Facilitating remote hosting.

The application layer enables remote hosting via the internet. The layer allows a person to make
their computer a terminal and conduct a presentation. Conversely, the layer also is where other
users log on to the remote host and join the session. The ability to host and join a remote session
is an example of the application layer.

4.Accessing networks and directories

The ability to access information from websites is an example of the application layer. Users
access all network services and applications at this level. It allows you to find information and
locate data through network directory services.

5. Addressing
To achieve communication between client and server system, there is a need for addressing.

When a request is sent from the client side to the server side, this request contains the server
address and its own address.

The server answered to the client request, this request contains the destination address, i.e., client
address. DNS is used to achieve this type of addressing .The domain name system (DNS) is a
naming database in which internet domain names are located and translated into Internet
Protocol (IP) addresses.

6. Directory Services

A distributed database is contained by an application that provides access for global information
about various objects and services.

7.Authentication

It provides authentication to occur between devices for an extra layer of security and it
authenticates the sender or receiver’s message or both.