Internet

The Internet is a global network that connects

billions of computers across the world with each
other and to the World Wide Web. It uses the
standard internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to
connect billions of computer users worldwide. It is
set up by using cables such as optical fibers and
other wireless and networking technologies. At
present, the internet is the fastest means of
sending or exchanging information and data
between computers across the world.

It is believed that the internet was developed by

the "Defense Advanced Projects Agency" (DARPA)
department of the United States. And, it was first
connected in 1969.
Why is the Internet Called a Network?

The Internet is called a network as it creates a

network by connecting computers and servers
across the world using routers, switches and
telephone lines, and other communication devices
and channels. So, it can be considered a global
network of physical cables such as copper
telephone wires, fiber optic cables, tv cables, etc.
Furthermore, even wireless connections like 3G,
4G, or Wi-Fi make use of these cables to access
the Internet.

The Internet is different from the ​World Wide

Web​ as the World Wide Web is a network of
computers and servers created by connecting them
through the internet. So, the internet is the
backbone of the web as it provides the technical
infrastructure to establish the ​WWW​ and acts as a
medium to transmit information from one
computer to another computer. It uses web
browsers to display the information on the client,
which it fetches from web servers.
The internet is not owned by a single person or
organization entirely. It is a concept based on
physical infrastructure that connects networks with
other networks to create a global network of
billions of computers. As of 12 August 2016, there
were more than 300 crores of internet users across
the world.
How does the internet work?

Before understanding this let us understand

some basics related to internet:
The internet works with the help of clients and
servers. A device such as a laptop, which is
connected to the internet is called a client, not a
server as it is not directly connected to the
internet. However, it is indirectly connected to the
internet through an Internet Service Provider (ISP)
and is identified by an IP address, which is a string
of numbers. Just like you have an address for your
home that uniquely identifies your home, an IP
address acts as the shipping address of your
device. The IP address is provided by your ISP,
and you can see what ​IP​ address your ISP has
given to your system.
A server is a large computer that stores websites.
It also has an IP address. A place where a large
number of servers are stored is called a data
center. The server accepts requests sent by the
client through a browser over a network (internet)
and responds accordingly.
To access the internet we need a domain name,
which represents an IP address number, i.e., each
IP address has been assigned a domain name. For
example, youtube.com, facebook.com, paypal.com
are used to represent the IP addresses. Domain
names are created as it is difficult for a person to
remember a long string of numbers. However,
internet does not understand the domain name, it
understands the IP address, so when you enter the
domain name in the browser search bar, the
internet has to get the IP addresses of this domain
name from a huge phone book, which is known
as ​DNS​ (Domain Name Server).
For example, if you have a person's name, you can
find his phone number in a phone book by
searching his name. The internet uses the DNS
server in the same way to find the IP address of
the domain name. DNS servers are managed by
ISPs or similar organizations.
Now after understanding the basics, let us
see how the internet works?
When you turn on your computer and type a
domain name in the browser search bar, your
browser sends a request to the DNS server to get
the corresponding IP address. After getting the IP
address, the browser forwards the request to the
respective server.
Once the server gets the request to provide
information about a particular website, the data
starts flowing. The data is transferred through the
optical fiber cables in digital format or in the form
of light pulses. As the servers are placed at distant
places, the data may have to travel thousands of
miles through optical fiber cable to reach your
computer.
The optical fiber is connected to a router, which
converts the light signals into electrical signals.
These electrical signals are transmitted to your
laptop using an Ethernet cable. Thus, you receive
the desired information through the internet, which
is actually a cable that connects you with the
server.
Furthermore, if you are using wireless internet
using wifi or mobile data, the signals from the
optical cable are first sent to a cell tower and from
where it reaches to your cell phone in the form of
electromagnetic waves.
The internet is managed by ICANN (Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)
located in the USA. It manages IP addresses
assignment, ​domain​ name registration, etc.
The data transfer is very fast on the internet. The
moment you press enter you get the information
from a server located thousands of miles away
from you. The reason for this speed is that the
data is sent in the binary form (0, 1), and these
zeros and ones are divided into small pieces called
packets, which can be sent at high speed.
Advantages of the Internet:

o Instant Messaging:​ You can send messages

or communicate to anyone using internet, such
as email, voice chat, video conferencing, etc.
o Get directions:​ Using GPS technology, you
can get directions to almost every place in a
city, country, etc. You can find restaurants,
malls, or any other service near your location.
o Online Shopping:​ It allows you to shop online
such as you can be clothes, shoes, book movie
tickets, railway tickets, flight tickets, and
more.
o Pay Bills:​ You can pay your bills online, such
as electricity bills, gas bills, college fees, etc.
o Online Banking:​ It allows you to use internet
banking in which you can check your balance,
receive or transfer money, get a statement,
request cheque-book, etc.
o Online Selling:​ You can sell your products or
services online. It helps you reach more
customers and thus increases your sales and
profit.
o Work from Home:​ In case you need to work
from home, you can do it using a system with
internet access. Today, many companies allow
their employees to work from home.
 o Entertainment:​ You can listen to online
music, watch videos or movies, play online
games.
o Cloud computing:​ It enables you to connect
your computers and internet-enabled devices
to cloud services such as cloud storage, cloud
computing, etc.
o Career building:​ You can search for jobs
online on different job portals and send you CV
through email if required.
Intranet

The intranet is a private network that belongs to a

particular organization. It is designed for the
exclusive use of an organization and its associates,
such as employees, customers, and other
authorized people. It offers a secure platform to
convey information and share data with authorized
users. Confidential information, database, links,
forms, and applications can be made available to
the staff through the intranet. So, it is like a
private internet or an internal website that is
operating within an organization to provide its
employees access to its information and records.
Each computer in intranet is identified by a unique
IP Address.
It is based on internet protocols (TCP/​IP​) and is
protected from unauthorized access with firewalls
and other security systems. The firewall monitors
the incoming and outgoing data packets to ensure
they don't contain unauthorized requests. So,
users on the intranet can access the ​internet​, but
the internet users can't access the intranet if they
are not authorized for it. Furthermore, to access
the intranet, the authorized user is required to be
connected to its ​LAN​ (Local Area Network).
Some of the benefits of the intranet are:
o It is cheap and easy to implement and run,
and is more safe than the internet
and ​extranet​.
o It streamlines communication that enables the
company to share its data, information, and
other resources among employees without any
 delay. The entire staff can receive company's
announcements, ask questions, and access
internal documents.
o It provides a secure space to store and develop
applications to support business operations.
o It improves the efficiency of the company by
speeding up workflow and reducing errors.
Thus, it helps achieve targets by completing
the tasks on time.
o It offers a testing platform for new ideas
before they are uploaded on the company's
internet webpage. Thus, it helps maintain the
credibility of the company
o Information is shared in real-time, or updates
are reflected immediately to all the authorized
users.
o Modern intranets also offer a mobile app that
allows employees to stay connected on the go.
o It aids in project management and tracking
workflow and teams' progress.
o It can work with mobile devices, which means
it can provide information that exists on
intranet directly to mobile devices of
employees such as phones, tablets, etc.
o It can also be used to motivate employees,
facilitate employee recognition, and to reward
them for performing beyond expectations.
How the Intranet Works:

Intranet basically comprises three components: a

web server, an intranet platform, and applications.
The web server is hardware that contains all the
intranet software and data. It manages all requests
for files hosted over the server and finds the
requested files and then delivers it to the user's
computer.

The intranet platform, which is software, allows

communication tools, collaboration apps, and
databases to work seamlessly with each other. It is
tailored to the specific needs of a business.
The applications are required to enable users to
work smoothly. They are the computing tools that
allow users to do their work, communicate, and
coordinate with each other and retrieve and store
information.
Furthermore, the user who wants to access the
intranet is required to have a special network
password and should be connected to the LAN. A
user who is working remotely can gain access to
the intranet through a virtual private network
(​VPN​) that allows them to sign in to the intranet to
access the information.
Disadvantages of Intranet:

o It may be costly to set up an Intranet due to

hidden costs and complexity.
o If the firewall does not work properly or not
installed, it can be hacked by someone
o High-security passwords are required, which
cannot be guessed by outside users
o There is always a fear of losing control over
the intranet
o Sometimes document duplication may happen
which can cause confusion among employees
o You have to give access to multiple users, so
you may find it hard to control this network.
Examples of Intranet:

Educational Intranet:​ It is generally found in a

school, college, etc., For example, a school
intranet is intended to allow teaching staff to
communicate with each other and get information
about upcoming updates such as exam dates,
schools functions, holidays, etc.
Real Estate Intranet:​ The intranet of a real
estate company allows its sales team to have
access to all important brochures, templates,
forms that they may need to close a sale.
Employees also remain up to date with important
events like meetings, training, sessions, etc. It can
also be used to share motivational messages with
the team.
Health Care Intranet:​ In the healthcare sector,
in big hospitals, the Intranet helps health care
professionals to work as a team to provide proper
care and treatment to their patients. Doctors can
share reports, treatment procedures, bills and
claims can be settled easily without moving from
one department to another department.
IT Sector Intranet:​ In the ​IT​ sector three is
always a lot of information that needs to be shared
with all the employees at one go. It may be related
to a project that needs to be completed within the
given time frame, such as guidelines, terms and
conditions, and rules that are to be followed while
working on a project.
Difference between Intranet and Internet:

Internet Intranet

It is a medium such as It is a small, private

optical fiber cable that network as it
connects billions of belongs to a specific
computers with each other organization.
to establish a worldwide
network.
It has billions of users as it It has limited users.
is a public network with a
worldwide presence.
It is not as safe as an It is a safer network
intranet. than the internet.
It can be assessed or used Only authorized
by anyone using an persons can use
internet-enabled device, this network.
such as laptop, mobile
phone, etc.
It offers a wide range of It offers limited
information, such as news, information related
blogs, websites, etc. to its organization's
work, policies,
updates, etc.
 It is not owned by a single It can be owned by
person or an organization. a person or an
organization.

Extranet

Extranet is a part of an organization's intranet. It is

a communication network that is based on internet
protocols (TCP/IP). It provides controlled access to
the firm's intranet to its trading partners,
customers, and other businesses. So, it is a private
network that securely shares internal information
and operations of a firm with authorized people
outside the firm without giving access to the
company's entire network. The users are required
to have IDs, passwords, and other authentication
mechanisms to access this network.
Some of the benefits of extranet:

o It acts as a single interface between the

company and its trading partners.
o It automates the firm's processes like
automatically places an order with suppliers
when inventory drops.
o It improves customer service by providing
customers a platform to resolve their queries
and complaints.
o It enables the firm to share information with
trading partners without engaging in
paper-based publishing processes.
 o It streamlines business processes that are
repetitive in nature, such as ordering from a
vendor on a regular basis.
How is Extranet Established?

It is set up in the form of a Virtual Private Network

as it is prone to security threats due to the use of
the ​internet​ to connect outsiders to an
organization's intranet. VPN can assure you a safe
network in a public network such as the internet.
The transmission control protocol (TCP) and
internet protocol (IP) are used for the data
transfer.
VPN​ assures secure transactions based on Internet
Protocol Security Architecture (IPSEC) protocol as
it provides an extra security layer
to ​TCP/IP​ protocol, which is used for data transfer
in the extranet. In this layer, the ​IP​ packet is
encapsulated to form a new IP packet, as shown
below:
Furthermore, to provide more security to Intranet,
the following two measures are also taken by an
organization:
o Firewall:​ It prevents unauthorized users from
accessing the extranet.
o Passwords:​ It also prevents unauthorized
users, including the company's employees
from accessing the data stored on its server.
Limitations of Extranet:

o Hosting:​ If you host extranet pages on your

own server, it requires a high bandwidth
internet connection, which may be very
expensive.
o Security:​ You need extra firewall security if
you host it on your own server. It increases
the workload and makes the security
mechanism very complex.
o Dependency:​ It is dependent on the internet
as outsiders cannot access information without
using the internet.
o Less Interaction:​ It reduces the face to face
interaction between customers, business
partners, vendors, etc., which results in poor
relationship building.
Difference between Intranet and Extranet:
Intranet Extranet

It is a private It may not be called a private

network, which network, as it can be
cannot be assessed externally. It
accessed provides limited access to
externally. authorized outside-users such
as vendors, partners, etc.
It connects the It connects the company's
employees of the employees with partners.
company.
It is an It is an additional part of the
independent company's Intranet.
network, not a
part or extension
of any other
network.
Communication External users such as
takes place only suppliers, customers, and
within the partners are allowed to be a
organization that part of intranet to get
owns the network. information, updates, about
the organization.
 Protocols
What is a Protocol
In networking, protocol is a set of standards and rules for
communication between network hosts. Protocols often
provide services, such as e-mail or file transfer. Most
protocols perform a specific function. However, most
protocols are not capable of performing every aspect of
networking by itself. Most protocols rely on other protocols
for a complete networking solution. A group of protocols
that are to be used together is called a protocol suite. The
most popular protocol suite is the TCP/IP protocol suite.
TCP/IP is a set of protocols that is used on the Internet
and on most networks.

http:​-​The first protocol that we are going to talk about is

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). The ​HTTP​protocol
defines how websites exchange HTML documents. The
protocol actually identifies how the browser submits a
request to the server that holds the website, and how the
server formats that data to return it back to the browser,
and then how the browser displays the information. HTTP
can be described as an information requesting and
responding protocol. HTTP uses port number 80 by
default and predominantly uses TCP as the transport
protocol, although it can use UDP also.

Another related protocol is HTTPS. In HTTPS another

protocol is added to HTTP, which is called SSL, or Secure
Socket Layer. Secure socket layer is a method of
encryption that protects data while traveling through the
network. It uses ​RSA​ for authentication and encryption.
Web browsers use SSL to ensure safe Web transactions.
URLs that begin with ​https://​ trigger our Web browser to
use SSL. HTTPS is a secure form of HTTP that uses SSL
to encrypt data before it is transmitted. HTTP and HTTPS
are both transfer protocols that define how websites send
information. HTTPS uses port number 443 by default, and
uses TCP as the transport protocol. HTTPS should not be
confused with the little-used Secure HTTP (S-HTTP).

SMTP:-​Another set of protocols that we’ll talk about that are

email transfer protocols. The first is the Simple Mail
Transport Protocol or ​SMTP​. SMTP is used between email
servers and clients on each end that need to send mail.
SMTP is used by email clients to ​send mail​ to the mail
server. Then it’s used between mail servers to send mail
from one server to the next. SMTP uses TCP transport
protocol on port 25.

Pop3:​-On the end, a different protocol may be used by the

client to download or receive the mail. For example, a
client can use a protocol called Post Office Protocol or
POP, or ​POP3​ which is the third version of POP. By some
e-mail client programs, such as Microsoft Outlook, SMTP
can be used for receiving mail from an Exchange server.
POP3 is used to retrieve e-mail from a remote server to a
local client over a TCP/IP connection. With POP3, e-mail
messages are downloaded to the client. Remember, an
e-mail client that uses POP3 for receiving mail, uses
SMTP for sending mail. POP3 uses TCP as the transport
protocol on port 110.
MIME​:-​Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions​ (​MIME​) is
an ​Internet standard​ that extends the format
of ​email​ messages to support text in ​character sets​ other
than ​ASCII​, as well as attachments of audio, video,
images, and application programs. Message bodies may
consist of multiple parts, and header information may be
specified in non-ASCII character sets. Email messages
with MIME formatting are typically transmitted with
standard protocols, such as the ​Simple Mail Transfer
Protocol​ (SMTP), the ​Post Office Protocol​ (POP), and
the ​Internet Message Access Protocol​ (IMAP).
Although the MIME formalism was designed mainly for
SMTP, its content types are also important in
other ​communication protocols​. In the ​HyperText Transfer
Protocol​ (HTTP) for the ​World Wide Web​, servers insert a
MIME header field at the beginning of any Web
transmission. Clients use the ​content type​ or ​media
type​ header to select an appropriate viewer application for
the type of data indicated. Browsers typically contain GIF
and JPEG image viewers.

IMAP(​Internet Message Access Protocol )​:- A​nother protocol used by

clients to download email is ​IMAP​. There are various
versions of IMAP as well, IMAP4 being the latest one.
IMAP supports both on-line and off-line modes of
operation. Email clients using IMAP generally leave
messages on the server until the user explicitly deletes
them. This and other characteristics of IMAP operation
allow multiple e-mail clients to manage the same mailbox.
IMAP offers access to the mail store which means that
with IMAP the mail stays on the server, so as we read the
mail it’s not copied to the local system. Clients may store
local copies of the messages, but these are considered to
be a temporary cache. Remember, an e-mail client that
uses IMAP for receiving mail uses SMTP for sending mail.
IMAP uses TCP as the transport protocol on port 143.

FTP:-​The ​File Transfer Protocol​ (​FTP​) is a

standard ​network protocol​ used for the transfer
of ​computer files​ between ​a client and server​ on
a ​computer network​.

Telnet​:-​Telnet​ or Remote Terminal Emulation allows an

attached computer to act as a dumb terminal, with data
processing taking place on the TCP/IP host computer. It
provides interactive control of remote systems and is still
widely used to provide connectivity between dissimilar
systems. Telnet can also be used to test a service by the
use of HTTP commands. Note that Telnet is unencrypted.
Telnet uses TCP as the transport protocol, on port 23.