SLM - Unit 13
SLM - Unit 13
13.1 Introduction
In the previous unit we have studied operating system basics, its functions,
development of an operating system, virtual memory, operating system
mechanisms, operating system services and operating system security. In
this unit, we will study the history of internet, basics behind the internet,
various components of the internet, web browsers, web servers, Hyper Text
Transfer Protocol (HTTP), World Wide Web (WWW), internet protocol
addressing, and types of internet connection. Finally we will study how
internet works, internet security and uses of internet.
Today Internet is everywhere and is growing rapidly worldwide. In everyday
life, the internet has been called by different names such as Net and Web.
During the last few years E-mail, internet, intranet, and video conferencing,
cellular technologies have all become very popular. As long as your
computer is connected to the internet, you can communicate with anyone in
the world, who has a computer that is also connected to the internet. It is
just like using the mobile; you can always ring up a person, no matter where
the person is located. Internet is the only technology that has affected the
people irrespective of their location, language or profession. It has shrunk
the whole world and brought people closer. This technology has changed
the way in which the computers work and the way people work with
computers. It has made a commendable impact in different areas, especially
in the areas of learning, working, living and communicating.
Objectives:
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
discuss history of internet
discuss HyperText Markup Language and Uniform Resource Locator
explain web browser and web server
discuss HyperText Transfer Protocol and World Wide Web
list and explain various internet connections
describe internet protocol addressing
explain the internet security
list various uses of internet
Protocol), allows users to log onto a remote computer, list the files on that
computer, and download files from that computer.
1982: The word “Internet” is used for the first time.
1984: Domain Name System (DNS) is established, with network addresses
identified by extensions such as .com, .org, and .edu.
1988: A virus called the Internet Worm temporarily shuts down about 10%
of the world's Internet servers.
1989: The World (world.std.com) presents as the first provider of dial-up
Internet access for consumers. Tim Berners develops a new technique for
distributing information on the Internet. He calls it World Wide Web. The
Web is based on hypertext, which permits the user to connect from one
document to another at different sites on the Internet via hyperlinks
(specially programmed words, phrases, buttons, or graphics).
1994: Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark start Netscape Communications.
They introduce the Navigator browser.
2001: Wikipedia is created.
2004: Internet Worm, called MyDoom or Novarg, spreads through Internet
servers. About 1 in 12 email messages are infected. Facebook goes online
and the era of social networking begins. Mozilla unveils the Mozilla Firefox
browser.
2005: YouTube.com is launched.
2006: AOL (America Online) changes its business model, offering most
services for free and relying on advertising to generate revenue. The
Internet Governance Forum meets for the first time.
2009: The Internet marks its 40th anniversary.
2010: Facebook reaches 400 million active users.
2011: Twitter and Facebook play a large role in the Middle East revolts.
the Internet is a part of a network, even the computer which you are using at
home. Some basics behind the internet technology are seen below:
HTML – HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. HTML was
created by Tim Berners-Lee in collaboration with “Robert Caillau” while
they worked at CERN in 1989. It is a subset of Standard Generalized
Mark-Up Language (SGML). HTML is the language of Internet, using
which we can create a website. It is used to create documents on the
World Wide Web. It is simply a collection of certain keywords called
‘Tags’ that are helpful in writing the document to be displayed using a
browser on Internet.
HTML is a platform independent language that can be used on any
platform such as Windows, Linux, Macintosh, and so on. To display a
document in the web it is essential to mark-up the different elements
(headings, paragraphs, tables, and so on) of the document with the
HTML tags. To view a mark-up document, user has to open the
document in a browser. A browser understands and interprets the HTML
tags, identifies the structure of the document and makes decision about
presentation of the document.
Hyperlinks: Hyperlink is an electronic link to other text. In other words,
if you click on hypertext it will take you to other related material. Most
internet documents contain hyperlinks.
Hypermedia: Hypermedia is an electronic link to pictures, sounds,
animations and movies. Documents with links that contain information
other than text is called hypermedia.
Uniform Resource Locator: Whenever we want to access any website
we need the URL. URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. Uniform
Resource Locator is a string of characters used to represent and identify
a page of information on the World Wide Web that is used by a web
browser such as Netscape or Internet Explorer to find HTTP, FTP, telnet
and other resources on the Internet. Each URL consists of a scheme
(HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, or Gopher) and a scheme-specific string. This
string can also include a combination of a directory path, search string,
or name of the resource.
Class B Network
Class B networks are smaller than Class A networks. In Class B network,
the first two bytes are assigned to the network address, and the remaining
two bytes are used for node addresses. Format is
Network.Network.Node.Node. In this class, in IP address 130.57.30.56, the
network address is 130.57 and the node address is 30.56. With the network
address being two bytes, there would be 216 unique combinations. But
Internet designers decided that all Class B networks should start with the
binary digits 1 and 0. This leaves 14 bit positions to manipulate, and
therefore 214 or 16384 unique Class B networks. Class B network has two
bytes to use for node addresses. This is 216 minus the two patterns in the
reserved-exclusive club (all zeros and all ones), for a total of 65,534
possible node addresses for each Class B Network.
Class C Network
Class C networks are smaller than Class B networks. They can have up to
254 nodes. Network addresses range from 192.0.0.0 to 223.0.0.0. In this
case only the last zero is replaced with the node addresses. The format is
Network.Network.Network.Node. Class C network must start with the bit
pattern 110. Three bytes that is 24 bits, minus three reserved bits, leaves 21
positions to network address. Class C network can have 221 or 20, 97,152
network addresses. Each Class C network has one byte to use for node
addresses. This leads to 256 minus the two special patterns of all zeros and
all ones, for a total of 254 node addresses.
The following table provides a summary of the three classes of networks:
Self-Assessment Questions
9. Each computer connected to the Internet must have _________
address.
10. Class A network format is __________
11. In Class B network, the first four bytes are assigned to the network
address. (True/False)
Broadband Connection
Broadband Internet service is the most used form of Internet access
because of its high speed. Compared to dial-up connections, broadband
connections are much easier to set up and more reliable as signals rarely
get dropped. When you work with broadband, you do not need to set up
dialing rules. Most broadband providers give users a router or modem,
which users need to connect to the service provider. Users must also install
network adapters on their computers (unless they use USB routers)
connected to the back of the modem that provides the essential link to the
internet. In this configuration, the necessary connection is established over
the local area rather than directly to the ISP. Therefore, the local area
connection must be properly configured to gain access to the internet.
Broadband is offered in four different forms, DSL (or Digital Subscriber
Line), fiber-optic, cable, and satellite.
Direct connection Via LAN
Local Area Networks (LANs) provide Internet access to computers and
other devices in a limited area such as a home, school, computer
laboratory, or office building. Although LANs may provide high data-rates
that typically range from 10 to 1000 Mbps, but actual Internet access speed
is limited.
Wi–Fi Connection
Wi-Fi internet connectivity is also called as wireless internet connectivity. If
wireless internet connectivity is available to public then it is referred as “hot
spot”. Wi-Fi connectivity does not require any wires; rather it is a local area
network run by radio waves. A person with a laptop or notepad or mobile or
tablet can be connected to the internet using Wi-Fi. Neighbors can also
access this wireless connection that is the reason most wireless internet are
configured with password security. If the proper password is not provided,
access is denied.
While wireless Internet access is very convenient in the home, it can be
even more in the workplace. The technology for wireless is improving
continuously and there is greater security and faster data transfer speeds. In
case of wired internet, cables used to connect client machines might need
to be routed through walls, ceilings, and floors, this is one of the major
disadvantages.
One of the most popular applications for wireless Internet access is the
public hot spot. Internet cafes are one example of places where one can sit
with a laptop and sip coffee while surfing the internet, checking email, doing
research and many more activities. Cell phones and Personal Digital
Assistants (PDAs) equipped with Web browsers can also use Wi-Fi access
through public hot spots.
Self-Assessment Questions
12. ISP stands for _______________
13. ________ gives internet connection to the home.
14. Mention any two internet connection types.
15. Once you join Internet Service Provider you must choose __________
and ___________.
16. Wi-Fi internet connectivity is also called as ________________.
delivered within a reasonable time limit, messages come back to the sender
indicating the reasons for non-delivery. Mails that are returned to senders
are called bounced mails.
3. E-Commerce
Electronic Commerce or E-Commerce is a range of online business
activities that includes explaining the products and providing a mechanism
for customers to buy those products from the website. E-Commerce
includes online shopping and online purchasing.
The primary activities of electronic commerce include:
Product Search – Prospective customer searches for the desired
product with appropriate features over the internet.
Price Search – Once the customer identifies the appropriate product,
then he or she decides whether to purchase or not based on price
offerings.
Actual Purchase – once the customer has decided to purchase then he
or she makes an actual purchase over the internet.
Payments – Once the payment transaction is complete and the vendor
receives the money, the delivery of the goods takes place.
The sequential activities as seen above may end at the first or second point
if customer does not like the product or price.
4. Chatting
Chatting is an online interactive communication mechanism that allows
people to make a real time discussion with multiple people through the
internet. Chatting can be a private chat with friends or relatives or a general
chat with even unknown persons. People can chat with their relatives and
friends irrespective of their locations. Students use chatting as a means to
learn from instructors. Several companies use chatting methods for product
support as well as for technical support. Chatting is also used for
entertainment.
Earlier, chatting was purely in the form of text. People located at different
places typed their conversation through the keyboard of the computer. What
is typed by one person in the computer is displayed on the screens of others
taking part in the chat. The text based chatting became outdated and now
we have multimedia chat. Multimedia chat enables the use of different
media such as audio, video, and so on. This type of chatting enables people
to have a live conversation and they can communicate with the help of live
video through the internet by using suitable audio and video equipment. To
make voice chat, computers must be fitted with speakers and microphone.
5. Telnet to other Computers
Telnet is a user command and fundamental TCP/IP protocol for accessing
remote computers. Through Telnet, an administrator or another user can
access someone else's computer remotely. On the Web, HTTP and FTP
protocols allow you to request specific files from remote computers, but not
to actually be logged on as a user of that computer. With Telnet, you log on
as a regular user with whatever privileges you may have been granted to
the specific application and data on that computer. With telnet program, you
can connect to your computer to the remote computer. The remote
computer usually asks you to enter a user name and a password. When you
are connected to a remote computer via Telnet, you interact with that
computer as if you were directly connected to your computer.
Usually when people who are on a business trips want to read their e-mails
or they want to access data on the computer in another branch or in main
office. Telnet is the internet tool that allows you to work from your own
workstation into another computer at a different workstation. Some Telnet
requires commands to type at the prompt. In such cases, instructions
appear at the bottom of the screen telling you what to type. If the
instructions do not appear, you can often view a list of commands or
instructions by typing help at the prompt and press enter.
Self-Assessment Questions
19. Mention any two uses of internet.
20. Specify any two online search engines.
21. ______________ provides explanation about the products and also
purchase from the website.
22. Mention any two multimedia chat modes.
23. __________ is used to connect to the remote computer.
13.10 Summary
Let us recap the important points covered in the unit:
The history of internet began in 1957 when Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR) launched the first artificial earth satellite sputnik.
Sikkim Manipal University B2071 Page No.: 271
Fundamentals of Information Technology Unit 13
13.12 Answers
Self Assessment Questions
1. Hypertext Markup Language
2. Internet
3. Hyperlink
4. URL
5. Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome
6. Web servers
7. Request-Response
8. World Wide Web
9. Unique
10. Network.node.node.node
11. False
12. Internet Service Provider
13. ISP
14. Wi-Fi, broadband
15. Username and password
16. Wireless internet connectivity
17. Threats
18. Worms and malware
19. Searching of information and E-Commerce
20. Google and Yahoo
21. E-Commerce
22. Audio and Video
23. Telnet
Terminal Questions
1. HTML stands for HyperText Markup Language. HTML was created by
Tim Berners-Lee in collaboration with “Robert Caillau” while they
worked at CERN in 1989. (Refer to section 13.3)
2. Various components of internet are web browser, web server, Hyper
Text Transfer Protocol and World Wide Web. (Refer section 13.4)