INTERNET AND TYPES OF NETWORKS

INTRODUCTION
A network is any collection of independent computers that exchange
information with, each other over a shared communication medium

A. NETWORKS
I. Local Area Network (LAN)
Local Area Networks or LANs are usually confined to a limited geographic area,
such as a single building or a college campus. LANs can be small, linking as few
as three computers, but can often link hundreds of computers used by
thousands of people. The development of standard networking protocols and
media has resulted in worldwide proliferation of LANs throughout business and
educational organizations.
II. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN),
Used when we consider the distance covered to be between 1 to 10km unlike
the LAN that spans within 1km.
III. Personal Area network (PAN)
It is a sort of LAN for personal use
IV. Wide Area Networks (WAN)
Often elements of a network are widely separated physically. Wide area
networking combines multiple LANs that are geographically separate. This is
accomplished by connecting the several LANs with dedicated leased lines such
as a T1 or a T3, by dial-up phone lines (both synchronous and asynchronous),
by satellite links and by data packet carrier services. WANs can be as simple as
a modem and a remote access server for employees to dial into, or it can be as
complex as hundreds of branch offices globally linked. Special muting protocols
and filters minimize the expense of sending data over vast distances.
V. Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN)
Wireless LANs, or WLANs, use radio frequency (RF) technology to transmit and
receive data over the air. This minimizes the need for wired connections.
WLANs give users mobility as they allow connection to a local area network
without having to be physically connected by a cable. This freedom means
users can access shared resources without looking for a place to plug in cables,
provided that their terminals are mobile and within the designated network
coverage area. With mobility, WLANs give flexibility and increased
productivity, appealing to both entrepreneurs and to home users. WLANs may
also enable network administrators to connect devices that may be physically
difficult to reach with a cable.

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 B. INTERNET

I. THE INTERNET ( INTERnational NETwork

More than just a technology, the Internet has become a way of life for many
people, and it has spurred a revolution of sorts for both public and private
sharing of information

Why the Internet? (Importance of internet)

The Internet is a fast, easy way to communicate. An email message can be sent
anywhere in the world to any number of people and can arrive within minutes.
Documents, pictures, sounds and video clips can be sent to anyone with
internet access anywhere in the world. Software such as shareware packages,
demos of commercial packages and games can be accessed. An enormous
range of knowledge and data useful for research can be searched for and
shared. Other advantages include News group (group on the internet that
share news with one another about matters that interest individuals which
range from commercial, business, sports, medical, etc.),
Internet teleconference (people on the net that conduct real life discussion by
typing your own contribution that others can read and reply), online training
and learning (e.g. GRE, TOEFL, etc.), e-registration (e.g. WASSCE,
NECO, JAMB, NYSC, etc.) and e-commerce/business

II. Intranet
A Secure Internet-Like Network for Organizations.
With advancements in browser-based software for the Internet, many private
organizations have implemented intranets. An intranet is a private network
utilizing Internet-type tools, but available only within that organization. For
large organizations, an intranet provides easy access to corporate information
for designated employees.

III. Extranet:
A Secure Means for Sharing Information with Partners.
While an intranet is used to disseminate confidential information within a
corporation, an extranet is commonly used by companies to share data in a
secure fashion with their business partners. Internet-type tools are used by
content providers to update the extranet. Encryption and user authentication
means are provided to protect the information, and to ensure that designated
people with the proper access privileges are allowed to view it.

IV. Web Server Addresses

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Web pages that are accessible to all on the Internet are stored on special
computers called as web server. Each web server is assigned a unique address
e.g. www.state.gov.ng

V. Domain Names
A Domain Name is the name by which an individual or organization chooses to
be known on the Internet. It is needed for email addresses and for the
names of servers connected to the Internet. Once registered it is
recognized throughout the world and cannot be used by anyone else. The
uniqueness of a domain name is crucial to the working of the Internet
because it ensures that email names and web addresses can’t be
duplicated. See the following table to see how domain names are used

Example
Domain name : City PNR
Personal name: yaya napo
User ID: Ab123
Email : [email protected]/ or [email protected]
Website server: www.city.pnr. cg
Personal web space http://www.teacher.city.pnr. cg/ab123

VI. Electronic Mail (E-mail)

This is a popular resource on the Internet for sending and receiving
information. It represents a large portion of all Internet traffic and is for many
the only Internet resource they use. It can be use for business and personal
correspondence and exchange of information. Just like normal mail, addresses
are required for the exchange of email. Everyday person who wishes to use or
receive email must have an email address. When a user applied for an email
address, an account referred to as his email address is created for him on the
email server. All email addressed to him is received into this account. Email
accounts are password protected, thus preventing other users from accessing
the mail. There are various companies or web sites that provide free email
addresses that you can use at your convenience and that allow you to access
your messages from any computer connected to the internet. Some of these
companies are Yahoo, Netscape, Hotmail, Google, etc.
The email address is of this format [email protected]: The
username is the identity of the user whose account it is. The symbol @
separates the Username and the domain name. The domain name is the
unique name given to the email server e.g. pacific.com. Domain name have

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two components. Thus pacific is the name of the Organization while com is
the type of organization (e.g. net, org, etc.). This is also referred to as the
Uniform Resource Location (URL)

VII. Browsers
A browser is a computer application that "understands" the languages (called
protocols) of the internet used to view web pages. Examples include Internet
Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Mosaic, e.t.c.
Browsers that only show textual information are called Text Based Browsers
e.g. Lynx, Alynx, edbrowse (Line-mode browser), ELinks, Emacs/W3, Net-
Tamer, w3m, and WebbIE. They make it easy to pick and follow links by
selecting appropriate highlighted text.
Graphical web browsers allow the user to just point and click to access
information. They have the capability to support hypermedia i.e. sounds,
movies, formatted text, and graphics.
The most popular of graphical browsers are Netscape Navigator, Internet
Explorer, and Mosaic. A browser is a window object made of five main sections:
Title Bar, Menu bar, Toolbar, Address bar, and the viewing area.

VIII. Web Site/Web Page

A web page is an area of text and other fancy visual effects that you see
when you get on the internet.
A web site is a group of web pages that belong to one section of the internet,
such as one person, one company, one school, or one government agency, etc

IX. Search Engines

Although the internet is highly rich with information, that information is not
always organized the way you particularly expect. When "browsing", you may
find it hard to get the particular information you want. To provide an
alternative, there are some specialized sites that can perform the search for
you, with more or less accuracy. These sites are referred to as search engines.
Some of the most popular of them are Google.com, Yahoo.com, Alexa.com,
MSN.com, Netscape.com, Altavista.com, and Search.com.

X. Downloading
Downloading is the ability to get something from the internet and put it
in your computer. By default, downloading means that you decide when to
get that thing. Unfortunately, some things get into your computer while using
the internet. And they can bother your computer.

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