Chapter 3

E-commerce Infrastructure: The Internet,

Web, and Mobile Platform
 The Internet: Technology Background
• Internet
– Interconnected network of thousands of networks
and millions of computers
– Links businesses, educational institutions,
government agencies, and individuals
• World Wide Web (Web)
– One of the Internet’s most popular services
– Provides access to billions, possibly trillions, of
Web pages
 The Evolution of the Internet
1961–Present
• Innovation Phase, 1961–1974
– Creation of fundamental building blocks
• Institutionalization Phase, 1975–1995
– Large institutions provide funding and
legitimization
• Commercialization Phase, 1995–present
– Private corporations take over, expand Internet
backbone and local service
 The Internet:
Key Technology Concepts
• Internet defined as network that:
– Uses IP addressing
– Supports TCP/IP
– Provides services to users, in manner similar to telephone
system
• Three important concepts:
– Packet switching
– TCP/IP communications protocol
– Client/server computing
 Packet Switching
 Slices digital messages into packets
 Sends packets along different communication paths
as they become available
 Reassembles packets once they arrive at destination
 Uses routers
◦ Special purpose computers that interconnect the computer networks
that make up the Internet and route packets
◦ Routing algorithms ensure packets take the best available path toward
their destination
 Less expensive, wasteful than circuit-switching
 Packet Switching

Figure 3.3, Page 119

 TCP/IP
• Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
– Establishes connections among sending and receiving Web computers
– Handles assembly of packets at point of transmission, and reassembly
at receiving end
• Internet Protocol (IP)
– Provides the Internet’s addressing scheme
• Four TCP/IP layers
– Network interface layer
– Internet layer
– Transport layer
– Application layer
 The TCP/IP Architecture and Protocol Suite

Figure 3.4, Page 121

 Internet (IP) Addresses
• IPv4
– 32-bit number
– Four sets of numbers marked off by periods:
201.61.186.227
• Class C address: Network identified by first three sets,
computer identified by last set
• IPv6
– 128-bit addresses, able to handle up to 1
quadrillion addresses (IPv4 can handle only 4
billion)
 Routing Internet Messages: TCP/IP and Packet
Switching

Figure 3.5, Page 122

 Domain Names, DNS, and URLs
• Domain name
– IP address expressed in natural language
• Domain name system (DNS)
– Allows numeric IP addresses to be expressed in natural
language
• Uniform resource locator (URL)
– Address used by Web browser to identify location of
content on the Web
– For example: http://www.azimuth-interactive.com/flash_test
 Client/Server Computing
• Powerful personal computers (clients)
connected in network with one or more
servers
• Servers perform common functions for the
clients
– Storing files
– Software applications
– Access to printers, and so on
 The New Client:
The Mobile Platform
• Primary Internet access is now through:
– Tablets
• Supplementing PCs for mobile situations
– Smartphones
• Disruptive technology:
– Shift in processors, operating systems
• 38% of all cell phones
 Cloud Computing
Firms and individuals obtain computing power
and software over Internet
Public, private, and hybrid clouds
Radically reduces costs of:
◦ Building and operating Web sites
◦ Infrastructure, IT support
◦ Hardware, software
Risks: Organizations become dependent on
outside providers
 Other Internet Protocols and
Utility Programs
• Internet protocols
– HTTP
– E-mail: SMTP, POP3, IMAP
– FTP, Telnet, SSL/TLS
• Utility programs
– Ping
– Tracert
 The Internet Today
• Internet growth has boomed without
disruption because of:
– Client/server computing model
– Hourglass, layered architecture
• Network Technology Substrate
• Transport Services and Representation Standards
• Middleware Services
• Applications
 Internet Network Architecture
• Backbone
– High-bandwidth fiber-optic cable networks
– Private networks owned by a variety of (Network Service Provider)
NSPs
– Bandwidth: 155 Mbps–2.5 Gbps
– Built-in redundancy
• IXPs (Internet Exchange Point)
– Hubs where backbones intersect with regional and local networks, and
backbone owners connect with one another
• CANs (Campus Area Network)
– LANs operating within a single organization that leases Internet access
directly from regional or national carrier
 Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
• Provide lowest level of service to individuals,
small businesses, some institutions
• Types of service
– Narrowband (dial-up)
– Broadband
• Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
• Cable Internet
• T1 and T3
• Satellite Internet
 Intranets
• Intranet
– TCP/IP network located within a single
organization for communications and processing
– Used by private and government organizations for
internal networks
– All Internet applications can be used in private
intranets
 Who Governs the Internet?
 Organizations that influence the Internet and
monitor its operations include:
◦ Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
◦ Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)
◦ Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
◦ Internet Research Task Force (IRTF)
◦ Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG)
◦ Internet Architecture Board (IAB)
◦ Internet Society (ISOC)
◦ Internet Governance Forum (IGF)
◦ World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
◦ Internet Network Operators Groups (NOGs)
 Government Regulation and
Surveillance of the Internet
 How is it possible for any government to “control”
or censor the Web?
 Does the Chinese government, or the U.S.
government, have the right to censor content on
the Web?
 How should U.S. companies deal with governments
that want to censor content?
 What would happen to e-commerce if the existing
Web split into a different Web for each country?
Limitations of the Current Internet
• Bandwidth limitations
– Slow peak-hour service
• Quality of service limitations
– Latency
• Network architecture limitations
– Identical requests are processed individually
• Wired Internet
– Copper and expensive fiber-optic cables
 The Internet2 Project
• Consortium of 440+ institutions collaborating
to facilitate revolutionary Internet
technologies
• Primary goals:
– Create leading-edge very-high speed network for national
research community
– Enable revolutionary Internet applications
– Distributed and collaborative computing environments for
sciences, health, arts, and humanities initiatives
 The First Mile and the Last Mile
• Most significant private initiatives
– Fiber optic trunk-line bandwidth
• First mile
– Wireless Internet services
• Last mile
 Fiber Optics and the Bandwidth
Explosion in the First Mile
• “First mile”: Backbone Internet services that carry
bulk traffic over long distances
• Fiber-optic cable: hundreds of glass strands that use
light to transmit data
– Faster speeds and greater bandwidth
– Thinner, lighter cables
– Less interference
– Better data security
• Substantial investments in fiber optic by
telecommunications firms in last decade
– Enable integrated phone, broadband access, video services
 The Last Mile: Mobile Internet Access
• “Last mile”: From Internet backbone to user’s
computer, smartphone, and so on
• Two different basic types of wireless Internet
access:
– Telephone-based (mobile phones, smartphones)
– Wireless local area network (WLAN)-based
 Wireless Internet Access
Network Technologies
• Wi-Fi
– High-speed, fixed broadband wireless LAN (WLAN)
– Wireless access point (“hot spots”)
– Limited range but inexpensive
– For-profit Wi-Fi networks: Boingo, AT&T Wi-Fi Services
• WiMax
– High-speed, medium range broadband wireless metropolitan area network
• Bluetooth
– Personal connectivity between devices and to Internet
• Internet drone access
Wi-Fi Networks
 The Future Internet
• Guaranteed service levels and lower error rates
– Ability to purchase the right to move data through network at
guaranteed speed in return for higher fee

• Declining costs
• The Internet of Things (IoT)
– Objects connected via sensors/RFID to the Internet
– “Smart things”
– Interoperability, standards, and privacy concerns
 The Web
1989–1991: Web invented
◦ Tim Berners-Lee at CERN
◦ HTML, HTTP, Web server, Web browser
1993: Mosaic Web browser w/GUI
◦ Andreessen and others at NCSA
◦ Runs on Windows, Macintosh, or Unix
1994: Netscape Navigator, first commercial
Web browser
◦ Andreessen, Jim Clark
1995: Microsoft Internet Explorer
 Hypertext
• Text formatted with embedded links
– Links connect documents to one another, and to other
objects such as sound, video, or animation files
• Uses Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and
URLs to locate resources on the Web
– Example URL:
http://megacorp.com/content/features/082602.html
 Markup Languages
• Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
– Fixed set of pre-defined markup “tags” used to
format text
– Controls look and feel of Web pages
– HTML5 the newest version
• eXtensible Markup Language (XML)
– Designed to describe data and information
– Tags used are defined by user
 Web Servers and Web Clients
 Web server software
◦ Enables a computer to deliver Web pages to clients on a network that
request this service by sending an HTTP request
◦ Apache, Microsoft IIS
◦ Basic capabilities: Security services, FTP, search engine, data capture
 Web server
◦ May refer to either Web server software or physical server
◦ Specialized servers: Database servers, ad servers, and so on
 Web client
◦ Any computing device attached to the Internet that is capable of
making HTTP requests and displaying HTML pages
 Web Browsers
• Primary purpose to display Web pages
• Internet Explorer—58% of market
• Google’s Chrome—20%
– Open source
• Mozilla Firefox—15%
– Open source
• Apple’s Safari—5 %
 The Internet and Web: Features
• Features on which the foundations of
e-commerce are built:
– E-mail
– Instant messaging
– Search engines
– Online forums
– Streaming media
– Cookies
 E-mail
Most used application of the Internet
Uses series of protocols for transferring
messages with text and attachments from one
Internet user to another
Instant Messaging
Displays words typed on a computer almost
instantly, and recipients can respond
immediately in the same way
◦ Advanced IM systems include voice/video chat
 Search Engines
• Identify Web pages that match queries based
on one or more techniques
– Keyword indexes, page ranking
• Also serve as:
– Shopping tools
– Advertising vehicles (search engine marketing)
– Tool within e-commerce sites
• Outside of e-mail, most commonly used
Internet activity
How Google Works
 Online Forums
 Enable Internet users to communicate with one
another, although not in real time
 Members visit online forum to check for new posts
Streaming Media
 Enables music, video, and other large files to be sent
to users in chunks so that the file can play
uninterrupted
 Allows users to begin playing media files before file is
fully downloaded
 Cookies
• Small text files deposited by Web site on
user’s computer to store information about
user, accessed when user next visits Web site
• Can help personalize Web site experience
• Can pose privacy threat
 Web 2.0 Features and Services
• Online Social Networks
– Services that support communication among
networks of friends, peers
• Blogs
– Personal Web page of chronological entries
• Really Simple Syndication (RSS)
– Program that allows users to have digital content
automatically sent to their computers over the
Internet
 Web 2.0 Features and Services
• Podcasting
– Audio presentation stored as an audio file and
available for download from Web
• Wikis
– Allows user to easily add and edit content on Web
page
• Music and video services
– Online video viewing
– Digital video on demand
 Web 2.0 Features and Services
• Internet telephony (VoIP)
– Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) uses Internet
to transmit voice communication
• Video conferencing, video chatting, and
telepresence
• Online software and Web services
– Web apps, widgets, and gadgets
 Intelligent Personal Assistants
• Software that interacts with the user through
voice commands
• Features
– Natural language; conversational interface
– Situational awareness
– Interpret voice commands to interact with various
Web services
• Examples: Siri, Google Now
 Mobile Apps
• Use of mobile apps has exploded
– Almost 75% of online shoppers are mobile shoppers as
well
• Increased use/purchasing from tablets
• Platforms
– iPhone/iPad (iOS), Android, Blackberry
• App marketplaces
– Google Play, Apple’s App Store, RIM’s App World, Windows
Phone Marketplace