Chapter 3

E-commerce Infrastructure
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
(HTML)
 Web site is collection of related Web pages
The Evolution of the Internet
1961–Present
 Innovation Phase, 1961–1974

 Creation of fundamental building blocks
 Packet-switching hardware, client/server computing, TCP/IP
conceptualized
 Institutionalization Phase, 1975–1995
 Large institutions provide funding and legitimization (DoD and
NSF)
 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

Packet is discrete unit into which digital message
are sliced for transmission over internet
Digital codes that indicate a source address,
destination address, sequencing information and
error control information appended in packet
Sends packets along different communication paths
as they become available
Packet Switching
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
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
 Responsible for actual delivery of packets
 Four TCP/IP layers
 Network interface layer
 Internet layer
 Transport layer
 Application layer
TCP/IP
 Network Interface Layer

 Responsible for placing packets on an receiving from
the network medium
 Internet Layer
 Responsible for addressing, packaging and routing
message on the Internet
TCP/IP
 Transport Layer
 Responsible for providing communication with
application for acknowledging and sequencing packet
to and from the application
 Application Layer
 Provides a wide variety of application with the ability to
access the services of lower layers
The TCP/IP Architecture and Protocol Suite
Internet (IP) Addresses
 IPv4
 32-bit number
 Four sets of numbers marked off by periods:
201.61.186.227
 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
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
 Client is powerful personal computer that is part of a
network; service requester
 Servers perform common functions for the clients
 Storing files
 Software applications
 Service provider
 Web is based on client/server technology
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
 Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) Protocol used for
transferring Web pages
 File Transfer Protocol (FTP) Protocol that permits users to
transfer files from the server to and from their client computer
 Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) Protocol used to send
email to a server
Utility Programs
 Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) Protocol used by the

client to retrieve mail from Internet server
 Internet Mail Access Protocol (IMAP) email protocol
that allows users to search, organize and filter their mail
prior to downloading it from the server
 Telnet Protocol that is used to allow remote login on
another computer
Utility Programs
 Secured Socket Layer A protocol that secures

communication between the client and server,
Transport and Application Layers
 Ping Utility program that allows to check the connection
between your client and server
 Tracert Utility program that allows you to follow the
path of message from sender to remote computer
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)
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 Future Internet
 Latency solutions
 diffserv (differentiated quality of service)
 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
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 %
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
 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
 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

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E-commerce Infrastructure

The Internet: Technology

 Innovation Phase, 1961–1974

Internet defined as network that:

Slices digital messages into packets

Reassembles packets once they arrive at

 Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

 Network Interface Layer

 Powerful personal computers (clients) connected in

 Primary Internet access is now through:

 Firms and individuals obtain computing power

 Post Office Protocol 3 (POP3) Protocol used by the

 Secured Socket Layer A protocol that secures

 Used by private and government organizations for

 All Internet applications can be used in private intranets

 Organizations that influence the Internet and monitor

 Guaranteed service levels and lower error rates

 Web server software

 Primary purpose to display Web pages

 Small text files deposited by Web site on user’s

 Online Social Networks

 Internet telephony (VoIP)

 Software that interacts with the user through voice

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