What is Internet

Introduction

a) What are protocol?

Protocols are simple rules created to standardize a particular network activity. They are simply some scripts that make up rules to determine a specific standard that should be used worldwide by everyone for a specific purpoes such as file transmission, authentication, verification etc.
Protocols typically do their tasks that is, they do what they are programmed for. They simply trigger when their functions is called such as transmission, validation, verification etc.
It typically, runs the script it had been coded with and follows the standard rule specified in it.
We get the necessary output of it after all which will be a standard and security protocol.

Example of protocols are

IP (Internet Protocol)
IPSec (Internet Protocol Secured)
IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6)
HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol)
MPLS (Multi Protocol Label Switched)
SMTP (Simple Mail Transmission Protocol)
POP (Post Office Protocol)
DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)
And a lot more. Maybe tons of thousands of protocols are available.

b) What is TCP/IP?

• TCP/IP is the communication protocol for communication between computers on the Internet.

• TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol.

• TCP/IP defines how electronic devices (like computers) should be connected to the Internet, and how data should be transmitted between them.

c) How does information travel through the Internet?

The Internet is based on packet-switched protocols. Information is carried in packets, which can be imagined as small parcels being passed from computer to computer. Large chunks of data are usually broken up into several smaller packets before being sent through the network. The delivery mechanism, or protocol, that is used to encode the packet ensures safe transit, and provides a way of reconstructing the data when it reaches its destination. The protocols used on the Internet are referred to as TCP/IP, standing for Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol.

As a switched network, the physical connections between computers do not matter as far as Internet traffic is concerned — the protocols ensure that guaranteed information delivery is more important than speed or use of a particular route. This means that a sequence of packets might arrive out of order, with some travelling through the net by a faster, shorter route than others. TCP/IP provides the means for your software to piece together those packets into meaningful data. The ability to take different routes through the network is a fundamental part of the original design of TCP/IP, as it allows the Internet to route around damaged areas of the network.

d) How does the connection work from home?

• Modems and routers
• Negotiating a connection

To connect from home you need several things. Apart from a computer (obviously!) you'll need a phone connection, a modem or ADSL router, and some Internet software. Things will be easier if you're using a relatively recent operation system, such as Windows Vista/XP or MacOSX, but it's possible to connect with older or more obscure systems. With a modem and the appropriate software, you can dial up another modem connected to another computer, and establish a network connection with it. Usually, this computer is linked into the Internet, and so you're online. With an ADSL modem or router, a similar procedure happens, but a filter splits the telephone line into voice and data (low and high frequencies) and your router negotiates a connection with the ADSL equipment in the telephone exchange.

Figure 1.2. ADSL Frequency Spectrum

ISP (Internet Service Provider)

a) What is ISP?

An Internet Service Provider (also known as an ISP or even as an IAP, internet access provider) is a firm that offers subscribers access to the internet. This internet service provider maintains large runs of cabling and maintains network services in order to transfer and deliver web content to those paying the subscription fee. Typically, these internet service providers focus on DSL, Cable modem, wireless, and more recently, dedicated high-speed interconnects such as T1 or fiber optic service (typically abbreviated Fios). While far less common, ISPs still offer dial up internet service, which is gradually become a phased out. All in all, there are many different types of Internet Service Providers, and within each and every internet service provider there are often varying levels of service, coverage, as well as personal customer service that comes attached with it.

b) Connecting using ISP and how to choose an ISP: Dialup, broadband or mobile?

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An ISP, or Internet Service Provider, is a company that provides you with a point of access to the Internet. When you connect to your ISP, your computer (or your own network) becomes an extension of the Internet itself whilst you remain connected.

c) Choosing a broadband provider

• Beginner's broadband. If you are just starting out, it's likely that you're looking for a package that's easy to set up, not too expensive and offers good customer support.
• Heavy-use broadband. You know you're a heavy-user if you enjoy downloading oodles of songs and movies using peer-to-peer software, or you're a big fan of online gaming. If that sounds like you, then our heavy-use packages are the ones to look out for.
• Business broadband. These packages differ from consumer deals by including extras like static/fixed-IPs, webspace and email addresses that include the name of your business as well as business-grade security.
• Mobile broadband. If you access the Internet primarily from your laptop, then mobile broadband is an option worth considering - whether to be used at home or on the go.

Mobile broadband is usually delivered through a 'dongle' (modem) that you plug into the USB slot on your laptop to access the Internet, at broadband speeds, wherever there's mobile phone coverage.

More recently MiFi dongles have arrived too, which allow you to share a single mobile broadband connection between multiple web enabled devices simultaneously.

• Family broadband. With more and more devices like laptops, tablets, TVs, set-top boxes and gaming consoles connecting to the Internet, families have specific needs that are best catered for by certain providers. Because many family members are likely to be using the same connection, the best family broadband products are often those with unlimited download allowances.

d)Measuring Bandwidth

It doesn’t matter if you are looking to find out about how much bandwidth you are using to determine if your ISP is charging you fairly, if your net connection is a bottleneck or simply because you are like me and love statistics.

Well we can use this simple bandwidth monitoring tool called Networx. If you are paying for your internet per KB or MB than you can use this application to measure bandwidth usage and shut down your network when you reach a certain level.

So in addition to all the pretty graphs and charts we also get better control over our connection. You can use Networx to see how fast your connection actually is or see how much bandwidth your kids are using downloading MP3′s.

Networx has a installer and a portable edition. I used the portable 767kb file and ran it.

You will see a system tray icon appear like the one in the above picture. You can hover over the icon to get quick statistics also like you see in the picture.

Upon right clicking the icon you will get this context menu:

All of the options are pretty self explanatory but we will run through them anyway. By clicking on the first item Show Graph you will get a screen that looks like this:

e) Who govern/regulates/controls the Internet?

• A collective free-for-all?
• A collaborative technocracy?
• A commercial communications network?

The Internet grew as a collaborative network of researchers keen to share their discoveries in a simple, accessible way. Because of this, there was no real need to regulate or control the Internet; the information was already free and was of interest only to other researchers, so it didn't need protection. But as the Internet has grown, it has become a more commercial, public entity, and some who use it now wish it to be governed and policed to prevent certain types of abuse.
However, there are various bodies that govern parts of the Internet, which we'll look at in the next few paragraphs.

f) Who owns the Internet?

There are many organizations, corporations, governments, schools, private citizens and service providers that all own pieces of the infrastructure, but there is no one body that owns it all.

No one actually owns the Internet, and no single person or organization controls the Internet in its entirety.

The Internet is more of a concept than an actual tangible entity, and it relies on a physical infrastructure that connects networks to other networks.

There are many organizations, corporations, governments, schools, private citizens and service providers that all own pieces of the infrastructure, but there is no one body that owns it all. There are, however, organizations that oversee and standardize what happens on the Internet and assign IP addresses and domain names, such as the National Science Foundation, the Internet Engineering Task Force, ICANN, InterNIC and the Internet Architecture Board.