THE INTERNET Notes
THE INTERNET Notes
The Internet has revolutionized many aspects of our daily lives. It has affected the way
we do business as well as the way we spend our leisure time. Count the ways you've
used the Internet recently. Perhaps you've sent electronic mail (e-mail) to a business
associate, paid a utility bill, read a newspaper from a distant city, or looked up a local
movie schedule-all by using the Internet. Or maybe you researched a medical topic,
booked a hotel reservation, chatted with a fellow Trekkie, or comparison-shopped for a
car. The Internet is a communication system that has brought a wealth of information to
our fingertips and organized it for our use.
A Brief History
The Internet has come a long way since the 1960s. The Internet today is not a simple
hierarchical structure. It is made up of many wide- and local-area networks joined by
connecting devices and switching stations. It is difficult to give an accurate
representation of the Internet because it is continually changing-new networks are being
added, existing networks are adding addresses, and networks of defunct companies are
being removed. Today most end users who want Internet connection use the services of
Internet service providers (lSPs). There are international service providers, national
service providers, regional service providers, and local service providers. The Internet
today is run by private companies, not the government. Figure 1.13 shows a conceptual
(not geographic) view of the Internet.
International Internet Service Providers:
At the top of the hierarchy are the international service providers that connect
nations together.
National Internet Service Providers:
The national Internet service providers are backbone networks created and
maintained by specialized companies. There are many national ISPs operating in North
America; some of the most well known are SprintLink, PSINet, UUNet Technology,
AGIS, and internet Mel. To provide connectivity between the end users, these backbone
networks are connected by complex switching stations (normally run by a third party)
called network access points (NAPs). Some national ISP networks are also connected to
one another by private switching stations called peering points. These normally operate
at a high data rate (up to 600 Mbps).
Regional Internet Service Providers:
Regional internet service providers or regional ISPs are smaller ISPs that are
connected to one or more national ISPs. They are at the third level of the hierarchy with
a smaller data rate. Local Internet Service Providers:
Local Internet service providers provide direct service to the end users. The local
ISPs can be connected to regional ISPs or directly to national ISPs. Most end users are
connected to the local ISPs. Note that in this sense, a local ISP can be a company that
just provides Internet services, a corporation with a network that supplies services to its
own employees, or a nonprofit organization, such as a college or a university, that
runs its own network. Each of these local ISPs can be connected to a regional or
national service provider.