INTERNET

 Internet is a communication network which bridges all the small computer networks
worldwide as a whole. Internet is based upon Internet technology, in particular World Wide Web
(WWW), to build Information System within organization or enterprise to accomplish
standardization and automation. Fundamentally, it means network computing environments
which let the users share the information through the Internet and Web browsers. Ultimately, it
allows a certain organization to build a Groupware within Web environment at low cost on top of
existing network infrastructure. By doing this, closed organization network would be
interconnected with existing worldwide Internet, which results in diverse information that
strengthens competitive advantages of the organization. Basically, it runs on top TCP/IP and
HTTP and filters out any illegal access through firewall.

Where the Internet connects people and organizations and information sources by using
common protocols to link computers on a public and open – to – all basis, an Internet uses the
same common protocols for internal company or group purposes. Instead of adopting a common
proprietary standard for its communications, information storage and presentation, etc., the
company (or any group of people or companies) decides to use Internet standards and methods.

An Internet can be defined as a network connecting an affiliated set of clients using
standard Internet protocols, esp. TCP / IP and HTTP or as an IP – based network of nodes behind
a firewall, or behind several firewalls connected by secure, possibly virtual, networks.
In general, a web is an unstructured client / server network that uses HTTP as its
transaction protocol. The World Wide Web comprises all HTTP nodes on the public Internet .An
internal web comprises all HTTP nodes on a private network, such as an organization’s LAN or
WAN. If the organization is a corporation, the internal web is also a corporate web.
If a corporate web connects two or more trading partners, it is often referred to as a
business – to – business web, or an extranet.
Note that internal webs – also known as intranets – are only logically “internal “ to an
organization. Physicall

CORE FEATURES OF THE INTERNET

There are some characteristics of the internet that gave it the potential to deliver a special
set of business benefits over and above existing IT technologies.
a) Simplicity of Use
The software that is used access the Internet (the web browser software) is comparatively
easy to learn and simple to use. It can operate on wide range of operating system platforms and
can access any mainstream application like SAP and oracle. The flexibility of the web combined
with the simplicity of the browser software has resulted in reduced staff training costs, lower
development costs and an increase in the range of users who can have access to the organization.
b) Breadth of Access
The internet is a global network like the telephone network. Its access is not conditioned
by geographic boundaries. Unlike the telephone network the cost involved in global connection
is not related to the distance involved. No other communication medium has had access to such a
large audience and range of people which increases the ability to leverage the value of
information to a scale that has never before been possible.
c) Synergy with other media
Apart from using the existing telecommunication technology, it supports or complements
other media. Internet services have demonstrated a high degree of synergy with other media as
can be seen from the following

Example:

Book, magazine and newspaper publishers have used the web to supplement and extend
their written products.
Publishers of CD-ROMs have used the web to maintain the currency of the information
they can deliver. Microsoft’s encyclopedias CD-ROM, Encarta, allows seamless interface to
information accessed from the company’s web site.
Publishers of software and games now deliver their products directly over the internet.
Entertainment companies regularly provide extracts of their films and music recordings to
promote the real products.
d) Low Relative Cost
The costs involved in conducting a process using internet technology is less than those
involving other methods. The internet access requires telephone line for most individual users.
The pricing of telephone service is one which is independent of distance. The charge for the
usage of telecommunication line is based on local charge rate irrespective of what is sent over
the line or how distant the recipient is.
e) Extension of Existing IT Resources
Resource sharing was underlying rationale for the development of the internet. It allows
the IT resources to be shared by multiple users in organizations and also with others related to
the organization such as trading partners.
f) Flexibility of Communication
The web browsers greatly extend the ways in which individuals can communicate. They
support text, voice and multimedia formats and can provide immediate access to shared
information. These facilities are available for intra-company communications as those between
individuals in separate organizations.
g) Security
Security has been a major issue in internet as any security breach can cause financial loss,
leak of sensitive information, etc. standards for secure electronic transactions have been
developed and reasonable security is in place now.
h) Speed and Availability
The transmission speed is very low and it takes a bit too long for downloading files.
However, compared to other means of communication, it is indeed fast. It also provides a wide
range of communication services that are inexpensive and relatively easy to access for millions
of users through a standard set of protocols.

An internet can be as big as a community of interest. Scale is an important factor in web
implementation, but it has no bearing on the logical association of clients that make up an
intranet. For example, a workgroup with one web server, a company with several hundred web
servers, and a professional organization with ten thousand web servers can be considered an
intranet.

INTERNET SOFTWARE

To connect to the Internet, a computer requires mainly three different kinds of software:
1. TCP/IP: TCP/IP, or Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol, is the basic
communication protocol of the Internet. It allows programs on user’s computer to communicate
properly over the internet. Usually, when you are set up with direct access to the Internet, your
computer is provided with a copy of the TCP/IP program. Similarly, every other computer that
you may send messages to or get information from also has a copy of TCP/IP.
2. Dialer Software: This software is provided by the ISP to instruct the modem to dial the
phone number, and identify the user’s machine to the access provider’s system for access to the
network.
3. Browser: To use the Internet, a web browser is essential. This program allows the user to
view the information available on the world wide web.

Internet Applications

The Internet has grown from a small project to today’s biggest network of computers.
Due to this colossal growth, the Internet has become the biggest domain of information.
Nowadays, an Internet user has access to a wide variety of services such as electronic mail, file
 transfer, vast information resources, interest group membership, interactive collaboration,
multimedia displays, real-time broadcasting, shopping opportunities, and much more. Some of
the important services provided by the Internet are briefed in the following few sections.
1. World Wide Web: (WWW)
The World Wide Web (abbreviated as the web or WWW) is one of the most popular
services available on Internet. It is a subset of the Internet and it presents text, images,
animation, video, sound and other multimedia in a single interface. This greatly enhances the
experience of the Internet surfer. Although the World Wide Web is often referred to as the
Internet, they are actually two different concepts. The Internet is the decentralized global
network of computers that transfer information and the wring that makes all this possible
whereas the web is a collection of documents or websites, that users can access using the Internet
and a web browser. The web is a part of the Internet and it refers to a system of Internet servers
that supports hypertext using a specific Internet protocol called HTTP on a single interface (web
browsers). In addition, almost every protocol type available on the Internet is accessible on the
web. This includes e-mail, FTP, Telnet, and Usenet News. Since the WWW is a subset of the
Internet, it stands to reason that the web could not exist without the Internet. However, the
Internet would still be the Internet without the web.
The operation of the web relies primarily on hypertext, as it is a means of information
retrieval. Hypertext is a document containing words that connect to other documents. These
words are called links, which the user can select. A single hypertext document can contain links
to documents and resources throughout the Internet. With the ability of the web to work with
multimedia and advanced programming languages, the World Wide Web is the fastest growing
and the most interesting part of the Internet. With video conferencing and wireless applications,
the Internet is ready to take us to the new realm of communication and information exchange.
2. Electronic Mail (e-mail)
Electronic mail, or e-mail, is a fast, easy, and inexpensive way to communicate with other
Internet users around the world. It is one of the basic and earliest services of the Internet and the
most used application on the Internet too. E-mail overcomes most of the problems and delays of
getting a physical document from one person to another. Rather, it has the dual advantage of not
only being faster but cheaper to sue as well.
3. File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
FTP or File transfer Protocol is a system of rules and a software program that enables a
user to long on to another computer and transfer information between it and his/ her computer. It
was the first service developed for the Internet so that government and educational institutions
could easily exchange files. FTP allows the user to get access to the files stored in the directory
of a remote computer that is connected to the Internet. Using FTP, one can upload and download
files from the remote computer (known as FTP servers), if he/she has access permission on the
remote machine.
4. Telnet
The word “telnet” is derived from telecommunications and network and is a protocol that
allows a user to log on to a remote computer. Telnet is also known as remote login, which
means connecting one machine to another in such a way that a person may interact with another
machine as if it is being used locally.
 5. Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
IRC or Internet Relay Chat is a service on the Internet that allows people to communicate
in real time and carry on conversations via the computer with one or more people. It provides
the user with the facility to engage in simultaneous (synchronous) online “conversation” with
other user form anywhere in the world.
6. Chatting and Instant Messaging
Chart programs allow users on the Internet to communicate with each other by typing in
real time. They are sometimes included as a feature of a website, where users can log into chat
rooms to exchange comments and information about the topics addressed on the site.
7. Internet Telephony
Internet telephone is the use of the Internet rather than the traditional telephone company
infrastructure, to exchange spoken or other telephonic information. It consists of hardware and
software that enable people to use the Internet as a transmission medium for telephone calls.
There are many Internet telephony applications available. Some, such as Cool Talk and
Net Meeting, come bundled with popular web browsers.
8. Video Conferencing
Video conferencing uses the same technology as IRC, but also provides sound and video
pictures. It enables direct face-to-face communication across networks. A video conferencing
system has to or more parties in different locations, which have the ability to communicate using
a combination of video, audio, and data. A video conference can be person to person (referred to
as “point-to-point”) or can involve more than two people (referred to as “multipoint”) and the
video conferencing terminals are often referred to as “endpoints”.
The following five elements are common to all video conferencing endpoints:

1. Camera: The camera captures live images to send across the network.
2. Visual Display: It displays the images of the people taking part in the video-conference.
3. Audio System: It includes both microphones to capture audio from the endpoint and loudspeakers to play back the audio received from other endpoints across the network connection.
4. Compression: Videos are very bandwidth-intensive and they take a long time to load. Therefore, video systems include technologies, often referred to as codes, to compress and ecompress video and audio data, allowing transmission across a network connection in near-real time.
5. User Interface and Control System: The user interface allows the users to control interactions for example, placing calls, storing and locating numbers, and adjust environment settings such as volume. The control system handles the underlying communication that takes place between endpoints.

9. Newsgroups (Usenet)
Newsgroups are international discussion groups that focus on a particular topic and helps
in gathering information about that topic. The topics discussed here cover all the fields such as
politics, computers, technology, and many more. The information or articles that make up the
“news” are written by people interested in a specific topic. These articles are posted to the
newsgroup so that others can read, reply, and comment on them.
10. Mailing Lists (List server)
The Internet is home to a large community of individuals who carry out active
discussions, organized around topic-oriented forums that are distributed via e-mail. This method
of Internet communications is known as mailing list and it enables people with similar interests
from all over the world to communicate and share information with each other.