E-Commerce

Chapter 2: Technology Infrastructure: The Internet and the World Wide Web

Objectives
In this chapter, you will learn about: The origin, growth, and current structure of the Internet How packet-switched networks are combined to form the Internet How Internet protocols and Internet addressing work The history and use of markup languages on the Web, including SGML, HTML, and XML

Objectives
How HTML tags and links work on the World Wide Web The differences among internets, intranets, and extranets Options for connecting to the Internet, including cost and bandwidth factors About Internet2 and the Semantic Web

The Internet and the World Wide Web

Computer network
Any technology that allows people to connect computers to each other

The Internet
A large system of interconnected computer networks spanning the globe

World Wide Web

A subset of computers on the Internet

Origins of the Internet

Early 1960s
U.S. Department of Defense funded research to explore creating a worldwide network

In1969, Defense Department researchers

Connected four computers into network called ARPANET

Throughout 1970s and 1980s

Academic researchers connected to ARPANET and contributed to its technological developments

New Uses for the Internet

1972
E-mail was born

Mailing list
E-mail address that forwards any message received to any user who has subscribed to the list

Usenet
Started by group of students and programmers at Duke University and the University of North Carolina

Growth of the Internet

In 1991, NSF
Eased restrictions on commercial Internet activity Began implementing plans to privatize the Internet

Network access points (NAPs)

Basis of new structure Internet

Network access providers

Sell Internet access rights directly to larger customers and indirectly to smaller firms and individuals through ISPs

Growth of the Internet

Emergence of the World Wide Web

The Web
Software that runs on computers connected to the Internet

Vannevar Bush
Speculated that engineers would eventually build a memory extension device (the Memex)

In the 1960s
Ted Nelson described a similar system called hypertext

Emergence of the World Wide Web (Continued)

Tim Berners-Lee
Developed code for hypertext server program

Hypertext server
Stores files written in hypertext markup language Lets other computers connect to it and read files

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

Includes set of codes (or tags) attached to text

Packet-Switched Networks
Local area network (LAN)
Network of computers located close together

Wide area networks (WANs)

Networks of computers connected over greater distances

Circuit
Combination of telephone lines and closed switches that connect them to each other

Packet-Switched Networks (Continued)

Circuit switching
Centrally controlled, single-connection model

Packets
Files and e-mail messages on a packetswitched network that are broken down into small pieces
Travel from computer to computer along the interconnected networks until they reach their destinations

Routing Packets
Routing computers
Computers that decide how best to forward packets

Routing algorithms
Rules contained in programs on router computers that determine the best path on which to send packet Programs apply their routing algorithms to information they have stored in routing tables

Router-based Architecture of the Internet

Internet Protocols
Protocol
Collection of rules for formatting, ordering, and error-checking data sent across a network

Rules contributing to success of Internet

Independent networks should not require any internal changes to be connected to the network Packets that do not arrive at their destinations must be retransmitted from their source network Router computers act as receive-and-forward devices No global control exists over the network

TCP/IP
TCP
Controls disassembly of a message or a file into packets before transmission over Internet Controls reassembly of packets into their original formats when they reach their destinations

IP
Specifies addressing details for each packet

IP Addressing
Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4)
Uses a 32-bit number to identify computers connected to the Internet

Base 2 (binary) number system

Used by computers to perform internal calculations

Subnetting
Use of reserved private IP addresses within LANs and WANs to provide additional address space

IP Addressing (Continued)
Private IP addresses
Series of IP numbers not permitted on packets that travel on the Internet

Network Address Translation (NAT) device

Used in subnetting to convert private IP addresses into normal IP addresses

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)

Protocol that will replace IPv4 Uses a 128-bit number for addresses

Domain Names
Sets of words assigned to specific IP addresses Top-level domain (or TLD)
Rightmost part of a domain name

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)

Responsible for managing domain names and coordinating them with IP address registrars

Top-level Domain Names

Web Page Request and Delivery Protocols

Web client computers
Run software called Web client software or Web browser software

Web server computer

Runs software called Web server software

Client/server architecture
Combination of client computers running Web client software and server computers running Web server software

Web Page Request and Delivery Protocols (Continued)

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
Set of rules for delivering Web page files over the Internet

Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

Combination of the protocol name and domain name

Allows user to locate a resource (the Web page) on another computer (the Web server)

Electronic Mail Protocols

Electronic mail (e-mail)
Must also be formatted according to common set of rules

E-mail server
Computer devoted to handling e-mail

E-mail client software

Used to read and send e-mail Example: Microsoft Outlook, Netscape Messenger

Electronic Mail Protocols (Continued)

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
Specifies format of a mail message

Post Office Protocol (POP)

POP message can tell the e-mail server to
Send mail to users computer and delete it from e-mail server Send mail to users computer and not delete it Simply ask whether new mail has arrived

Provides support for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)

Markup Languages and the Web

Text markup language
Specifies set of tags that are inserted into text

Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)

Older and complex text markup language A meta language

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

Not-for-profit group that maintains standards for the Web

Development of Markup Languages

Standard Generalized Markup Language

Offers a system of marking up documents that is independent of any software application
Nonproprietary and platform independent Offers user-defined tags

Costly to set up and maintain

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

Prevalent markup language used to create documents on the Web today HTML tags
Interpreted by Web browser and used by it to format the display of the text

HTML Links
Linear hyperlink structure
Hierarchical hyperlink structure

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) (Continued)

Scripting languages and style sheets
Most common scripting languages
JavaScript, JScript, Perl, and VBScript

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

Sets of instructions that give Web developers more control over the format of displayed pages Style sheet
Usually stored in a separate file Referenced using the HTML style tag

Extensible Markup Language (XML)

Uses paired start and stop tags Includes data management capabilities that HTML cannot provide

Differences between XML and HTML

XML is not a markup language with defined tags XML tags do not specify how text appears on a Web page

Processing a Request for an XML Page

Intranets and Extranets

Intranet
Interconnected network that does not extend beyond organization that created it

Extranet
Intranet extended to include entities outside boundaries of organization

Connects companies with suppliers, business partners, or other authorized users

Public and Private Networks

Public network
Any computer network or telecommunications network available to the public

Private network
A private, leased-line connection between two companies that physically connects their intranets

Leased line
A permanent telephone connection between two points

Virtual Private Network (VPN)

Extranet that uses public networks and their protocols IP tunneling
Effectively creates a private passageway through the public Internet

Encapsulation
Process used by VPN software

VPN software
Must be installed on the computers at both ends of the transmission

Internet Connection Options

Bandwidth
Amount of data that can travel through a communication line per unit of time

Net bandwidth
Actual speed that information travels

Symmetric connections
Provide same bandwidth in both directions

Asymmetric connections
Provide different bandwidths for each direction

Voice-Grade Telephone Connections

POTS, or plain old telephone service
Uses existing telephone lines and analog modem Provide bandwidth between 28 and 56 Kbps

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)

Connection methods do not use modem

Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)

Offers bandwidths between 128 Kbps and 256 Kbps

Broadband Connections
Operate at speeds of greater than 200 Kbps

Asymmetric digital subscriber (ADSL)

Transmission bandwidth is from 100 to 640 Kbps upstream and from 1.5 to 9 Mbps downstream

Cable modems
Provide transmission speeds between 300 Kbps and 1 Mbps

DSL
Private line with no competing traffic

Leased-Line Connections
DS0 (digital signal zero)
Telephone line designed to carry 1 digital signal

T1 line (also called a DS1)

Carries 24 DS0 lines and operates at 1.544 Mbps

Fractional T1
Provides service speeds of 128 Kbps and upward in 128-Kbps increments

T3 service (also called DS3)

Offers 44.736 Mbps

Wireless Connections
Bluetooth
Designed for personal use over short distances Low-bandwidth technology, with speeds of up to 722 Kbps Networks are called personal area networks (PANs) or piconets Consumes very little power Devices can discover each other and exchange information automatically

Wireless Ethernet (Wi-Fi or 802.11b)

Most common wireless connection technology for use on LANs Wireless access point (WAP)
Device that transmits network packets between Wi-Fi-equipped computers and other devices

Has potential bandwidth of 11 Mbps and range of about 300 feet Devices are capable of roaming

Wireless Ethernet (Wi-Fi or 802.11b) (Continued)

802.11a protocol
Capable of transmitting data at speeds up to 54 Mbps

802.11g protocol
Has 54 Mbps speed of 802.11a Compatible with 802.11b devices

802.11n
Expected to offer speeds up to 320 Mbps

Fixed-Point Wireless
One version uses system of repeaters to forward radio signal from ISP to customers Repeaters
Transmitter-receiver devices (transceivers)

Mesh Routing
Directly transmits Wi-Fi packets through hundreds, or even thousands, of short-range transceivers

Cellular Telephone Networks

Third-generation (3G) cell phones
Combine latest technologies available today

Short message service (SMS)

Protocol used to send and receive short text messages

Mobile commerce (m-commerce)

Describes the kinds of resources people might want to access using wireless devices

Internet2 and the Semantic Web

Internet2
Experimental test bed for new networking technologies

Has achieved bandwidths of 10 Gbps and more on parts of its network

Used by universities to conduct large collaborative research projects

Internet2 and the Semantic Web (Continued)

Semantic Web
Project by Tim Berners-Lee If successful
Would result in words on Web pages being tagged (using XML) with their meanings

Resource description framework (RDF)

Set of standards for XML syntax

Ontology
Set of standards that defines relationships among RDF standards and specific XML tags

Summary
TCP/IP
Protocol suite used to create and transport information packets across the Internet

POP, SMTP, and IMAP

Protocols that help manage e-mail

Languages derived from SGML

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
Extensible Markup Language (XML)

Summary
Intranets
Private internal networks

Extranet
Used when companies want to collaborate with suppliers, partners, or customers

Internet2
Experimental network built by a consortium of research universities and businesses