By: Maahsina Chowdhury

10MRI

In this unit we will be covering:

Global

Points

network

of presence and internet exchange points

Internet

infrastructure (clients, servers, routers)

Connection

Internet

The

methods (broadband, Wi-Fi, dial up)

protocols (TCP, IP, FTP)

role of internet service providers (ISP)

and the services they offer

POP-point of presence : Allows access to internet. It contains all of the hardware which allows internet users access to the internet. An Internet Service Provider (ISP) may operate several PoPs in their area to allow good access to the internet.

Network Access Point-NAP: An interchange between networks within the

internet. It allows ISPs to interconnect with each other.

Internet Protocol-IP: The protocol is used to route information across the

internet. An individual unit of data which is carried across the network. It is made
up of a header, identifying the packet and a body which is the actual data message. It is one of the functions of the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) to organise an internet messages into packets.

Transmission control Protocol-TCP: The protocol which takes data from a

users application program and passes it to the IP for transfer across the internet.
The reverse operation is performed at the destination computer, i.e. the TCP reassembles the data (from individual packets) and forwards them to the users application program. The close relation with the IP means that the terms are usually
used in combination, i.e. TCP/IP

File transfer Protocol-FTP: A standard protocol which allows fi les to be

transferred between two computers on a TCP-based network. It is commonly used
to download programs to your computer from other servers and to upload web
pages that you have created to the server that is hosting them on the internet.

Internet Service Provider-ISP: Direct connection to the internet can be costly

so ISP provides a cost-effectiveness for people. And organisations. In the UK there
is a lot of ISPs for example, BT( British telecom), virgin media and sky.

ISP services Other than a gateway to the internet, ISP includes more services for
example, email. Many also provide web space for the development of websites,
technical support and troubleshooting.

Client: A computer which uses the services provided by the server.

Router : A piece of hardware that connects two or more networks.

In relation to the internet, data from the ISP is sent into the network
and the router then directs the data packets to the correct destinations. The router also handles data travelling in the other direction.
Routers can be described as directors of traffic for the networks.

Connecting backbone: The main connecting data routes between large networks on the internet and smaller networks in local
regions.

Client: A computer which uses the services provided by the serve

Connection
method
Wireless

Broadband

Dial-up

Description

Advantages

Disadvantages

Used by wireless-enabled
devices (computers, mobiles,
smartphones, etc.) to log in to
the internet. Wireless is exactly
what it says; there are no
wires to
connect. (See page 27.)

-Not fixed to

- Need a wire-

a stationary
computer

less hub
-Less secure than
wired connections. -slower
data transmission -speeds than
wired broadband methods.

A wired connection to a
broadband supplier. Normally the
connection is via a network
card
in the computer. Cable users
have
an Ethernet connection from
their computer to the network.

-Broadband
connections can
give
better reception and
are usually
faster than
dial-up.

- Requires a
base which is
wired in, so it
is less flexible
than wireless.

A wired connection via a

conventional telephone line,
which needs a modem to
convert signals to and from
analogue for transmission

-Can use existing telephone

circuits, which
can be useful
in some areas.

-Older technology gives poor

reception
at times.
-The conversion
from digital to
analogue signals
can cause errors.
-Tends to be
slower than other
connection methods.

-Can be used
where there is
an accessible
wireless hub.

Html: a computer language used to create web pages. You can create
HTML directly in the language itself or by using authoring software (such as
Adobe , Dreamweaver or Microsoft ) which uses templates and wizards to
create HTML code. HTML files usually have a file name with .htm or.html
as the fi le extension; for example, document.htm.

What is a hyperlink? A link from a hypertext document to another

location, activated by clicking on a highlighted word or image.

HTML uses tags telling the computer where

all the different information goes and what it
should look like.

Websites are broken down into 3 parts Head, Body and footer each has
its own tag- <Head>, <Body> and <footer>

How does search engine work?

You can find a particular webpage on a particular topic using a
search engine. Search engines for example, Google and Yahoo allow
users to enter a description of what you are looking for . The search
engine searches indexes (databases of web pages) and find the
matching items. The items or websites are often presented in rank
order, the most popular search results at the top of the list.

Search engines are commercial businesses, other companies can

pay money to improve their position in the ranking system.

URLs
Web pages are searched for using a uniform resource locator (URL) ,
which is a string of characters that identify a particular web page on
the internet. Every web page has a unique URL. URLs are made up of
three components

The protocol to be used: HTTP for a web page

and FTP for a file transfer. HTTP is the protocol
used for all data communication over the world
wide web. It is this protocol that allows us to
request web pages and download them

A path name, which identifies a particular location on that computer

A domain name specifies a particular computer

on the internet. Remember this is actually an IP
address

What

is an address book?

Within your email program, you can create a list of peoples contact
details (e.g. name, email address, company name, phone numbers).
What

are attachments?

You can send messages whilst attaching files (e.g. photos, documents,
spread sheets).
What

is meant by the term multiple recipients?

The same message can be sent to lots of people. Also you can copy people into
the email using the CC (carbon copy) field. The recipients that are entered in
this field will be visible to everyone the email is sent to. If you include a recipient on an email without wanting other people to see the email you can add
them into the BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) field.

Benefits of emailing

Drawbacks of emailing

Speed of delivery.

Spam. Viruses. Phishing scams.

Cost. Unlike the conventional mail system, there is no additional cost to the
standard broadband charges.

Privacy and security. People can hack

into your emails and read material
which should not be available.

Instant delivery on a global scale.

Internet access. The fact that both sender and recipients have to have email
accounts can be a problem.

SMTP
TCP
POP-point of presence : Allows
access to internet. It contains all
of the hardware which allows
internet users access to the
internet.

Transmission control Protocol-TCP: The protocol which takes data from a

users application program and passes it to the IP
for transfer across the internet.

VoIP
A computer system which has microphone input, speaker or headphone output an a broadband connection can be used to transmit and
receive voice communication using this system. The webcam will allow
multimedia transmission (the simultaneous transmission of video and
audio). Web meetings and conferencing can be set up, using these
facilities.
The software required to run a VoIP system consists mainly of an encoding and decoding program, also known as a coder/decoder program (codec). This program is used to digitise an analogue voice signal,
then compress it and split it into internet packets for transmission. It
then performs the reverse at the receiving end. VoIP is not only available over desktop and laptop computers, but also over many other internet devices, such as smartphones. A popular VoIP system is Skype.

PARALLEL TRANSMISSION
In parallel transmission, a number of bits of data are transmitted
simultaneously over an equal number of wires/channels. This
was rather popular in terms of connecting a printer to a computer, however now its rarely used due to its cost and limited range.

SERIAL TRANSMISSION
In serial transmission, bits of data a transmitted one at a time,
over a SINGLE wire or channel. This somewhat reduces the cost
of the cable, however it gives a rather slow rate in terms of data
transfer. It can be used of large distances.

UNIVERSAL SERIAL BUS (USB)

Is a serial transmission method in which was somewhat introduced to make many of the connections to a computer look the
same. USBs are now used in numerous devices, such as: phones,
memory sticks as well as MP3s.

BI-DIRECTIONAL DATA
The word Bi-directional data consists of several meanings within
data communication, however it is essentially about transmitting
data in both directions.
Most recently the terms has been applied to fibre optics. In current technology, light passes only in one direction, therefore it is
required you add extra fibres to the bundle to carry a signal in
the opposite direction.

Transmission
mode

Description

Simplex transmission

Sends data in one direction online

Representation

(e.g. radio broadcast

Half-duplex transmission

Allows two way communi- 1)

cation but not at the same
time
2)
Two way but not at the
same time.

Full duplex transmission

Allows two way communi- 1)

cation at the same time
2)
Two way same time

Client-side processing Is the use of scripting language to create

code on web pages which provides interactivity. Interaction takes
place within the webpage and the code is downloaded to the users
computer, when the web page is opened by the users browser.
E.g. Client interaction is a roll over ( a mouse over ) when a code is
triggered when you over the mouse over an object or a particular
part of a webpage.
Advantages

Disadvantages

Speed

Create a different version depending on

the browser thats used

Security

Computer speed: depends on the speed

of your computer

Server-side processing involves the use of scripts which reside

and are run on another computer on the internet (the web server).
Information is sent to a server that processes it to provide results in
form of a web page.
E.g. Is the submission of a search through a search engine. The
search engine matches the word or phrase against an index of website content on the web server using scripts.
Advantages

Disadvantages

Complex code may run more efficiently

Security: The exchange of data over the

network may present security risks.

The code is browser independent so

Overloading: A server needs to be able
therefore can be run on any web brows- to cope with large volumes of users.
er.

What is a database?
A system that manages data of certain things for example: Customer or products ,
thats stored in a table.

Data type
Every field in databases are set up to hold a certain type of data.
Main type of data types are: Text, Number, date/time and logical (Boolean).

Text (characters or string) - Its a sequence of letters, numbers and symbols. Someone's name would be in the text field. A memo-field is a field
that can accept multi-line text.

Number represents a numerical value. A products price or a number of

items in stock would be stored in numbers. This lets you produce are report
summing up the process of all products that you sold.

Date/ times- stores dates or a combination of date and times.

Logical (Boolean or yes/no)- a value thats either true or false. When a customer opens an account with an online company and they may ask if you
are happy to receive marketing materials. Their answer could be stored in a
logical field (true if they are happy to receive marketing information, false if
they are not.