UNDERSTANDING THE INTERNET

The word Internet evolved from the terms Inter for international and Net for network. It refers to a global
collection of interconnected networks - a network of networks.

The Internet is accessible to anyone connected to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) with a PC, a modem
and a telephone line.

A. Local Area Network (LAN)

A collection of inter-connected communication and computer equipment and resources that enable sharing and
distribution of information in an office building, warehouse or campus.
Wide Area Network (WAN)
Two or more interconnected LANs constitute a bigger network called WAN. These are geographically dispersed
LANs.
B. TCP/IP
Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol.
The standard protocol wherein computers are able to communicate with one another.
The term TCP specifies protocols on how data is broken down before transmission while IP takes care of moving
information to desired destinations.

I. INTERNET ARCHITECTURE

A. Internet Protocol (IP) Addressing

All computers (hosts) connected to the Internet must have their own unique address or
hostname. The Internet Protocol (IP) is the default protocol for routing data.
What does the number 140 . 186 . 81 . 6 mean?
Treat it in two parts: network 140.186 and host 81.6. The PC with IP number 140.186.81.6
and another with IP number 140.186.2.3 belong to the same network because they have the same
network number.
For PC (140.186.81.6) to be able to communicate with PC (140.185.1.1), a device called a
router is necessary.

B. Domain Naming System

Machines and network protocols use IP addresses in forwarding data from one location to
another. The vast majority uses a more user-friendly naming scheme called Domain Naming
System (DNS). A domain name takes care of associating a given DNS name say www.rdnus.edu.jp
to its IP address say, 182.23.1.3.
The domain/host address in alphanumeric format, like the numeric one, is a series of words
or word abbreviations separated by periods, called dot.

For example, sei.dost.gov.ph is the Internet address for the SEI division of the Department
of Science and Technology (sei.dost) of the Philippines (gov.ph).

Note the last three letters “gov” at the far right of the address. These letters, called
zones, tell what kind of organization owns that IP address.
 The three-letter code indicates the type of organization and the part just before the zone
indicates the specific organization.
If the zone is two-letters long, it is a geographical name. The two-letter specifies the
country, and the item before it is specific to that country.

An Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a company that provides Internet connection services
to the general public

A Uniform Resource Locator or URL is the standard way to give the address of any
resource on the Internet that is part of the WWW. It provides a single, standardized way of
describing almost any type of information that is available in cyberspace. A document’s
URL is its address on the Internet.

A sample URL is http://www.howstuffworks.com/computers/internet-

infrastructure.htm

http://www.howstuffworks.com/computers/internet-infrastructure.htm

Transmission Domain or Server Location within

Protocol Name: used to the server:
connect to the host specific folder in
server machine or the server where
computer where the the Web page is
data is stored stored.

NOTE: Top-level domain names include: .gov (government), .mil (military), .edu or
.ac (educational), .org or .net (organizations), .com or .biz (commercial), and
various domains for countries (.ph, .jp, .sg, .au).