Internet
This is the world-wide
network of computers
accessible to anyone who
knows their Internet Protocol
(IP) address - the IP address is
a unique set of numbers (such
as 209.33.27.100) that defines
the computer's location. Most
will have accessed a computer
using a name such
ashttp://www.hcidata.com.
Before this namedcomputer can
be accessed, the name needs to
be resolved (translated) into an
IP address. To do this your
browser (for example Netscape
or Internet Explorer) will access
a Domain Name Server (DNS)
computer to lookup the name
and return an IP address - or
issue an error message to
indicate that the name was not
found. Once your browser has
the IP address it can access the
remote computer. The actual
server (the computer that
serves up the web pages) does
not reside behind a firewall - if
it did, it would be an Extranet.
It may implement security at a
directory level so that access is
via a username and password,
but otherwise all the
information is accessible. To
see typical security have a look
at a sample secure
directory - the username
is Dr and the password
is Who (both username and
password are case sensitive).
Intranet
An intranet is a private computer network that uses Internet Protocol technology to securely share any
part of an organization's information or network operating system within that organization. The term is
Intranet Extranet
This is a network that is not An Extranet is
available to the world outside actually an Intranet
of the Intranet. If the Intranet that is partially
network is connected to the accessible to
Internet, the Intranet will authorised
reside behind a firewall and, if outsiders. The actual
it allows access from the server (the
Internet, will be an Extranet. computer that
The firewall helps to control serves up the web
access between the Intranet pages) will reside
and Internet to permit access behind a firewall.
to the Intranet only to people The firewall helps to
who are members of the same control access
company or organisation. between the
Intranet and
In its simplest form, an Internet permitting
Intranet can be set up on a access to the
networked PC without any PC Intranet only to
on the network having access people who are
via the Intranet network to suitably authorised.
the Internet. The level of access
can be set to
For example, consider an different levels for
office with a few PCs and a individuals or groups
few printers all networked of outside users.
together. The network would The access can be
not be connected to the based on a
outside world. On one of the username and
drives of one of the PCs there password or an IP
would be a directory of web address (a unique
pages that comprise the set of numbers such
Intranet. Other PCs on the as 209.33.27.100
network could access this that defines the
Intranet by pointing their computer that the
browser (Netscape or Internet user is on).
Explorer) to this directory -
for example
U:\inet\index.htm.
From then onwards they
would navigate around the
Intranet in the same way as
they would get around the
Internet.
used in contrast to internet, a network between organizations, and instead refers to a network within an
organization. Sometimes the term refers only to the organization's internal website, but may be a more
extensive part of the organization's information technology infrastructure. It may host multiple private
websites and constitute an important component and focal point of internal communication and
collaboration.

Characteristics
An intranet is built from the same concepts and technology used for the Internet, such as client–
server computing and the Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP). Any of the well known Internet protocols may
be found in an intranet, such as HTTP (web services), SMTP (e-mail), and FTP(file transfer protocol).
Internet technologies are often deployed to provide modern interfaces to legacy information systems
hosting corporate data.

An intranet can be understood as a private analog of the Internet, or as a private extension of the Internet
confined to an organization. The first intranet websites and home pages began to appear in organizations
in 1996-1997. Although not officially noted, the term intranet first became common-place among early
adopters, such as universities and technology corporations, in 1992.[dubious – discuss]

Intranets have also contrasted with extranets. While intranets are generally restricted to employees of the
organization, extranets may also be accessed by customers, suppliers, or other approved parties.
[1]
Extranets extend a private network onto the Internet with special provisions for authentication,
authorization and accounting (AAA protocol).

Intranets may provide a gateway to the Internet by means of a network gateway with a firewall, shielding
the intranet from unauthorized external access. The gateway often also implements
user authentication, encryption of messages, and often virtual private network (VPN) connectivity for off-
site employees to access company information, computing resources and internal communication.

[edit]Uses

Increasingly, intranets are being used to deliver tools and applications, e.g., collaboration (to facilitate
working in groups and teleconferencing) or sophisticated corporate directories, sales and customer
relationship management tools, project management etc., to advance productivity.

Intranets are also being used as corporate culture-change platforms. For example, large numbers of
employees discussing key issues in an intranet forum application could lead to new ideas in
management, productivity, quality, and other corporate issues.

In large intranets, website traffic is often similar to public website traffic and can be better understood by
using web metrics software to track overall activity. User surveys also improve intranet website
effectiveness. Larger businesses allow users within their intranet to access public internet through firewall
servers. They have the ability to screen messages coming and going keeping security intact.

When part of an intranet is made accessible to customers and others outside the business, that part
becomes part of an extranet. Businesses can send private messages through the public network, using
special encryption/decryption and other security safeguards to connect one part of their intranet to
another.

Intranet user-experience, editorial, and technology teams work together to produce in-house sites. Most
commonly, intranets are managed by the communications, HR or CIO departments of large
organizations, or some combination of these.

Because of the scope and variety of content and the number of system interfaces, intranets of many
organizations are much more complex than their respective public websites. Intranets and their use are
growing rapidly. According to the Intranet design annual 2007 from Nielsen Norman Group, the number of
pages on participants' intranets averaged 200,000 over the years 2001 to 2003 and has grown to an
average of 6 million pages over 2005–2007.[2]

[edit]Benefits

 Workforce productivity: Intranets can help users to locate and view information faster and use
applications relevant to their roles and responsibilities. With the help of a web browser interface,
users can access data held in any database the organization wants to make available, anytime and -
subject to security provisions - from anywhere within the company workstations, increasing
employees' ability to perform their jobs faster, more accurately, and with confidence that they have
the right information. It also helps to improve the services provided to the users.
 Time: Intranets allow organizations to distribute information to employees on an as-needed basis;
Employees may link to relevant information at their convenience, rather than being distracted
indiscriminately by electronic mail.
 Communication: Intranets can serve as powerful tools for communication within an organization,
vertically and horizontally. From a communications standpoint, intranets are useful to communicate
strategic initiatives that have a global reach throughout the organization. The type of information that
can easily be conveyed is the purpose of the initiative and what the initiative is aiming to achieve, who
is driving the initiative, results achieved to date, and who to speak to for more information. By
providing this information on the intranet, staff have the opportunity to keep up-to-date with the
strategic focus of the organization. Some examples of communication would be chat, email, and or
blogs. A great real world example of where an intranet helped a company communicate is when
Nestle had a number of food processing plants in Scandinavia. Their central support system had to
deal with a number of queries every day.[3] When Nestle decided to invest in an intranet, they quickly
realized the savings. McGovern says the savings from the reduction in query calls was substantially
greater than the investment in the intranet.
 Web publishing allows cumbersome corporate knowledge to be maintained and easily accessed
throughout the company usinghypermedia and Web technologies. Examples include: employee
manuals, benefits documents, company policies, business standards, newsfeeds, and even training,
can be accessed using common Internet standards (Acrobat files, Flash files, CGI applications).
Because each business unit can update the online copy of a document, the most recent version is
usually available to employees using the intranet.
 Business operations and management: Intranets are also being used as a platform for
developing and deploying applications to support business operations and decisions across the
internetworked enterprise.
 Cost-effective: Users can view information and data via web-browser rather than maintaining
physical documents such as procedure manuals, internal phone list and requisition forms. This can
potentially save the business money on printing, duplicating documents, and the environment as well
as document maintenance overhead. For example, Peoplesoft "derived significant cost savings by
shifting HR processes to the intranet".[3] McGovern goes on to say the manual cost of enrolling in
benefits was found to be USD109.48 per enrollment. "Shifting this process to the intranet reduced the
cost per enrollment to $21.79; a saving of 80 percent". Another company that saved money on
expense reports was Cisco. "In 1996, Cisco processed 54,000 reports and the amount of dollars
processed was USD19 million".[3]
 Enhance collaboration: Information is easily accessible by all authorised users, which enables
teamwork.
 Cross-platform capability: Standards-compliant web browsers are available for Windows, Mac,
and UNIX.
 Built for one audience: Many companies dictate computer specifications which, in turn, may
allow Intranet developers to write applications that only have to work on one browser (no cross-
browser compatibility issues). Being able to specifically address your "viewer" is a great advantage.
Since Intranets are user-specific (requiring database/network authentication prior to access), you
know exactly who you are interfacing with and can personalize your Intranet based on role (job title,
department) or individual ("Congratulations Jane, on your 3rd year with our company!").
 Promote common corporate culture: Every user has the ability to view the same information
within the Intranet.
  Immediate updates: When dealing with the public in any capacity, laws, specifications, and
parameters can change. Intranets make it possible to provide your audience with "live" changes so
they are kept up-to-date, which can limit a company's liability.
 Supports a distributed computing architecture: The intranet can also be linked to a
company’s management information system, for example a time keeping system.

World Wide Web

The World Wide Web, abbreviated as WWW or W3 and commonly known as the Web, is asystem of
interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. With a web browser, one can view web
pages that may contain text, images, videos, and other multimedia and navigate between them
via hyperlinks. Using concepts from earlier hypertext systems, English engineer and computer
scientist Sir Tim Berners-Lee, now the Director of the World Wide Web Consortium, wrote a proposal in
March 1989 for what would eventually become the World Wide Web.[1] At CERN in Geneva, Switzerland,
Berners-Lee and Belgian computer scientist Robert Cailliau proposed in 1990 to use "HyperText ... to link
and access information of various kinds as a web of nodes in which the user can browse at will",[2] and
publicly introduced the project in December.[3]

"The World-Wide Web was developed to be a pool of human knowledge, and human culture, which would
allow collaborators in remote sites to share their ideas and all aspects of a common project."[4]

Function
The terms Internet and World Wide Web are often used in every-day speech without much distinction.
However, the Internet and the World Wide Web are not one and the same. The Internet is a global system
of interconnected computer networks. In contrast, the Web is one of the services that runs on the
Internet. It is a collection of interconnected documents and other resources, linked by hyperlinks and
URLs. In short, the Web is an application running on the Internet.[22]

Viewing a web
page on the World Wide Web normally begins either by typing the URL of the page into
a web browser, or by following ahyperlink to that page or resource. The web browser then initiates a
series of communication messages, behind the scenes, in order to fetch and display it. As an example,
consider the Wikipedia page for this article with the
URLhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Wide_Web .
First, the browser resolves the server-name portion of the URL (en.wikipedia.org) into an Internet
Protocol address using the global, distributed Internet database known as the Domain Name
System (DNS); this lookup returns an IP address such as 208.80.152.2. The browser then requests the
resource by sending an HTTP request across the Internet to the computer at that particular address. It
makes the request to a particular application port in the underlying Internet Protocol Suite so that the
computer receiving the request can distinguish an HTTP request from other network protocols such as e-
mail delivery; the HTTP protocol normally uses port 80. The content of the HTTP request can be as
simple as the two lines of text

GET /wiki/World_Wide_Web HTTP/1.1

Host: en.wikipedia.org

The computer receiving the HTTP request delivers it to Web server software listening for requests on
port 80. If the web server can fulfill the request it sends an HTTP response back to the browser indicating
success, which can be as simple as

HTTP/1.0 200 OK
Content-Type: text/html; charset=UTF-8

followed by the content of the requested page. The Hypertext Markup Language for a basic web page
looks like

<html>
<head>
<title>World Wide Web - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia</title>
</head>
<body>
<p>The <b>World Wide Web</b>, abbreviated as <b>WWW</b> and commonly
known ...</p>
</body>
</html>

The web browser parses the HTML, interpreting the markup (<title>, <b> for bold, and such) that
surrounds the words in order to draw that text on the screen.

Many web pages consist of more elaborate HTML which references the URLs of other resources such as
images, other embedded media,scripts that affect page behavior, and Cascading Style Sheets that
affect page layout. A browser that handles complex HTML will make additional HTTP requests to the web
server for these other Internet media types. As it receives their content from the web server, the
browser progressively renders the page onto the screen as specified by its HTML and these additional
resources.
E-mail
The abbreviated form of an Electronic mail is 'E-mail'. E-mail is a system of creating, sending and storing
textual data in digital form over a network. Earlier, the e-mail system was based on Simple Mail Transfer
Protocol (SMTP) mechanism, a protocol used in sending the e-mails from one server to another. Today's
e-mail technology uses the store-and-forward model. In this model, the users sends and receives
information on their own computer terminal. However, the computer is used only for connecting to the e-
mail architecture. The creation, transmission and storage of e-mail takes place, only when the connection
with this e-mail architecture is established.

E-mail is one of the many technological developments that has influenced our lives. It has changed the
medium of communication. So, it becomes necessary for us to check out the benefits and harmful effects
of this popular tool used on the Internet.

Advantages of Email
The benefits of e-mail are huge in number.

• Easy to use: E-mail frees us from the tedious task of managing data of daily use. It helps us to
manage our contacts, send mails quickly, maintain our mail history, store the required
information, etc.
• Speed: The e-mail is delivered instantly, anywhere across the globe. No other service matches
the e-mail in terms of speed.
• Easy to prioritize: Since the mails have subject lines, it is easy to prioritize them and ignore
unwanted mails.
• Reliable and secure: Constant efforts are being taken to improve the security in electronic mails.
Thus making it one of the secured ways of communication.
• Informal and conversational: The language used in e-mails is generally simple and thus makes
the communication informal. Sending and receiving e-mails takes less time, so it can be used as
a tool for interaction.
• Easier for reference: When one needs to reply to a mail, there is a provision in the mailing system
to attach the previous mails as references. This refreshes the recipient's knowledge, on what he
is reading.
• Automated e-mails: It is possible to send automated e-mails using special programs like
the autoresponders. The autoresponders reply back to the sender with generalized pre-written text
messages.
• Environment friendly: Postal mails use paper as a medium to send letters. Electronic mail thus,
saves a lot of trees from being axed. It also saves fuel needed in transportation.
• Use of graphics: Colorful greeting cards and interesting pictures can be sent through e-mails.
This adds value to the e-mail service.
• Advertising tool: Many individuals and companies are using e-mails to advertise their products,
services, etc.

Disadvantages of Email
The e-mails, though beneficial in our day-to-day life, has got its own drawbacks that are off late coming to
the fore.

• Viruses: These are computer programs having the potential to harm a computer system. These
programs copy themselves and further infect the computer. The recipient needs to scan the
mails, as viruses are transmitted through them and have the potential to harm computer systems.
 • Spam: E-mails when used to send unsolicited messages and unwanted advertisements create
nuisance and is termed as Spam. Checking and deleting these unwanted mails can
unnecessarily consume a lot of time, and it has become necessary to block or filter the unwanted
e-mails by means of spam filters. Spamming includes, sending hoax e-mails. E-mail spoofing is
another common practice, used for spamming. Spoofing involves deceiving the recipient by
altering the e-mail headers or the addresses from which the mail is sent.
• Hacking: The act of breaking into computer security is termed as hacking. After the e-mail is sent
and before it is received by the desired recipient, it "bounces" between servers located in different
parts of the world. Hence, the e-mail can be hacked by a professional hacker.
• Misinterpretation: One has to be careful while posting any kind of content through an e-mail. If
typed in a hurry, the matter could be misinterpreted.
• Lengthy mails: If the mail is too long and not properly presented the reader may lose interest in
reading it.
• Not suitable for business: Since the content posted via e-mails is considered informal, there is a
chance of business documents going unnoticed. Thus, urgent transactions and especially those
requiring signatures are not managed through e-mails.
• Crowded inbox: Over a period of time, the e-mail inbox may get crowded with mails. It becomes
difficult for the user to manage such a huge chunk of mails.
• Need to check the inbox regularly: In order to be updated, one has to check his e-mail account
regularly.

Every new technology enters the social world with its share of benefits and drawbacks. Different people
interpret and utilize it in different ways. In order to make the most of the available technology, users
should try to understand both, the positive and negative sides of the tool they use. No technology can be
totally perfect!

Network Topology

Diagram of different network topologies.

Network topology is the layout pattern of interconnections of the various elements (links, nodes, etc.) of
a computer network.[1][2] Network topologies may be physical or logical. Physical topology means the
physical design of a network including the devices, location and cable installation. Logical topology refers
to how data is actually transferred in a network as opposed to its physical design. In general physical
topology relates to a core network whereas logical topology relates to basic network.
Topology can be considered as a virtual shape or structure of a network. This shape does not correspond
to the actual physical design of the devices on the computer network. The computers on a home network
can be arranged in a circle but it does not necessarily mean that it represents a ring topology.

Any particular network topology is determined only by the graphical mapping of the configuration of
physical and/or logical connections between nodes. The study of network topology uses graph theory.
Distances between nodes, physical interconnections, transmission rates, and/or signal types may differ in
two networks and yet their topologies may be identical.

A local area network (LAN) is one example of a network that exhibits both a physical topology and a
logical topology. Any given node in the LAN has one or more links to one or more nodes in the network
and the mapping of these links and nodes in a graph results in a geometric shape that may be used to
describe the physical topology of the network. Likewise, the mapping of the data flow between the nodes
in the network determines the logical topology of the network. The physical and logical topologies may or
may not be identical in any particular network

Basic topology types

The study of network topology recognizes seven basic topologies: [3]

 Point-to-point topology
 Bus (point-to-multipoint) topology
 Star topology
 Ring topology
 Tree topology
 Mesh topology
 Hybrid topology

Point-to-point

The simplest topology is a permanent link between two endpoints (the line in the illustration above).
Switched point-to-point topologies are the basic model of conventional telephony. The value of a
permanent point-to-point network is the value of guaranteed, or nearly so, communications between the
two endpoints. The value of an on-demand point-to-point connection is proportional to the number of
potential pairs of subscribers, and has been expressed as Metcalfe's Law.
Bus
Main article: Bus network

Bus network topology

In local area networks where bus topology is used, each machine is connected to a single cable.
Each computer or server is connected to the single bus cable through some kind of connector. A
terminator is required at each end of the bus cable to prevent the signal from bouncing back and
forth on the bus cable. A signal from the source travels in both directions to all machines
connected on the bus cable until it finds the MAC address or IP address on the network that is the
intended recipient. If the machine address does not match the intended address for the data, the
machine ignores the data. Alternatively, if the data does match the machine address, the data is
accepted. Since the bus topology consists of only one wire, it is rather inexpensive to implement
when compared to other topologies. However, the low cost of implementing the technology is
offset by the high cost of managing the network. Additionally, since only one cable is utilized, it
can be the single point of failure. If the network cable breaks, the entire network will be down.

Star
Main article: Star network
Star network topology

In local area networks with a star topology, each network host is connected to a central hub. In
contrast to the bus topology, the star topology connects each node to the hub with a point-to-point
connection. All traffic that traverses the network passes through the central hub. The hub acts as
a signal booster or repeater. The star topology is considered the easiest topology to design and
implement. An advantage of the star topology is the simplicity of adding additional nodes. The
primary disadvantage of the star topology is that the hub represents a single point of failure.

Ring
Main article: Ring network

Ring network topology

 A network topology that is set up in a circular fashion in which data travels around the ring in one
direction and each device on the right acts as a repeater to keep the signal strong as it travels.
Each device incorporates a receiver for the incoming signal and a transmitter to send the data on
to the next device in the ring. The network is dependent on the ability of the signal to travel
around the ring. [5]
[edit]Mesh
Main article: Mesh networking

The value of fully meshed networks is proportional to the exponent of the number of subscribers,
assuming that communicating groups of any two endpoints, up to and including all the endpoints, is
approximated by Reed's Law.

Fully connected mesh topology

The number of connections in a full mesh = n(n - 1) / 2

Tree

Tree network topology

Also known as a hierarchy network.

The type of network topology in which a central 'root' node (the top level of the hierarchy) is connected to
one or more other nodes that are one level lower in the hierarchy (i.e., the second level) with a point-to-
point link between each of the second level nodes and the top level central 'root' node, while each of the
second level nodes that are connected to the top level central 'root' node will also have one or more other
nodes that are one level lower in the hierarchy (i.e., the third level) connected to it, also with a point-to-
point link, the top level central 'root' node being the only node that has no other node above it in the
hierarchy (The hierarchy of the tree is symmetrical.) Each node in the network having a specific fixed
number, of nodes connected to it at the next lower level in the hierarchy, the number, being referred to as
the 'branching factor' of the hierarchical tree.This tree has individual peripheral nodes.

Hybrids
Hybrid networks use a combination of any two or more topologies in such a way that the resulting network
does not exhibit one of the standard topologies (e.g., bus, star, ring, etc.). For example, a tree network
connected to a tree network is still a tree network, but two star networks connected together exhibit a
hybrid network topology. A hybrid topology is always produced when two different basic network
topologies are connected. Two common examples for Hybrid network are: star ring network and star bus
network

 A Star ring network consists of two or more star topologies connected using a multistation
access unit (MAU) as a centralized hub.
 A Star Bus network consists of two or more star topologies connected using a bus trunk (the bus
trunk serves as the network's backbone).