Internet Protocols  «Prev  Next»
Lesson 12

Operational Protocols that govern the Internet

This module discussed the operational protocols that govern the Internet. You learned which protocols are currently in use and how they function. You should now be able to:
  1. Describe the nature and purpose of protocols
  2. Describe TCP/IP addresses and their classifications
  3. Explain the purpose of masks and subnetting
  4. Evaluate the protocols used for email
  5. Evaluate the protocols used on the Web
  6. Describe the Domain Name Service (DNS) and Internet domain names
  7. Describe the functions, components, and types of URLs

Web-based Computing

The widespread success of the World Wide Web has resulted in a large base of computer users familiar with Web techniques, powerful development tools for creating Web sites and Web pages and for linking them with other applications, protocols and standards that offer a wide and flexible variety of techniques for the collection and display of data and information.
In addition, a powerful website is already a critical component in the system strategy of most modern organizations. Much of the data provided for the website is provided by architectural components of the organization's systems that are already in place. Not surprisingly, these factors have led system designers to integrate web technology into new and existing systems, creating modern systems which take advantage of web technology to collect and present data more effectively to the users of the system.
The user of a web-based system interacts with the system using a standard Web browser, enters data into the system by filling out forms, and accesses data using web pages created by the system in a manner essentially identical to those used for the Internet. The organization's internal network, commonly called an intranet, is implemented using Web technology. To the user, integration between the intranet and the internet is relatively seamless, limited only by the security measures designed into the system. This system architecture offers a consistent and familiar interface to users. Web-enabled applications offer access to the organization's traditional applications through the Web and this technology can extend the reach of these applications to employees in other parts of the world, using the Internet as the communication channel.

Glossary

In this module, you were introduced to the following terms:
  1. Protocol: A protocol is a set of logical rules that define how computers send and receive information.
  2. User Datagram Protocol (UDP): UDP is a procotol that sends data from one program to another using Internet Protocol (IP). UDP is less reliable than TCP because it provides unverified transportation for individual messages.
  3. Subnetting: Subnetting is used when a company has more computers than can be connected to its network; it is also used as a traffic reduction mechanism.
  4. Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP): Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), now commonly referred to as VPN (Virtual Private Networking) is Microsoft's version of PPP that encapsulates packets from other protocols for transmission over an IP network.
  5. Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP): Point-to-Point protocol provides dial-up access over serial lines.
  6. Gopher: The gopher protocol is a utility that searches the Internet for data and news and presents the results in a hierarchy-based document-retrieval system.
  7. Network News Transfer Protocol (NTTP): NTTP allows your emails to discussion groups to be routed and received.
  8. Telnet: Telnet is a "terminal emulator for the Internet
  9. File Transfer Protocol (FTP): FTP is the primary protocol used to transfer files and resources on the Internet.
  10. Uniform Resource Locator (URL): URL specifies a unique address to a resource on the Internet. A resource can be a specific Web page, a document, or an image. URLs are occasionally called URIs, or Uniform Resource Identifiers.
  11. Port number: Identifies the hardware and software ports on a computer.
In the next module, you will learn about tools to help you surf the Web with success.

Domain Process - Exercise

Click the Exercise link below to test your knowledge of how a domain name travels from a node to its Web site.
Domain Process - Exercise