TC 201

Module 7

The Internet

Module Overview
Brief history
The internet & the PSTN
Internet protocols (TCP, UDP, IP)
ISPs & the architecture of the internet
Peering
Addressing, the DNS & the World Wide Web
Search engines
Other internet applications
2

Module Overview
Brief history
The internet & the PSTN
Internet protocols (TCP, UDP, IP)
ISPs & the architecture of the internet
Peering
Addressing, the DNS & the World Wide Web
Search engines
Other internet applications
3

Module Overview
Brief history
The internet & the PSTN
Internet protocols (TCP, UDP, IP)
ISPs & the architecture of the internet
Peering
Addressing, the DNS & the World Wide Web
Search engines
Other internet applications
4

Module Overview
Brief history
The internet & the PSTN
Internet protocols (TCP, UDP, IP)
ISPs & the architecture of the internet
Peering
Addressing, the DNS & the World Wide Web
Search engines
Other internet applications
5

What is The Internet?

A global network of
data networks
Each run separately by

Corporations

Governments

Educational institutions

Non-profit organizations

Interconnected by
a standard suite of
protocols TCP/IP

A Brief History
ARPANET (1969) worlds 1st operational packet-switched
network motivated by 2 ideas:

To build a network with no single point of failure

To create a network that would enable ARPA-sponsored

researchers to share computer resources

Milestones

Email created (1971)

IP created (1973) open-architecture network to allow

different types of computer networks to communicate

TCP/IP required on ARPANET (1980)

DNS created (1984)

Funded by NSF (1986) name changed to NSFNET

(1992) NSFNET backbone converted from T-1 to T-3
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A Brief History
Mosaic developed (1992) 1st practical web browser
Internet commercialized (1995) NSFNET dissolved
Currently, administration of various aspects of the internet
shared among several non-profit organizations:

Internet Society (ISOC; www.isoc.org) -- focuses on standards,

education & policy

Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF; www.itef.org) -- oversees

organizational & coordinating tasks

Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA; www.iana.org) -currently operated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names & Numbers (ICANN; www.icann.org)

Number Resource Organization (NRO; www.nro.org) -- 5 regional

internet registries (RIRs) handle registration of IP addresses
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What Is The Internet?

A network of networks formed by interconnecting
computers (hosts) on various networks so that they can
communicate
A globally distributed computer system

Hardware physical infrastructure (links & nodes)

Software based on protocols that define how data are

handled
A worldwide collection of networks, routers, gateways,
servers & clients linked by a common set of protocols
(TCP/IP)

Note: it is not the same thing as the World Wide Web

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The Internet & the PSTN

The internet rides on the PSTN
PSTN circuits are used to interconnect internet routers
outside of LANs, most links in computer networks are
PSTN
Routers move data by relaying packets from one
computer / network to another
Routers work at the network layer (Layer 3 of the OSI
model)
Routers can share information with one another to bypass
slow or malfunctioning connections
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The Internet & the PSTN

Neither the PSTN nor the internet was originally structured
for todays demands
The PSTN was designed for circuit-switched, lowbandwidth (4kHz) voice communication
The internet was initially designed for bursty, low-speed
(56 or 64kbps) data traffic
Over the years, the PSTN developed extensive & robust
systems for provisioning, billing & network management
The internet is a world-wide infrastructure of servers &
clients, routers & links but lacking the robust QoS &
management systems of the PSTN
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Internet Protocols
Every computer on the internet has a unique (IP) address
Packet (or datagram) refers to the combination of payload
(content of the message), the TCP/UDP information & the
IP addresses
There are many different internet protocols, but for the
moment, focus on these:

IP (internet protocol)

TCP (transmission control protocol)

UDP (user datagram protocol)

Also, remember:
X.25
ISDN
Frame Relay
ATM

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How the Stacks Stack Up

TCP/IP

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TCP & UDP

TCP (transmission control protocol)

Between the application & the IP layer divides the payload

data into packets & gives each packet a sequence number
(for correct reassembly at destination)

Also assigns port number on host IP address + port # =

socket

Responsible for virtual circuit set-up, acknowledgements, flow

control & retransmission of lost or damaged data end-toend, connection-oriented, reliable, virtual-circuit service

UDP (user datagram protocol)

Like TCP, a transport-layer protocol

Does not request retransmissions nor provide for error

correction or sequenced packet delivery minimizes delay,
but quality might suffer generally okay for voice or
streaming video

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IP

(internet protocol)

Handles forwarding / transport of packets

like an envelope in the postal service
connectionless; datagram-oriented (remember,
a datagram is a discrete, standalone unit of data
a packet)

Best-effort
no guarantees of delivery, no sequencing, no error
detection & correction
IP packets currently standardized into 1,500-byte chunks
efficiently fit inside typical 1,536-byte Ethernet frame
20 bytes

IP header

20 bytes

TCP header

data from application layer

Complete 1,500-byte
packet
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Another Perspective
Relationships among TCP, UDP & IP

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Popularity of TCP/IP
TCP/IP is the darling of the networking world for several reasons.

Provides a common internetworking paradigm

Supports many IP routing protocols
Supports different transport protocols
Supports many link layers (data link agnostic)

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End of Part 1

19

TC 201
Module 7

The Internet
Part 2

Module Overview
Brief history
The internet & the PSTN
Internet protocols (TCP, UDP, IP)
ISPs & the architecture of the internet
Peering
Addressing, the DNS & the World Wide Web
Search engines
Other internet applications
21

The Architecture of the

Internet
A network of networks formed by interconnecting
computers (hosts) on various networks so that they can
communicate
Hosts

Host a computer with an IP address

Deal with application & transport layers

Examine the TCP field to check for errors or lost packets &
request retransmission if necessary

Networks (routers, IP switches & transmission systems)

Act on the IP & data-link layers

Routers examine the IP fields to determine appropriate

routing

Organized into tiers

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Network Tiers
Tier 1 a network that can reach every other network on
the internet without having to purchase transit
assume that traffic will be more or less equal in both
directions
Tier 2 networks that might peer with some other
networks, but need to purchase transit from at least some
networks in order to have global reach
Tier 3 a network provider (ISP) that must purchase
transit from other networks merely to reach the internet
(i.e., owns none of its own network facilities)
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Network Tiers

Wikipedia
24

ISP Hierarchy
Can be scaled up to
OC (optical carrier)

Today most often called

IXP (interexchange point)

Point of presence cable

head end or telco end office

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Evolution of ISP POPs

Early internet point-of-presence (POP) architecture was
very simple:

56 or 64kbps access lines came in to (terminated on) access

ports on a router

T-1 trunks connected routers to higher level ISP routers

Today, local-loop modernization is providing broadband

access via DSL & cable modems additional devices
required to terminate these lines on ISP routers
ISP POPs now house a wide range of servers

Network management systems to administer passwords & to

monitor & control network elements

Servers to provide services to users (e.g., email, web hosting,

newsgroups, etc.)
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Another Look at the Hierarchy

Wikipedia
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And One More Perspective

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Peering
The voluntary interconnection of administratively separate
Internet networks for the purpose of exchanging traffic
Requires physical interconnection & exchange of data
internet exchange point (IXP)
(sometimes referred to as Network Access Point, or NAP)

Business relationship

Initially did not involve financial compensation exchanged

traffic for mutual benefit (same amount in both directions)

Now often involves payment (settlements) based on relative

value transit: when an ISP pays a network operator or other
ISP for access to the internet

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ISP Hierarchy & Peering

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Challenges
Ever increasing demand for bandwidth bottlenecks at
critical points

ISP level

At Internet eXchange Points (IXPs)

At the backbone level

ISPs have little incentive to offer individual QoS

Too expensive (technically possible economically

feasible)

Little control over others networks

Can prioritize streams with CoS (class of service), but

guaranteeing QoS involves much stricter standards

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End of Part 2

32

TC 201
Module 7

The Internet
Part 3

Module Overview
Brief history
The internet & the PSTN
Internet protocols (TCP, UDP, IP)
ISPs & the architecture of the internet
Peering
Addressing, the DNS & the World Wide Web
Search engines
Other internet applications
34

IP Addressing
Needed for getting data from one point to another
Similar to numbering in the PSTN (each phone identified
by a unique number), a unique IP address identifies each
device (terminal, host, etc.) on the internet
NICs & MAC

NICs (network interface cards)

connect LAN devices to transmission
media; unique address associated with each NIC

MAC (Media Access Control) part of the OSI data-link layer;

every NIC has a unique MAC address (assigned at time of
manufacture) that uniquely identifies the device
48-bit address space
248 (281,474,976,710,656) possible addresses
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IPv4 Addressing
IP acts as the formal addressing mechanism for all
internet messaging
Each host is assigned a unique 32-bit address (IP
address)
232 distinctive addresses (more than 4 billion)

Placed in the headers of packets

Indicates which network the host is a member of

IP address actually refers to an interface on the host,

rather than a computer, per se a host can have several
IP addresses if it has several interfaces
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IPv4 Addressing
IP addresses are numeric

Address notation: xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (compare to NPA-NXXXXX)

Each xxx is a decimal number, ranging from 0 to 255 (8

bits)

Each of the four numbers (i.e., set of xxx) is referred to as an

octet 4 x 8 = 32 bits

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Classes of IPv4 Addresses

Class A IP addresses with a first octet from 1 to 126;
used for very large networks, such as a major
international company or large university
Class B IP addresses with a first octet from 128 to 191;
used for medium-sized networks, such as a small college
campus
Class C IP addresses with a first octet from 192 to 223;
used for small- to mid-sized businesses
Class D and E used mostly for engineering &
experimental
Broadcast messages intended for all computers on a
network use the IP address 255.255.255.255
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Classes of IPv4 Addresses

Loopback IP address 127.0.0.1;
used by a host computer to send
a message back to itself; used
mainly for troubleshooting &
network testing

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Classes of IPv4 Addresses

Note: the more octets

used for the network ID,
the fewer available for
hosts on that network

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CIDR & Subnetting

IPv4 address classes (A, B, C, D, E) have been replaced by:
Classless Inter-Domain Routing (CIDR)

Method of getting more flexibility (more addresses) out of a

32-bit addressing scheme

Large ISPs allocated large blocks of addresses, which they can

then assign to smaller ISPs or directly to organizations

CIDR masking determines how many hosts each network can

accommodate

Subnetting subdivision of a CIDR block into smaller

blocks

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Domain Name System (DNS)

A set of protocols & databases that translate between
numeric IP addresses & host names
Example: www.msu.edu rather than 35.8.10.140
(or worse: 00100011.0000100.00001010.10001100)

Thousands of domain name resolvers (computers with

translation tables) located within ISP & institutional networks
Top-level domains:

7 generic

+11 additional

.com .ml
.gov .net
.edu .int
.org

.aero .info .pro

.arpa .job .root
.biz .coop .name
.museum .travel

also, country codes (e.g., .us, .ca, .mx, .fr, .uk, .de)
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Domain Name System

Administered by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned
Names & Numbers) now many companies operate
registries (i.e., assign domain names to users)
Domain names are easier to remember than IP addresses
(numbers), but need to be translated to numbers for
routing

Distributed database structure

Domain name servers store the DNS database translate

domain & host names into associated IP addresses

Each domain (e.g., msu.edu) manages its own internal

service

Redundant multiple servers handling the same addresses

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URL

basis for the web

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The World Wide Web

Wikipedia

Similar to the way in which the internet rides on the PSTN (relies
on the PSTN for much of its infrastructure), the WWW rides on the
internet (relies on the protocols, routers & links of the internet)

Client-server model data / applications on a server; client software

on users computer requests data / application from server

HTML hypertext markup language (to create web pages)

HTTP hypertext transfer protocol (to transmit pages)

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IPv6 Addressing
IPv4 allows for only 4.3 billion addresses will run out
any time now CIDR is a stop-gap
IPv6 128-bit address 2128 addresses

340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456

32 IP addresses for every square inch of land on earth!

64-bit network prefix + 64-bit host address

Other improvements

Special handling of packets can be requested for different

services (e.g., voice & video)

Better security through encryption & authentication services

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IPv6 Address Format

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IPv6
More benefits

Improved routing efficiency (streamlined header format)

Enhanced QoS capabilities (flow label to support real-time

traffic)

Runs well in high-performance networks (e.g., Gigabit

Ethernet)

Efficient for low-bandwidth networks (e.g., mobile wireless)

Evolutionary installed as a normal software upgrade in

devices

Transition interoperable with IPv4

Both IPv4 & IPv6 on same host

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End of Part 3

49

TC 201
Module 7

The Internet
Part 4

Module Overview
Brief history
The internet & the PSTN
Internet protocols (TCP, UDP, IP)
ISPs & the architecture of the internet
Peering
Addressing, the DNS & the World Wide Web
Search engines
Other internet applications
51

Other Internet Applications

Search engines
Email
Instant messaging
File transfer
IP telephony
IPTV

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Other Protocols
Application-level protocols
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
POP (Post Office Protocol)
Telnet for accessing remote computers
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to exchange files
SIP (Session Initiation Protocol)

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Search Engines
How search engines work
1. Web crawling
2. Indexing
3. Searching

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Search Engines
Web crawling
Automated scripts (often called spiders or bots) follow
links from document to document all over the web
Examine the HTML code,
looking for:

Titles

Keywords

Page content

Meta-tags

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Search Engines
Indexing
Contents of each page are analyzed to determine how the
page should be indexed, or stored in the database
Different algorithms
account for different
weightings or rankings
of the page for different
searches

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Search Engines
Searching
When a user enters a query (typically using keywords),

57

Search Engines
Searching
the engine examines its index & provides a listing of
the pages it thinks are most relevant, in descending order
of relevance

Note: youre not actually

searching the world
wide web youre only
searching the index
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Search Engines
Sponsored links advertising

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A Couple of Issues
Search Engine
Optimization (SEO)

How can you move your

website up in the rankings?

Filter Bubbles

Results are based on

previous searches more
of the same

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Email
Client-server model
Common protocols

SMTP
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
Server to server

POP (POP3)
Post Office Protocol
Download from server to client

IMAP
Internet Mail Access Protocol
Mail stays on server

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Email

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Instant Messaging
Individual companies run
proprietary applications on their
servers
Software on clients works with
server software to establish
connections & handle messages
Session creates a temporary file
listing friends online

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BitTorrent
Traditional file download

Open a web page & click a link to download file to your

computer

The browser software on your computer tells the server to

transfer a copy of the file to your computer

The transfer typically is handled by HTTP or FTP

only 2 computers involved: the server & yours

Large & popular files put heavy demands on the server,

slowing downloads
BitTorrent designed to handle very large / very popular
files
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BitTorrent
Open a web page & click a link to download file
BitTorrent client software communicates with a tracker to find
other computers (peers) running BitTorrent software & holding
complete or partial copies of the file
The tracker identifies the swarm, which is all connected
computers that have some or all of the file & are in the process
of sending or receiving it
The tracker helps the client software trade pieces of the file with
other computers in the swarm your computer receives multiple
pieces of the file simultaneously
If you continue to run the BitTorrent client software, others can
receive .torrent files from your computer
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BitTorrent

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IP Telephony
Initial application to avoid high rates for LD phone calls
Advanced applications voice only 1 component of rich
media applications (e.g., web + IPT integration)
Clarification of terms

IPT generic term for voice, fax & related telephone

services over packet-switched IP-based networks

Internet telephony telephony in which the principle

transmission network is the public internet

VoIP telephony in which the principle transmission networks

are private, managed IP-based networks

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VoIP Call-Signaling Protocols

Should be familiar with two H.323 & SIP
H.323

Mature ITU standard widespread market acceptance

Supports voice, video, data & session control

However, designed for PCs rather than IPT, doesnt scale well
or work well from behind firewalls

SIP (Session Initiation Protocol)

Aim of SIP: to provide same functionality as PSTN

Peer-to-peer protocol end devices initiate session

SIP addresses can be embedded in web pages click to talk

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IPTV
System that delivers digital television service using IP
over
a broadband connection
Supports both live TV (multicast) & VOD (stored video)
Viewed on a TV & requires a set-top box
Content usually streamed in MPEG-2 or MPEG-4
Specifically designed to deliver high-quality content to
a traditional TV through the internet
Generally, distinction made between TV over the
internet & IPTV over managed networks (e.g., telco
providers)
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IPTV
With IPTV the network operator controls the entire path
(unlike the internet) can manage QoS & security
Closed, managed network can deliver full-screen, highquality video content
Network capacity is critical, esp. for HD also,
compression techniques (e.g., MPEG-2 & MPEG-4)
Integrated services e.g., caller ID displayed on TV, ability
to program DVR remotely

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End of Part 4

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