INTERNET SERVICES
INTERNET DEVELOPMENT
The history of the Internet began with the ARPANET
(Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) and
connected mainframe computers on dedicated connections. The
second stage involved adding desktop PCs which connected
through telephone wires. The third stage was adding wireless
connections to laptop computers. And currently the Internet is
evolving to allow mobile phone Internet connectivity ubiquitously
using cellular networks.
An Internet service provider (ISP, also called Internet access
provider or IAP) is a company that offers its customers access to
the Internet. The ISP connects to its customers using a data
transmission technology appropriate for delivering Internet
Protocol datagrams, such as dial-up, DSL, cable modem or
dedicated high-speed interconnects.
ISPs may provide Internet e-mail accounts to users which allow
them to communicate with one another by sending and receiving
electronic messages through their ISPs' servers. (As part of their
e-mail service, ISPs usually offer the user an e-mail client
software package, developed either internally or through an
outside contract arrangement.) ISPs may provide other services
such as remotely storing data files on behalf of their customers,
as well as other services unique to each particular ISP.
THE DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM (DNS) is a hierarchical naming
system for computers, services, or any resource participating in
the Internet. It associates various information with domain names
assigned to such participants. Most importantly, it translates
domain names meaningful to humans into the numerical (binary)
identifiers associated with networking equipment for the purpose
of locating and addressing these devices world-wide. An often
used analogy to explain the Domain Name System is that it
serves as the "phone book" for the Internet by translating human-
friendly computer hostnames into IP addresses. For example,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Example.com translates to
208.77.188.166.
The Domain Name System makes it possible to assign domain
names to groups of Internet users in a meaningful way,
independent of each user's physical location. Because of this,
World-Wide Web (WWW) hyperlinks and Internet contact
information can remain consistent and constant even if the
current Internet routing arrangements change or the participant
uses a mobile device. Internet domain names are easier to
remember than IP addresses such as 208.77.188.166(IPv4) or
2001:db8:1f70::999:de8:7648:6e8 (IPv6). People take advantage
of this when they recite meaningful URLs and e-mail addresses
without having to know how the machine will actually locate
them.
The Domain Name System distributes the responsibility of
assigning domain names and mapping those names to IP
addresses by designating authoritative name servers for each
domain. Authoritative name servers are assigned to be
responsible for their particular domains, and in turn can assign
other authoritative name servers for their sub-domains. This
mechanism has made the DNS distributed, fault tolerant, and
helped avoid the need for a single central register to be
continually consulted and updated.
In general, the Domain Name System also stores other types of
information, such as the list of mail servers that accept email for
a given Internet domain. By providing a world-wide, distributed
keyword-based redirection service, the Domain Name System is
an essential component of the functionality of the Internet.
Other identifiers such as RFID tags, UPC codes, International
characters in email addresses and host names, and a variety of
other identifiers could all potentially utilize DNS [1].
The Domain Name System also defines the technical
underpinnings of the functionality of this database service. For
this purpose it defines the DNS protocol, a detailed specification
of the data structures and communication exchanges used in
DNS, as part of the Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP). The context of
the DNS within the Internet protocols may be seen in the
following diagram. The DNS protocol was developed and defined
in the early 1980s and published by the Internet Engineering
Task Force (cf. History)
LEVELS OF CONNECTIVITY
There are several levels of Internet connectivity. For our
purposes, I am just going to call these levels "Level One," through
"Level Six."
Before I talk about the six levels of connectivity, experience
shows that I have to say the following to keep myself from being
overrun with e-mail: the "six level approach" to Internet
connectivity is a very simplified view of the different ways that
you can access the Internet. This is just my way of describing
the levels, you will not hear anyone else describing connectivity
with these levels. This oversimplification is on purpose. Please
recognize that I have taken some editorial liberties in this lesson
to make the lesson easier to understand for the new users (a.k.a.
"newbies").
Level One Internet access ("remote modem access") is access
through a dial-up terminal connection. Through the use of a
modem, you access a "host" computer, usually a UNIX-based
computer that displays text and operates with commands you
type in on individual lines. Your your home computer acts like it
is a terminal on a 'mainframe'. You may type the commands on
your own computer, but it is the host that carries out your
commands.
Level One connectivity once was the most "popular" (in the sense
that more people had Level One connectivity than any other
level) and the most misunderstood level of connectivity. To
begin with, Level One connectivity limits you to using the
programs (also known as "clients") that are running on the host.
If, for example, you hear of this hot new client called "Mosaic"
and you want to try it out, if your host does not have a Mosaic
client on it you are out of luck! Putting a copy of the Mosaic client
software on your own computer won't do ANYTHING for you --
remember that the only programs that you can use when you
have Level One connectivity are the programs that the host has!
Also, with Level One connectivity you must always remember
that everything you are doing is through the host, NOT through
your own computer. If you download a file from somewhere (like
we did last Friday with the GET command) that file will go to the
host, NOT to your own personal computer. You'll need to
download the file one more time -- this time from the host to your
computer -- if you want the file to be on YOUR computer
Level Two connectivity ("access through a gateway") is access
to the Internet from a network that really isn't "on" the Internet.
This is becoming less and less common as network providers are
adopting the Internet standard. Services that used this model
have been 'Compuserve', 'Prodigy', and 'AOL'. Picture two circles
that touch each other at only one point. One of the circles is the
Internet, the other circle is a non-Internet network, and the point
where the two networks touch is called a gateway. The gateway
allows the two networks to "talk" to each other, but users of the
non-Internet network are limited in their ability to fully access all
of the tools of the Internet. For example, AOL is, in effect, its own
network. It has a great number of different programs that its
subscribers can use, but ALL of these programs only run on the
AOL network. Gradually, AOL has been shifting to adopt the
Internet standard, and has essentially become an Internet Service
Provider in addition to its own services, providing you with many
of the features of the Internet.
Both Level One and Two are older means of connecting. They are
still in use, but the primary means of connecting for home and
small business users is Level Three.
Level Three connectivity can also be called "On-Demand Direct
Connectivity." Since you probably aren't going to spend twenty-
four hours a day on the Internet, there are many service
providers that will let you connect to the Internet whenever you
want using a high speed modem and something called "Point to
Point Protocol (PPP)" or "Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP)"
connection. Nearly all Internet service providers such as Sovernet
or Togethernet, or I-100, or ...... use this type of service, and I
suspect most of you do too.
There are two cool things about PPP and SLIP connections. First,
because you aren't connected to the Internet all day long, (using
up your phone line) it doesn't cost as much as regular Level
Three connectivity (you can find sites that will only charge you
about $15 or $20 US per month for a PPP or SLIP connection). The
second cool thing about PPP and SLIP connections is that the
client software is stored on YOUR computer. Want to play with
Netscape or Explorer? Load it onto your computer and play with
it.
The majority of local Vermont Internet service providers provide
PPP or SLIP Services. These providers include SoVerNet and
Together Networks; I-100, Plainfield By Pass, Kingdom.Com and
PowerShift. These companies allow users to dial into their
systems and then provide access to the Internet network.
The first three levels mentioned above all use conventional
modems to access the network. We discussed how these worked
in the last lesson. Modems have speeds up to 56K or kilobits per
second, or 56 thousand bits (Os and 1s) passing through the line
per second. But this is a big limitation for some users who need
or want a lot of data transferred quickly. Another limitation - one
usually doesn't receive full 56K access due to line 'noise' - static
or other interruptions that limit the data through-put. This is
particularly common in rural areas. Digital switches and fiber
transmission improves line quality, but this requires the
replacement of all the wire to your building, and that won't
happen overnight. Better performance is possible through higher
levels of service and digital transfers.
Level Four connectivity is in a way a hybrid of Level Three and
Level Four. Three major types of high speed connectivity have
emerged in the last few years and are increasingly available
across the country. ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network),
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) and Cable.
ISDN is like a modem service that involves dial up, but it uses a
high quality line capable of higher performance data transfer up
to 256KB/second and higher. Generally this service is offered by
the local phone company. It is falling out of favor due to cost and
being replaced by digital services described below.
Improvements in electronic hardware have allowed conventional
phone lines to accept data transfers at high rates using new
technology called "DSL" or Digital Subscriber Line. At 1.5
megabytes per second, the data transfer rates are almost fifty
times faster than the fastest modems. All this for about $50.00
per month. Two 'flavors' of DSL are available, ADSL and SDSL.
Of the two, SDSL is the more powerful performer and businesses
generally choose it over ADSL. However, any DSL service is only
available in larger metropolitan areas so far, as it requires that
the phone company or other ISPs to have installed special
hardware in their switch offices.
Cable companies are offering high performance services through
'modems' that link through the conventional cable lines. These
services require that you have cable service, and many parts of
Vermont do not have this service. Data transfer rates and costs
are similar to DSL services.
Level Five connectivity ("Direct Internet Access") is the highest,
and most expensive, level of connectivity there is. With Level Five
connectivity, you are directly wired into the Internet using high-
speed lines, and you are "on-line" twenty-four hours a day, seven
days a week.
Level Five connectivity is great if you are a mainframe, or a
business with a number of users, but is not too advantageous if
you are a sole user with a beat-up PC. Besides, Level Five
Internet access is so incredibly expensive (1) (the University of
Alabama pays $29,000.00 (US) each and every year as of 1995)
just to connect to the Internet, and that doesn't include the
software, hardware, facility, and staff expenses. Until recently,
Level Five connectivity was limited to large corporations and
Universities. Now, even small businesses are using Level Five
services.
Finally, there is another category of connectivity that uses
satellites and wireless methods, and these provide the most
promise for those in rural areas that need higher capacity. No
land infrastructure is needed except the receiver. Wireless
connections are like cell phones. You have to have a wireless
modem and a laptop, or a hand-held computer that is wireless-
capable, and you need a subscription to a service. This provides
mobility, and for those folks really out of distance from a phone
line, connection possibilities. Data transmission rates are not
particularly high performance - the benefits are in the mobility.
However, satellites offer high-speed data transmission. Today,
services such as Web PC offer performance of up to 400kb/sec
download via a dish like the small satellite TV dishes. The
downside is that there has to be a land line or conventional
phone line to send data requests to the Internet. So, there's
some extra cost. Soon there will be full two way satellite service,
which will really assist users in remote areas, with poor quality
phone lines and no high speed services. This will initially be
offered by Hughes Network Systems and Pegasus through the
Direc PC service.
LEVEL DESCRIPTION COMMENTS
Commands executed by host
All programs on host
Can only run client software already on
the host
All files on host unless you download to
your computer
Remote modem
One Example: Dial into a host computer
access
directly. (Dial in to UVM - Vermont
Automated Libraries (VALS) has this kind
of service)
Speed: Access speed is determined by
modem speed, quality of phone line.Up
to 56K/second.
Two Access through Mix of Internet access and access to a
a Gateway private network.
Speed: Access speed is determined by
modem speed, quality of phone line. Up
to 56K/second.
Examples: AOL, Prodigy, CompuServe
Most popular today.
Connect when you want through a
modem to an Internet Service Provider.
(ISP) Client software runs on YOUR
Three PPP/SLIP computer! Use Internet Explorer,
Netscape Navigator, etc.
Speed: Access speed is determined by
modem speed, quality of phone line. Up
to 56K/second.
24 hour connection. ISDN is like dial up
services with better performance. DSL
ISDN, DSL, and Cable are always available.
Four
Cable, Speed: High data transfer capablilities.
Ranges from 56KB/second to
300KB/second depending.
24 hour connection.
Speed: Very high data transfer
Leased Line
Five capablilities. Ranges from 56KB/second
(56K to T-3)
to 44 MB/second (T-3) Possible to buy
fractions of a line.
Wireless access through wireless
Wireless and modems and cell phone-like towers.
Six Satellite Satellite through 400kbps download and
Services land line upload. Full two way satellite
services will be offered soon.
