The Internet is a global network that links all computers together with the Internet connection at their edges. Through the Internet, individuals can communicate with each other and share data from anywhere with an Internet access. The Internet has become so common and so accessible that it can be found not only on the walls and desks of the offices and homes, but it can also be found in your clothes and in your food. There is no question about where the popularity of the Internet came from. At this very moment, the Internet is everywhere, so it’s not surprising that we would like to know how we can use the Internet properly.
The Internet was created through the cooperative efforts of the Internet Service Providers, or ISPs, and computer networks. The Internet has several systems and protocols associated with it; one of which is the ARPANET, which forms the backbone of the Internet. The ARPANET is administered and managed by the University of California, Los Angeles, and is considered one of the first networks to use a computer networking technology called the Simple Network Management Protocol or SNMP. The main aim of the Internet was to develop a worldwide system for interactive communication. In this regard, the Internet provides services such as voice mail, file sharing, and the well-known chat rooms and bulletin boards.
To date, the Internet has grown to be a comprehensive global system. Numerous businesses, educational institutions, academic and research facilities, and even the government to use the Internet to further their activities. Because the Internet facilitates so much of what we do every day, there are many websites that have sprung up and become successful in gaining popularity in just a short period of time. Some of these websites are Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, and FriendFeed. These four giants all began as relatively small networks and are today collectively known as the “leading social networking” websites in the world.
In order to understand how the Internet can play a huge part in our everyday lives, it’s necessary to fully grasp its basic workings. The internet is classified by the Internet Service Provider as a” packet data network” rather than a “router” which would be a physical line carrying telephone lines. While both networks, they work in fundamentally different ways. Packet data travels from one end of the Internet to the other in packets. This is done via the so-called “IP” or “Internet Protocol” and “ipc” addresses. Routers on the other hand, transport information through multiple sets of routes in the same physical location.
The major difference between packet data and internet protocol is the transport of information. With IP, information is sent in packets instead of in the conventional manner. Packets can contain data such as voice data, graphics, video, or even small amounts of software, as well as meta-data, which are individual bits or bytes that make up the header of the packet. When these packets are received by a destination computer, it checks the header for the right information, then transfers the data onto the internet using the well-known Internet Protocol (IP) or Internet Protocol (IPc).
On the other hand, with the traditional means of sending information, IP or internet protocol ensures that only one computer processes the packets at one time. For example, if you have a business with ten employees, you will send ten packets of information to be received by one computer and ten more to be sent to ten more computers. In this scenario, there will be delays, depending on the rate at which the information travels. However, IP networking guarantees to transfer all the information in one packet. This allows the Internet to transfer information faster and using much less bandwidth.
