Chapter 5: The Internet

Chapter 5: The Internet

The Internet

The Internet is an international computer network connecting millions of computers. It is built from a combination of long- haul links (dedicated telephone circuits and some microwave and satellite links) and many, many LANs. All the computers on the Internet run TCP/IP; other protocols are also utilized on the Internet to some extent, frequently with the protocol being carried inside TCP/IP packets.

Originally, the Internet was a set of computer networks connected together by the United States government?s Advanced Research Projects Agency?s ARPAnet. Use of the ARPAnet as the backbone of the Internet was superseded by the National Science Foundation?s NSFNet. Eventually, the Internet transitioned to the point where commercial Internet service providers built long-haul networks out of interconnections between the service providers themselves.

Academic organizations, businesses, individuals, government offices, libraries, and military groups across the world access the Internet through appropriate service providers, and thousands do so every second of every day. Connections are generally available to anyone who can both afford the connection and has the technical expertise to use it. The level of expertise required varies depending upon the type of service used. Users whose personal computers are attached to the Internet via a local area network with gateways, or whose personal computers are directly connected to the Internet, make full use of the network file access, remote log-in, electronic mail, and other capabilities provided by the TCP/IP protocol suite. Their computers must be equipped with these protocols, and they must...

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Local Area Networks: An Introduction to the Technology

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Chapter 5: The Internet

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