The Internet is a global network of networks connecting millions of
users worldwide via many computer networks using a simple standard
common addressing system and communications protocol called TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol).
This includes federal networks, regional networks, educational and
some foreign networks.
The connection between the different networks are called "gateways".
These gateways serve to transfer electronic data worldwide.
For most of its existence the Internet was primarily a research and
academic network.
More recently,
commercial enterprises and a vast number of consumers have come to
recognize the Internet's potential.
Today people and businesses around the
world can use the Internet to retreive information,
communicate and conduct business globally,
and access a vast array of services and resources on-line.
The primary use of the Internet is
electronic mail (commonly called "e-mail").
Millions of people use the Internet for electronic mail capabilities.
Electronic mail however,
is only a small part of what the Internet offers.
There's also
file transfer (using ftp, or file transfer protocol)
More recent developments have made possible book and magazine
publishing, video conferencing, and audio broadcasts.
Amateur radio, cable television wires, spread spectrum radio, satellite,
and fibre optics have all been used to deliver Internet services.
Networked games, networked monetary transactions,
and virtual museums are among applications being developed.
Users can join any of the thousands of Internet discussion
groups, search for specific information in vast libraries,
or transfer a variety of files to their computer.
They can also explore
the World Wide Web the Internet's multimedia service.
Over just the last few years
Internet-based resources and services have grown exponentially.
Based on current projections this rapid growth will continue into the
next decade as more businesses and consumers make the decision to move
onto the Internet.
Technology
When you send a message over the Internet, it is broken into small
pieces, called packets, which travel over many different routes between
your computer and the recipient's computer.
TCP/IP
The communications protocol
used to route the packets across the Internet is TCP/IP (Transmission
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol).
Use of this standard protocol enables computers using different
operating systems to communicate with each other.
DOS-based PCs, PCs using the Microsoft Windows(R), Windows 95,
or Windows NT(TM) operating system, Macintosh(R) computers, and
UNIX(R)-based systems all use TCP/IP to connect to the Internet.
Client/Server
Once you connect to the Internet, you interact with other computers
using a client/server model.
The resources of the Internet -- information and services --
are provided through host computers, known as servers.
The server is the computer system that contains information
such as electronic mail, database information, or text files.
As a customer, or "client," you access those resources via client
programs (applications) which use TCP/IP to deliver the information to
your screen in the appropriate format for your computer.
A Browser is a client program (application) that is used to search
through information provided by a specific type of server.
A browser helps you view and navigate through information on the
Internet.
Today's most
popular browsers, including Mosaic(R), Netscape(TM) Navigator, and the
Microsoft Internet Explorer offer a graphical interface to the World
Wide Web.
Organisations
The NSF continues to maintain the backbone of the network
(which carries data at a rate of 45 million bits per second),
but Internet protocol development is governed by the
Internet Architecture Board (IAB),
and the InterNIC (Internet Network Information Center)
administers the naming of computers and networks.
The Internet Society (ISOC)
is a voluntary membership organization whose purpose is to
promote global information exchange through Internet technology.
It appoints a council of elders,
which is responsible for the technical management and direction of
the Internet.
The council of elders is a group of invited volunteers called the
Internet Architecture Board (IAB).
The IAB meets regularly to agree upon standards,
allocation of resources,
and defines the rules of how to assign addresses.
The final organization responsible for the Internet is the
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
The IETF is another volunteer organization responsible for the
operational and near term technical problems of the Internet.
There is no central authority or organization which collects fees for
Internet use.
Instead, everyone who uses the Internet pays for their part.
Most networks get together and decide how to connect themselves and
fund these interconnections.
A educational facility, government agency, or corporation
pays for their connection to some regional network which pays a
national provider for its access.
The process eventually filters down to you the end user,
so everyone who uses the Internet has a hand in paying for it.
Standards
The Internet is made possible through creation,
testing and implementation of Internet Standards.
These
standards are developed by the
Internet Engineering Task Force.
The standards are then considered by
the Internet
Engineering Steering Group, with appeal to the
Internet Architecture Board,
and promulgated by the
Internet Society as international standards.
The RFC Editor is responsible for preparing and organizing the
standards in their final form.
The standards may be found at numerous
sites distributed throughout the world.
See, for example, the ds.internic.
At the applications level, the
MIT World Wide Web
Consortium plays the leading role in developing and promulgating WWW
standards.
Vint Cerf has written a
brief history of the relationship of the Internet Society with the
Internet Engineering Task Force.
