What is Broadband?
The term 'Broadband Internet', in simple
terms, translates to 'High Speed Internet'.
A high speed internet connection is
Technical and Network generally anything with a download speed
faster than 200kbps. A normal Dialup
connection is capable of a maximum of
56kbps and is sometimes referred to as
Narrowband accordingly.
you may have heard of terms such as
ADSL, Wireless and Cable.
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ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line): The most common
broadband product in the Australian Market. ADSL operates over the ADSL
existing telephone line to your premises without interfering with your
normal telephone operation.
CABLE (Fibre Optic Cable) is the second most common broadband ADSL is short for asymmetric digital subscriber line, this is a
product. Cable broadband operates over the pay TV fibre optic new technology that allows more data to be moved over
networks installed throughout metropolitan neighbourhoods over the existing copper telephone lines. ADSL supports date rates
last decade. If the cable runs down your street, you are most likely
eligible to connect to the internet this way. Cable internet is currently from 1.5 to 9 Mbps when receiving data which is called the
only offered by Bigpond and Optus. For Cable internet you will need downstream rate and from 16 to 640 Kbps when sending data
to check with the providers, Optus and Bigpond. They will ask for
your street address and use this to determine if the optical cable runs which is called the upstream rate. Such rates transform the
down your street. existing information network from one limited to voice, text and
WIRELESS – A new, but fast growing technology connects you to the low resolution graphics to a powerful, ubiquitous system
internet without any physical (cable or wire) connection. A wireless capable of bringing multimedia, including full motion video, to
modem is connected to your computer which communicates via radio
signal to a receiver in your neighbourhood. Coverage of these everyone's home this century. The basic and the important
services is growing rapidly throughout the capital cities of Australia. requirement of the ADSL connection is the ADSL modem.
The convenience of not needing to plug your laptop computer in to ADSL is growing in its popularity all over the world with a rapid
use broadband is obvious, especially for the travelling person. If you
are not eligible for either ADSL or Cable then you should investigate speed. Unlike regular dialup phone service, ADSL provides
Wireless if you are in a major metropolitan area, or satellite if you 3are continuously-available, "always on" connection. 4
in a rural area.
Wireless Internet Today - Wireless
Application Protocol (WAP)
What is WAP?
Several years ago, people might need to bring
along their laptop or notebook computers to read WAP is the de-facto world standard for wireless
email, check stock prices during travel together information and telephony services on digital
with the use of their mobile phone. As time went mobile phones and other wireless terminals,
by, people could do similar tasks via their PDA developed by the WAP Forum. WAP provides an
and the mobile phone. But now, all these tasks open, global wireless protocol specification
can be done with the mobile phone alone. based on existing Internet standards, such as
Nowadays, with the use of the mobile phone, not XML (Extensible Markup Language) and IP
only can we read email, check stock prices on- (Internet Protocol), for all wireless networks.
line, we can also perform transactions such as Using WAP technology, Internet content can be
making reservation, booking, banking, etc. The easily brought to our mobile phones or other
technology which enables these to happen is wireless devices.
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol). 5 6
GATEWAY WEB SERVERS AND WEB HOSTING
• A node on a network that serves as an entrance to another • Web hosting is the business practice of providing space and
network. In enterprises, the gateway is the computer that routes bandwidth on a high-powered computer server that is
the traffic from a workstation to the outside network that is connected to the Internet at very high speeds. Hosting
serving the Web pages. In homes, the gateway is the ISP that companies maintain large networks of high-powered web
connects the user to the internet. server computers in a physical location known as a data center.
• In enterprises, the gateway node often acts as a proxy server These computer servers are connected to a very fast, and
and a firewall. The gateway is also associated with both a generally redundant, Internet connection. The data centers
router, which use headers and forwarding tables to determine have primary and backup power, a fast connection to the
where packets are sent, and a switch, which provides the actual Internet, and a security monitoring staff.
path for the packet in and out of the gateway. • The web hosting companies provide a share of disk space and
• A computer system located on earth that switches data signals available bandwidth to a customer for a monthly fee. Once the
and voice signals between satellites and terrestrial networks customer is signed up, they can upload files to their personal
• A network gateway is an internetworking system, a system that space on the web server and the information is then viewable to
joins two networks together. A network gateway can be anyone interested on the Internet. The monthly fee the web
implemented completely in software, completely in hardware, or hosting company charges is much less than what it would cost
as a combination of the two. Depending on their to run a server out of your own home or data center. This is the
implementation, reason these companies exist. They take care of all the
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hardware, software, and other technical needs for you. 8
Virtual Private Networks (VPN) VPN
• Interconnectivity of businesses is essential, and
the Internet is the logical choice for the • Protection of private corporate information is of utmost
interconnection technology. importance when designing an information infrastructure.
However, the separate private networking solutions are
• E-commerce must be secure. Private networks expensive and cannot be updated quickly to adapt to
use physical separation for security, but it is changes in business requirements.
impractical to have a separate infrastructure for • The Internet, on the other hand, is inexpensive but does
each customer or B2B partner. Therefore, a not by itself ensure privacy. Virtual private networking, is
closed, inflexible private network is not well the collection of technologies applied to a public
suited for supporting e-commerce. A public network—the Internet—to provide solutions for private
networking needs. VPNs use obfuscation through secure
infrastructure is more flexible but lacks security. tunnels, rather than physical separation, to keep
VPNs provide both interconnectivity and communications private.
security.
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Resources:
• www.theittutorials.com
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