UNIT I

Chapter No. 2
Computer Communication and Internet
Basic of Computer networks:

Definition – A group of computers which are connected to each other and follow similar
usage protocols for the purpose of sharing information and having communications provided
by the networking nodes is called a Computer Network.

A network may be small where it may include just one system or maybe as large. The nodes
may further be classified into various types. These include:

● Personal Computers

● Servers

● Networking Hardware

● General Hosts
LAN, MAN, WAN. Internet:
Computer network:

● A computer network is a cluster of computers over a shared communication path that works
for the purpose of sharing resources from one computer to another, provided by or located on
the network nodes.
● Some of the uses of computer networks are the following:

⮚ Communicating using email, video, instant messaging, etc.

⮚ Sharing devices such as printers, scanners, etc.

⮚ Sharing files

⮚ Sharing software and operating programs on remote systems

⮚ Allowing network users to easily access and maintain information

Types of Computer Networks

1. Local Area Network (LAN):

LAN is the most frequently used network. A LAN is a computer network that connects
computers together through a common communication path, contained within a limited area,
that is, locally. A LAN encompasses two or more computers connected over a server. The
two important technologies involved in this network are Ethernet and Wi-fi.
Examples of LAN are networking in a home, school, library, laboratory, college, office, etc.

2. Wide Area Network (WAN) :

WAN is a type of computer network that connects computers over a large geographical
distance through a shared communication path. It is not restrained to a single location but
extends over many locations. WAN can also be defined as a group of local area networks that
communicate with each other.
The most common example of WAN is the Internet.

3. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) :

A MAN is larger than a LAN but smaller than a WAN. This is the type of computer network
that connects computers over a geographical distance through a shared communication path
over a city, town or metropolitan area.
Examples of MAN are networking in towns, cities, a single large city, large area within
multiple buildings, etc.
Concept of Internet, Application of Internet.
 Service on InterNet:

Internet services
To access/exchange a large amount of data such as software, audio clips, video clips, text files, other
documents, etc., we need internet services. You must use an Internet service to connect to the Internet.
Data can be sent from Internet servers to your machine via Internet service. Some of the commonly
used internet services are :
1. Communication Services: To exchange data/information among individuals or organizations, we
need communication services. Following are some of the common communication services:

● IRC(Internet Relay Chat): Subscribers can communicate in real-time by connecting numerous

computers in public spaces called channels.
● VoIP: It stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, which describes how to make and receive
phone calls over the internet. A larger number of people believe VoIP is a viable alternative to
traditional landlines. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) is a technique that helps us make
voice calls via the Internet rather than over a traditional (or analog) phone line. Some VoIP
services may let you call only other VoIP users, while others may let you call anyone with a
phone number, including long-distance, mobile, and local/international lines. If you have an
internet connection you can easily call anyone without using a local phone service because
VoIP solutions are based on open standards, they can be used on any computer. More than
just setting up calls is what VoIP service providers do. Outgoing and incoming calls are
routed through existing telephone networks by them.
● List Server (LISTSERV): Delivers a group of email recipients’ content-specific emails.

● E-Mail: Used to send electronic mail via the internet. It is a paperless method for sending text,
images, documents, videos, etc from one person to another via the internet.
● User Network (USENET): It hosts newsgroups and message boards on certain topics, and it is
mostly run by volunteers.
● Telnet: It’s used to connect to a remote computer that’s connected to the internet.

● Video Conferencing: Video conferencing systems allow two or more people who are
generally in different locations to connect live and visually. Live video conferencing services
are necessary for simulating face-to-face talks over the internet. The system can vary from
very simple to complex, depending on the live video conferencing vendors. A live video-
 based conference involves two or more individuals in separate locations utilizing video-
enabled devices and streaming voice, video, text, and presentations in real-time via the
internet. It allows numerous people to connect and collaborate face to face over large
distances. Tools available for this purpose are Zoom, FreeConference, Google Hangouts,
Skype, etc.

2. Information Retrieval Services: It is the procedure for gaining access to information/data stored
on the Internet. Net surfing or browsing is the process of discovering and obtaining information from
the Internet. When your computer is linked to the Internet, you may begin retrieving data. To get data,
we need a piece of software called a Web browser. A print or computer-based information retrieval
system searches for and locates data in a file, database, or other collection of data. Some sites are:

● www.geeksforgeeks.org: Free tutorials, millions of articles, live, online, and classroom

courses, frequent coding competitions, industry expert webinars, internships, and job
possibilities are all available. A computer-based system for searching and locating data in a
file, database, or another source.
● www.crayola.com: It includes advice for students, parents, and educators on how to be more
creative.

3. File Transfer: The exchange of data files across computer systems is referred to as file transfer.
Using the network or internet connection to transfer or shift a file from one computer to another is
known as file transfer. To share, transfer, or send a file or logical data item across several users and/or
machines, both locally and remotely, we use file transfer. Data files include – documents, multimedia,
pictures, text, and PDFs and they can be shared by uploading or downloading them. To retrieve
information from the internet, there are various services available such as:

● Gopher: A file retrieval application based on hierarchical, distributed menus that is simple to
use.
● FTP (File Transfer Protocol): To share, transfer, or send a file or logical data item across
several users and/or machines, both locally and remotely.
● Archie: A file and directory information retrieval system that may
bapplicatioRtestdddGatrtttttrertgatrrrrtedtteteeeteeteWeb services: Web services are software
that uses defined messaging protocols and are made accessible for usage by a client or other
web-based programs through an applicaexothttttttttttaftftzCVber. Web services allow e to be
exothttttttttttaftftznged across web-based applicatioRtestddddgdedtdddtddedtttrgatdrs. Using
Utility Computing, web services can be provided.

5. World Wide Web: The internet is a vast network of interconnected computers. Using this network,
you can connect to the world wide web (abbreviated as ‘www’ or ‘web’) is a collection of web pages.
The web browser lets you access the web via the internet.
6. Directory Services: A directory service is a set of software that keeps track of information about
your company, customers, or both. Network resource names are mapped to network addresses by
directory services. A directory service provides users and administrators with full transparent access
to printers, servers, and other network devices. The directory services are :

● DNS (Domain Number System): This server provides DNS. The mappings of computer
hostnames and other types of domain names to IP addresses are stored on a DNS server.
 ● LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol): It is a set of open protocols that are used for
obtaining network access to stored data centrally. It is a cross-platform authentication
protocol for directory services and also allows users to interact with other directory services
servers.

7. Automatic Network Address Configuration: Automatic Network Addressing assigns a unique IP

address to every system in a network. A DHCP Server is a network server that is used to assign IP
addresses, gateways, and other network information to client devices. It uses Dynamic Host
Configuration Protocol as a common protocol to reply to broadcast inquiries from clients.
8. Network Management Services: Network management services are another essential internet
service that is beneficial to network administrators. Network management services aid in the
prevention, analysis, diagnosis, and resolution of connection problems. The two commands related to
this are:

● ping: The ping command is a Command Prompt command that is used to see if a source can
communicate with a specific destination & get all the possible paths between them.
● traceroute: To find the path between two connections, use the traceroute command.

9. Time Services: Using facilities included in the operating system, you may set your computer clock
via the Internet. Some services are :

● Network Time Protocol (NTP): It is a widely used internet time service that allows you to
accurately synchronize and adjust your computer clock.
● The Simple Network Time Protocol (SNTP): It is a time-keeping protocol that is used to
synchronize network hardware. When a full implementation of NTP is not required, then this
simplified form of NTP is typically utilized.

10. Usenet: The ‘User’s Network’ is also known as Usenet. It is a network of online discussion
groups. It’s one of the first networks where users may upload files to news servers and others can
view them.
11. News Group: It is a lively Online Discussion Forum that is easily accessible via Usenet. Each
newsgroup contains conversations on a certain topic, as indicated by the newsgroup name. Users can
use newsreader software to browse and follow the newsgroup as well as comment on the posts. A
newsgroup is a debate about a certain topic made up of notes posted to a central Internet site and
distributed over Usenet, a global network of news discussion groups. It uses Network News Transfer
Protocol (NNTP).
12. E-commerce: Electronic commerce, also known as e-commerce or e-Commerce, is a business
concept that allows businesses and individuals to buy and sell goods through the internet. Example:
Amazon, Flipkart, etc. websites/apps.
WWW and web-sites

World Wide Web

● World Wide Web, which is also known as a Web, is a collection of websites or web
pages stored in web servers and connected to local computers through the internet.
 ● These websites contain text pages, digital images, audios, videos, etc. Users can
access the content of these sites from any part of the world over the internet using
their devices such as computers, laptops, cell phones, etc.

● The WWW, along with the internet, enables the retrieval and display of text and
media to your device.

● The building blocks of the Web are web pages which are formatted in HTML and
connected by links called "hypertext" or hyperlinks and accessed by HTTP.

● These links are electronic connections that link related pieces of information so that
users can access the desired information quickly.

● Hypertext offers the advantage to select a word or phrase from text and thus to access
other pages that provide additional information related to that word or phrase.

● A web page is given an online address called a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).

● A particular collection of web pages that belong to a specific URL is called a website,
e.g., www.facebook.com, www.google.com, etc.

● Small websites store all of their WebPages on a single server, but big websites or
organizations place their WebPages on different servers in different countries so that
when users of a country search their site they could get the information quickly from
the nearest server.

Difference between World Wide Web and Internet:

● It is a worldwide network of devices like computers, laptops, tablets, etc. It enables

users to send emails to other users and chat with them online. For example, when you
send an email or chatting with someone online, you are using the internet.
Difference between webpage and website

How the World Wide Web Works?

Now, we have understood that WWW is a collection of websites connected to the internet so
that people can search and share information. Now, let us understand how it works!
● The Web works as per the internet's basic client-server format as shown in the
following image. The servers store and transfer web pages or information to user's
computers on the network when requested by the users. A web server is a software
program which serves the web pages requested by web users using a browser. The
computer of a user who requests documents from a server is known as a client.
Browser, which is installed on the user' computer, allows users to view the retrieved
documents.

● All the websites are stored in web servers. Just as someone lives on rent in a house, a
website occupies a space in a server and remains stored in it. The server hosts the
website whenever a user requests its WebPages, and the website owner has to pay the
hosting price for the same.
● The moment you open the browser and type a URL in the address bar or search
something on Google, the WWW starts working. There are three main technologies
involved in transferring information (web pages) from servers to clients (computers of
users). These technologies include Hypertext Markup Language (HTML), Hypertext
Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Web browsers.

Electronic mails

● Electronic mail (e-mail) is a computer-based application for the exchange of messages

between users.
● A worldwide e-mail network allows people to exchange e-mail messages very
quickly.
 ● E-mail is the electronic equivalent of a letter, but with advantages in timeliness and
flexibility.
● While a letter will take from one day to a couple of weeks to be delivered, an e-mail is
delivered to the intended recipient's mailbox almost instantaneously, usually in the
multiple-second to subminute range.
● This is the case whether the e-mail is exchanged between people on the same floor of
a business, or between friends at opposite points on the globe.
● This article provides a comprehensive, intermediate-level overview of e-mail,
including its main functions, historical and current architectures, key standards,
supporting infrastructure, and contemporary and future issues.

Introduction:
Electronic mail, commonly known as email, is a method of exchanging messages over the
internet. Here are the basics of email:

1. An email address: This is a unique identifier for each user, typically in the format
of [email protected].
2. An email client: This is a software program used to send, receive and manage
emails, such as Gmail, Outlook, or Apple Mail.
3. An email server: This is a computer system responsible for storing and forwarding
emails to their intended recipients.

To send an email:

1. Compose a new message in your email client.

2. Enter the recipient’s email address in the “To” field.
3. Add a subject line to summarize the content of the message.
4. Write the body of the message.
5. Attach any relevant files if needed.
6. Click “Send” to deliver the message to the recipient’s email server.
7. Emails can also include features such as cc (carbon copy) and bcc (blind carbon
copy) to send copies of the message to multiple recipients, and reply, reply all,
and forward options to manage the conversation.
Electronic Mail (e-mail) is one of most widely used services of Internet. This service allows
an Internet user to send a message in formatted manner (mail) to the other Internet user in any
part of world. Message in mail not only contain text, but it also contains images, audio and
videos data. The person who is sending mail is called sender and person who receives mail is
called recipient. It is just like postal mail service. Components of E-Mail System : The basic
components of an email system are : User Agent (UA), Message Transfer Agent (MTA),
Mail Box, and Spool file.
Services provided by E-mail system :
● Composition – The composition refer to process that creates messages and
answers. For composition any kind of text editor can be used.
● Transfer – Transfer means sending procedure of mail i.e. from the sender to
recipient.
 ● Reporting – Reporting refers to confirmation for delivery of mail. It help user to
check whether their mail is delivered, lost or rejected.
● Displaying – It refers to present mail in form that is understand by the user.

● Disposition – This step concern with recipient that what will recipient do after
receiving mail i.e save mail, delete before reading or delete after reading.

Advantages Or Disadvantages:
Advantages of email:

1. Convenient and fast communication with individuals or groups globally.

2. Easy to store and search for past messages.
3. Ability to send and receive attachments such as documents, images, and videos.
4. Cost-effective compared to traditional mail and fax.
5. Available 24/7.

Disadvantages of email:

1. Risk of spam and phishing attacks.

2. Overwhelming amount of emails can lead to information overload.
3. Can lead to decreased face-to-face communication and loss of personal touch.
4. Potential for miscommunication due to lack of tone and body language in written
messages.
5. Technical issues, such as server outages, can disrupt email service.
6. It is important to use email responsibly and effectively, for example, by keeping
the subject line clear and concise, using proper etiquette, and protecting against
security threats.
7.

Communication on Internet

1- Instant Messaging
 Instant Messaging (IM) is an online chat technology that allows people to communicate via

messages in real-time within an internet-based chat room.

When users log into an presence, and they can talk to each other synchronously. In addition,

various types of online team chat apps are available in the market.

A time-saving tool, instant messaging allows employees to instantly reach their managers and

colleagues working remotely or in other branches. It eliminates the need to place calls

immediately when you require some information and simplifies life.

2- VoIP and Internet Phone System

Internet telephony uses the internet to route telephone calls instead of traditional phone lines.

For example, voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) sends voice packets using IP instead of

PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network).

As soon as the voice packets reach their destination, it again gets converted into voice data

for the receiver.

Users and businesses making calls worldwide can benefit immensely from an internet phone

system.

They are cost-effective and allow you to make calls from anywhere. Other benefits of internet

telephony include:

● Is highly cost-efficient
● Helps offer better customer service
● Offers comprehensive features
● Is highly scalable
3- Email
● Email or electronic technology is a way of exchanging messages and files. Email

communication is extremely fast and reliable. You can send emails any time of the day or

year; it is free of cost! This is one of the reasons why email marketing is buzzing in the

business world today.

● You can create emails through software like Microsoft Outlook or Gmail and send them

to another person, given that you have the recipient’s email address.
4- Social Networking Platforms

Last but not least, social media is one of the most popular internet communication methods.

While Facebook was and still is the most widely used social channel, numerous platforms

now make internet based communication easier than ever.

For example, Twitter makes it easier for customers to talk with brands and public figures.

WhatsApp enables users to talk to each other for free via messaging, audio, and video.

Here are some major benefits of using social media for communication through the internet.

● Faster and easier communication with friends and customers.

● Businesses can enhance their brand awareness.
● A great way to redirect traffic to your landing page and website.
● Social media platforms help businesses interact with customers and provide real-time
feedback to increase customer loyalty and lifetime value.
● Social media portals help in advertising, promotions, and market research.