Introduction
Internet Networking is the process through which individuals, organizations, and businesses contact each other to gain knowledge, entertainment, and conduct business. With the increase in the availability of good and affordable bandwidth, the Internet has become a valuable tool for many people to create a network of friends that is spread across the globe and across different time zones. This paper provides details on Internet Networking and attempts to find out how this industry functions and what are the technological drivers for the concept.
Internet Networking
Williams (2005) has suggested that the enterprise network is the central nervous system of the organization with many of the applications that run across it now considered to be mission-critical. Companies looking to invest more in their networks and new technologies should not be afraid to look outside of the enterprise for expert help. IT solution vendors are realizing that more and more business decisions are dependent upon technology and are working in partnership with professional services firms to provide systems integration and the business aims to not only sell solutions to firms but also to integrate them with existing networks and business processes. The author suggests that many technologies ride piggyback on the Internet but still manage to create their own space.
Gary (2007) has commented that revenues in the enterprise mobility market in Europe are expected to grow rapidly over the next five years, from around $27.85bn in 2006 to $33.28bn in 2012. The author suggests that global enterprise networking infrastructure revenues are expected to around $1.4bn by the end of 2008, from $1.07bn in 2006. North America will remain the largest market concerning WLAN spending, with enterprises in the region investing over $500m in related equipment in 2008.
Type and Methods of the Internet Network
According to Furness (2006), the concept of networking should be seen not only from the perspective of Corporates that use the Internet to conduct business but also individuals who use the Internet to form small communities of a few people who may discuss a few recipes for food items and other items. The author has pointed out that the following types of networks contribute to the concept of Internet Networking.
- Personal Area Network: These are networks of personal computers created by individuals who wish to share data within these computers. The physical location of the computers may in different cities or even in the same room. Some of the items that are included are fax machines, PDAs, printers, and other devices.
- Local Area Network – LAN: These are systems that are located in a physical organization and offer data to be exchanged among themselves. According to this concept, some computers are connected to a backbone and may be administered by a single server. The server acts as a regulatory device and serves the requests for connections and services that are made by the local machines. Each machine can connect to the other machines and is also independent to carry out its functions and is in addition connected to the Internet.
- Campus Area Network: This is a special type of LAN where the individual computers on the campus are connected to a central server through the Internet. Interconnection between the computers is regulated and students would be provided connections for only the required area and courses that they need. In addition, students are allowed to access the college library and other areas. Outsiders cannot enter the network as they have to provide a user name and password. With the advent of distance learning, this concept has assumed greater importance as students who are enrolled from different countries and stay there can still make use of the Internet for their work.
- Wide Area Network: This is a type of data communications network that covers a broad geographic area such as cities and countries and utilizes Internet services provided by common carriers such as the local and international telephone companies.
- Individual Users: This group forms the largest community of network users and is made of millions of users who use a dial-up modem or broadband services that are offered by the local service providers. These individuals use services such as email, online shopping, interacting with other members of communities such as Orkut, Yahoo, and others.
Components of the Internet Network
Eastwood (2005) has written about the components that make up the Internet Network and a schematic view is provided in the following figure.
The Network according to the author has many components such as Network Interface Cards, Repeaters, Hubs, Bridges, Switches, Routers, network adapters, modems, and other devices. These are briefly explained below (Eastwood, 2005).
Network Interface Cards: These devices along with the network adapter are units that allow computers to communicate and exchange data over a computer network. It gives physical access to a networking medium and also allows users to connect either by using cables or wirelessly.
Repeaters: This is an electronic product that receives signals from another device and sends it forward at a higher level or higher power so that the signal is not lost and it can cover longer distances without diffusion. The devices work with the signal and do not interpret the data being transmitted. The devices operate on the first layer of the OSI model.
Hubs: These devices are made of more than one data port. When a data packet comes at one port, it is copied to the required ports of the hub, and the destination address in the frame is not subjected to any changes.
Bridges: These devices connect multiple network parts of the OSI model. The devices do not simply copy the data to all ports but find out which MAC addresses can be reached through specific ports. Once the port and address are associated, it will send data for that address only to that port. The devices function by learning the association of ports and addresses by identifying and examining the source address of frames that of different ports.
Switches: These include items such as routers, bridges, and devices that may distribute traffic. They work at one or more OSI layers and these include layers such as physical, data link, network, or transport.
Routers: These devices are used to forward data through networks by using headers and forwarding tables. The items are designed to work at the TCP/IP model or layer 3 of the OSI model. They also provide interconnectivity between different and dissimilar media.
Drivers in Internet Networking
Furness (2006) speaks of certain drivers that are bringing in new technological changes with every passing month. The author claims that the demands placed on organizations’ networks have never been greater. Increasing data traffic and the more distributed use of computing make the network ever more business-critical. Internet-based services are becoming increasingly important in the current business arena, with efficient and reliable network connectivity crucial for companies needing to provide effective links with suppliers, partners, and customers. Furthermore, the number and complexity of business applications have snowballed, forcing companies to re-evaluate the nature of the networks that provide the platform over which these services are delivered to users. The business drivers are:
- Distributed computing: In large part, the market for wire-line networking technologies will continue to be driven by the increasing load on the networks of enterprises caused by more distributed computing models. As these long-term trends continue to make the network ever more critical they will help to maintain spending on networking technologies.
- Convergence: The author contends that convergence of voice and data has arrived according to the timetable that many had anticipated. As the previously prohibitive cost of handsets has fallen to a more reasonable level and confidence in the technology rises, IP telephony is set to take over the enterprise. However, the upgrade cycle in enterprise telephony remains long and there will still be a dwindling market for circuit switch systems well into the next decade.
- VoIP: Voice over IP (VoIP) is gaining acceptance across the enterprise sector as device costs decrease and functionality improves; deploying a converged IP network can eliminate the need for a separate circuit-switched voice network. Enabling services to operate over corporate wireless networks is the obvious next stage in the development of VoIP services, combining the convergence-related cost advantages of fixed VoIP solutions with the convenience of cordless connectivity.
Conclusion
The paper has examined the concept of Internet Networking and examined various factors such as types and methods of the Internet network, components that make up the network. The paper has also researched various drivers that make up the Internet and the technological change that would occur.
References
- Eastwood Gary. 2005. The Voice Business Market Outlook. Business Insights Ltd. MBA Group Limited, England
- Furness Victoria. 2006. The Enterprise Communications Market Outlook. Business Insights Ltd. MBA Group Limited, England
- Gary Eastwood. 2007. The Mobile Enterprise Market Outlook. Business Insights Ltd. MBA Group Limited, England
- Williams Ian. 2005. Future Trends in Enterprise Networking. Business Insights Ltd. MBA Group Limited, England