What is Internet?

UNIT 10 WHAT IS INTERNET

Structure

10.0 Objectives
10.1 Introduction
10.2 Definition
10.3 Growth of Internet
10.4 Internet Control and Associated Organization
10.4.1 Internet Standards Organizations (ISOC)
10.4.2 The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
10.4.3 The Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG)
10.4.4 Internet Architecture Board (IAB)
10.4.5 Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)
10.4.6 IETF RFCs and the RFC Editor
10.4.7 European Telecommunications Standards Institute
10.4.8 Internet Research Task Force (IRTF)
10.4.9 The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN)
10.4.9.1 The World Wide Web Consortium
10.4.9.2 International Telecommunication Union

10.5 Indian Scenario

10.6 Trends
10.6.1 Internet 2
10.62 Internet 3
10.7 Summary
10.8 Answers to Self Check Exercises
10.9 Keywords
10.10 References and Further Reading

10.0 OBJECTIVES
After reading this unit you will be able to:
l understand the concept of the Internet;
l know about the growth of the Internet; and
l learn the techniques of how the Internet is controlled.

10.1 INTRODUCTION
The Internet is a network of networks. It connects millions of computers and
thousands of computer networks through out the world. The Internet has
revolutionised our society, our economy and our technological systems. Over the
201
Internet Technology past century, important technological developments have created a global environment
that is drawing the people of the world closer and closer together. About fifteen
years ago, most of the world knew little or nothing about the Internet. It was the
private enclave of computer scientists and researchers who used it to interact with
colleagues in their respective disciplines. Today, the Internet’s magnitude is thousands
of times what it was only a decade ago. It is estimated that about 60 million host
computers on the Internet today serve about 200 million users in over 200 countries
and territories.
The Internet has revolutionised the computer and communications world like nothing
before. The invention of the telegraph, telephone, radio, and computer set the stage
for this unprecedented integration of capabilities. The Internet is at once a world-
wide broadcasting capability, a mechanism for information dissemination, and a
medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers
without regard for geographic location. The Internet represents one of the most
successful examples of the benefits of sustained investment and commitment to
research and development of the information infrastructure.

10.2 DEFINITION
The Internet is the world’s largest computer network that enables computers of all
kinds to share services and communicate directly, as if they were part of one giant
seamless global computing machine. It is a vast and sprawling network reaching into
computer sites world-wide. The Internet is actually a “network of networks”. The
networks that comprise it are thousands of local-area networks-groups of computers
including government supercomputers, campus-wide information systems, local area
networks and individual workstations. Each of these different computers, connected
on the Internet running on different platforms or operating systems, follows certain
standards or rules of communication called protocols. The standard protocol used
for Internet communication is called transmission control protocol, Internet protocol
or TCP/IP. Standardized communication protocols allow similar, dissimilar, near
and distant computers to communicate with one another.
The Federation National Council (FNC) in 1995 referred to the Internet as a Global
Information System that - (i) is logically linked together by a globally unique address
space based on the Internet Protocol (IP) or its subsequent extensions/follow-ones;
(ii) is able to support communications using Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol (TCP/IP) suite or its subsequent extensions/follow-ones, and/or other IP-
compatible protocols; and (iii) provides, uses or makes accessible, either publicly
or privately, high level services layered on the communications and related
infrastructure described herein.
It may be seen that FNC has described the Internet as a global information system,
and included in the definition is not only the underlying communications technology,
but also higher-level protocols and end-user applications, the associated data
structures and the means by which the information may be processed, manifested,
or otherwise used. In many ways, this definition supports the characterization of the
Internet as an “information superhighway”. Like the federal highway system whose
underpinnings include not only concrete lanes and on/off ramps, but also a supporting
infrastructure both physical and informational, including signs, maps, regulations,
and such related services and products as filling stations and gasoline, and the Internet
202 has its own layers of ingress and egress, and its own multi-tiered levels of services.
The Internet Society (ISOC) defines the Internet as a "global network of networks" What is Internet?

enabling computers of all kinds to directly and transparently communicate and share
services throughout the world using a common communication protocol. It should
not be seen as merely as a collection of networks and computers. The Internet is an
architecture that provides for both communications capabilities and information
services. Because the Internet is an enormously valuable, enabling capability for so
many people and organizations, it also constitutes a shared global resource of
information, knowledge, and means of collaboration and cooperation among
countless diverse communities.

10.3 GROWTH OF INTERNET

The Internet which can be said to hence born thirty-five years ago as a US Defence
Department Network called APPANET was initially set up with 4 hosts. In the
early 80s there were only 213 registered hosts on the Internet. By 1986, the number
had risen to 308 hosts connected throughout the world. By 1989, the number of
networks connected had risen to five hundred. The Network Information Centre of
the Defence Data Network Information Centre found 2,218 networks connected
as of January 1990. By June 1991, the National Science Foundation Network
Information Centre pegged it at close to four thousand. If we extrapolate based on
current number the figure reached forty million people during 1996 one hundred
million by 1998. Its current growth rate is 15 per cent monthly.
This high levels of connectivity has resulted in an unparalleled degree of
communication, collaboration, resource sharing, and information access. The host
population of the Internet has been doubling every year since 1981. What has driven
this growth more than anything is the openness of the academic community. That
openness shows up in the technology of the Internet, its economics and its culture.
Internet has become a forum for human communication in a wide variety of disciplines
ranging from computers, medicine, bio-sciences and social sciences, etc., to art,
music, sports and other recreations.
Since the early 80s, when the US government began to share their network technology
with the world, there has been growth on a scale that is hard to imagine. To put it
into better perspective, in the early 80s there were only 213 registered hosts on the
Internet. By 1986, this number had risen to 2,308 hosts.
According to the Internet Society, a non-profit society that studies and promotes
the use of the Internet, 134 countries had full Internet connection and an additional
5 countries had limited access (for example, 3-mail only) in 1996. Surveys performed
by the International Data Corporation and Matrix Information and Directory Services
found that as of September 1997 there were between 53 and 57 million users of the
Internet worldwide. By January 1999 there were about 50 million internet connections
worldwide. The figure grant to 200 million users in 200 countries and territories by
the year 2001. Today's telephone system is still much larger: about 3 billion people
around the world now talk on almost 950 million telephone lines (about 250 million
of which are actually radio-based cell phones). Also, the total numbers of host
computers and users have been growing at about 33% every six months since 1988
- or roughly 80% per year. The telephone service, in comparison, grows an average
of about 5-10% per year. That means if the Internet keeps growing steadily the way
it has been growing over the past few years, it will be nearly as big as today's
telephone system by about 2007. 203
Internet Technology
10.4 INTERNET CONTROL AND ASSOCIATED
ORGANIZATION
The Internet can be mentioned as a collection of autonomous inter-connected
networks using various common protocols and standards. The Internet protocols
and standards are being defined from time to time by various international organization
and committees after rigorous testing and reviewing. It can, however, be said that
no single person, organization, government or group owns or controls the Internet.
The governing bodies of various organizations can be said as controlling authorities
of certain parts of the Internet. For example the ICANN oversees the domain name
management; the IANA acts as the clearing house for protocol parameters, etc.
The following organizations can be said to be controlling the Internet.

10.4.1 Internet Standards Organizations (ISOC)

The Internet Society is a non-profit, non-governmental, international, professional
membership organization. Its more than 150 organization and 6,000 individual
members in over 170 nations worldwide represent a veritable who’s who of the
Internet community. It provides leadership in addressing issues that confront the
future of the Internet. The work of the Internet Society focuses on four “pillars:”
standards, public policy, education and training, and membership. ISOC is closely
associated with the activities of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), the
Internet Architecture Board (IAB), the Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG),
and the Internet Research Task Force (IRTF).
ISOC is also active in areas such as censorship/freedom of expression, taxation,
governance, and intellectual property. The Internet Society has helped train many of
the key information technology leaders around the world through programmes such
as the annual Network Training Workshops, Sustainable Internet Training Centers,
and sponsorship of the Internet Fiesta. The Society is governed by a Board of
Trustees elected by its membership around the world.
The Society’s individual and organization members are bound by a common stake
in maintaining the viability and global scale of the Internet. They comprise the
companies, government agencies, and foundations that have created the Internet
and its technologies as well as innovative new entrepreneurial organizations
contributing to maintain that dynamic.

10.4.2 The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)

The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a large open international community
of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers concerned with the
evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation of the Internet. It is
open to any interested individual around the world. At the technical and developmental
level, the Internet is made possible through the creation, testing and implementation
of Internet Standards. These standards are developed by the IETF. The standards
are then considered by the Internet Engineering Steering Group, in consultation with
the Internet Architecture Board. The RFC Editor, supported by the Internet Society,
is responsible for preparing and organizing the standards in their final form. More
information can be obtained from the IETF web site at http://www.ietf.org.

10.4.3 The Internet Engineering Steering Group (IESG)

The IESG is responsible for the technical management of IETF activities and the
204 Internet standards process. The IESG is directly responsible for the actions associated
with entry into and movement along the Internet "standards track," including final What is Internet?

approval of specifications as Internet Standards.

10.4.4 Internet Architecture Board (IAB)

The Internet Architecture Board (IAB) is a technical advisory group of the Internet
Society. Its responsibilities include:

1) IESG Selection: The IAB appoints a new IETF chair and all other IESG
candidates from a list provided by the IETF nominating committee.

2) Architectural Oversight: The IAB provides oversight of the architecture for the
protocols and procedures used by the Internet.

3) Standards Process Oversight and Appeal: The IAB provides the oversight of
the process used to create Internet Standards. The IAB serves as an appeal
board for complaints of improper execution of the standards process.

4) RFC Series and IANA: The IAB is responsible for editorial management and
publication of the Request for Comments (RFC) document series, and for the
administration of the various Internet assigned numbers.

5) External Liaison: The IAB acts as representative of the interests of the Internet
Society in liaison relationships with other organizations concerned with standards
and other technical and organizational issues relevant to the world-wide Internet.

The IAB acts as a source of advice and guidance to the Board of Trustees and
Officers of the Internet Society concerning technical, architectural, procedural, and
(where appropriate) policy matters pertaining to the Internet and its enabling
technologies. More information is available from the IAB web site at http://
www.iab.org.

10.4.5 Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is the central coordinator for the
assignment of unique parameter values for Internet protocols such as Internet
addresses, domain names, protocol numbers, and more. The IANA is chartered by
the Internet Society (ISOC) for the same.

10.4.6 IETF RFCs and the RFC Editor

The Requests for Comments (RFCs) form a series of notes, started in 1969, about
the Internet. The notes discuss many aspects of computer communication, focusing
on networking protocols, procedures, programmes, and concepts but also including
meeting notes, opinion, and sometimes humorous anecdotes.

The specification documents of the Internet protocol suite, as defined by the Internet
Engineering Task Force (IETF) and its steering group the IESG, are published as
RFCs. Thus, the RFC publication process plays an important role in the Internet
standards process.

The RFC Editor is the publisher of the RFCs and is responsible for the final editorial
review of the documents. The Internet Society funds the RFC Editor's function. The
IETF RFC Editor web site at http://www.rfc-editor.org/overview.html can be seen
for further details. 205
Internet Technology
10.4.7 European Telecommunications Standards Institute
The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is a non-profit
organization whose mission is to produce telecommunications standards.

10.4.8 Internet Research Task Force (IRTF)

The Research Groups work on topics related to Internet protocols, applications,
architecture and technology. Research Groups are expected to have the stable long-
term membership needed to promote the development of research collaboration
and teamwork in exploring research issues. IRTF provide the forum for this.
Participation in IRTF activities is by individual contributors rather than by
representatives of organizations. The IRSG from time to time holds topical workshops
focusing on research areas of importance to the evolution of the Internet, or more
general workshops to, for example, discuss research priorities from an Internet
perspective. More information is available from the IRTF web site at http://
www.irtf.org.

10.4.9 The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and

Numbers (ICANN)
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is a non-
profit corporation that was formed to assume responsibility for the IP address space
allocation, protocol parameter assignment, domain name system management, and
root server system management functions previously performed under U.S.
Government contract by IANA and other entities.
10.4.9.1 The World Wide Web Consortium
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) develops interoperable technologies
(specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential
as a forum for information, commerce, communication, and collective understanding.
More information can be had from the web site at http://www.w3.org/
10.4.9.2 International Telecommunication Union
The ITU, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, is an international organization
within the United Nations System where governments and the private sector
coordinate global telecom networks and services.

10.5 INDIAN SCENARIO

The use of the Internet was limited to Government organizations, Business Houses
and Corporate Offices during the 80s. It was with the introduction of PCs in the 90s
the Internet became popular at offices and homes and during late the 90s the Net
virtually became a household name in India. The sudden splurge in the Internet front
is in a large way owed to the increasing number of private ISP market mushrooming
all over the country, offering the cyber voyage for more and more competitive prices.
In a splash of time, the Internet in India has come to be viewed as the most vital
medium for information, entertainment, communication and the sole means for
electronic commerce. Today, everywhere one looks, the signs of the Internet's arrival
and adoption loom large. And as the Internet proliferates, so will e-commerce and
e-business. This is now a universally recognized fact. Therefore boosts in the expansion
206 of the Internet in the country will not only help India become a vital part of the
emerging global economy, it will also enable its citizens to avail the benefits of the What is Internet?

web enabling experience. Though we still lag behind stalwarts like China, Japan and
Taiwan in terms of Internet usage yet the gradual quickening of the pace of India's
Internet growth can be judged by the India Internet Log Book 2000, which reports
over 1.8 million subscribers (and more than 5.5 million users). And the estimated
figure by 31 December 2003 is a whopping 50 million!
A survey indicates that India's Internet subscribers increased from a meagre 0.7
million in November 1998 to over 1.8 million by 31 December 2000. This significant
boost to the country's Internet plans can be to the Government, which has announced
several landmark decisions that have helped increase Internet penetration in India.
A Nasscom Internet survey was conducted in 68 cities / towns in India in January
2001 (accounting for over 92 per cent of the total Internet users in the country) on
Internet Usage Trends and came up with some interesting findings: More than 200
cities and towns in India have Internet connectivity.
As of December 2000, there was a PC base of 5 million PCs. Out of these, there
were more than 3.7 million machines that had Pentium I and above processors (i.e.,
machines which could be effectively used for the Internet). More than 175 private
ISPs would be fully operational by June 31, 2001 (out of the projected 500 licenses
to be given by that date). At least 12 private international gateways for the Internet
are expected in the same period. Seven private international gateways are already
operational by December 2000. Over 81 per cent of the PCs sold during financial
year 1999-2000, were driven by the need to access the Internet. More than 86
percent of top 100 corporate companies (who responded to the survey) have endorsed
the Internet and e-commerce as being an integral part of their corporate strategic
framework for the next year. 91 per cent of India's corporate Web sites are located
overseas. The capital cities (New Delhi and other state capitals) today account for
79 per cent of Internet connections across the country. It is estimated that by 2003,
the number of Internet connections in India will grow to 10 million from the current
2.3 million.

10.6 TRENDS
As we struggle to envision what may be commonplace on the Internet in a decade,
we are confronted with the challenge of imagining new ways of doing old things, as
well as trying to think of new things that will be enabled by the Internet, and by the
technologies of the future. In the next ten years, the Internet is expected to be
enormously bigger than it is today. It will be more pervasive than the older technologies
and penetrate more homes than television and radio programming. Computer chips
are now being built that implement the TCP/IP protocols and recently a university
announced a two-chip web server. Chips like this are extremely small and cost very
little and they can be put into anything. Many of the devices connected to the Internet
will be Internet-enabled appliances (cell phones, fax machines, household appliances,
hand-held organizers, digital cameras, etc.) as well as traditional laptop and desktop
computers. Information access will be directed to digital objects of all kinds and
services that help to create them or make use of them.
In the field of communication, high-speed networking has also been developing at a
steady pace. From the original 50,000 bit-per-second ARPANET, to the 155 million
bit-per-second NSFNET, to today's 2.4 - 9.6 billion bit-per-second commercial
207
Internet Technology networks, we routinely see commercial offerings providing Internet access at
increasing speeds. Experimentation with optical technology using wavelength division
multiplexing is underway in many quarters; and test beds operating at speeds of
terabits per second (that is trillions of bits-per-second) are being constructed.
Building on the tremendous success of the last ten years in generalizing and adapting
research Internet technology to academic needs, the university community has joined
together with government and industry partners to accelerate the next stage of Internet
development in academia. One such example is Internet 2.

10.6.1 Internet2
The transition from government-supported backbones to a totally privatized system
in the U.S. has led to the development of a new system of backbones called Internet
2, the Next Generation Internet. Proponents of Internet 2 believe that privatization
of the Internet has detracted from the Internet's development, putting the focus more
on business profits and less on acdemics, research and teaching needs.
Internet2 is a collaborative effort to develop advanced Internet technology and
applications vital to the research and education missions of higher education. Over
140 U.S. universities, working together with partners in industry and government,
are leading the Internet2 project. Internet2 is working to enable applications, such
as telemedicine, digital libraries and virtual laboratories that are not possible with the
technology underlying today's Internet. As a project of the University Corporation
for Advanced Internet Development (UCAID), the Internet2 project is not a single
separate network, but rather joins member network application and engineering
development efforts together with many advanced campus, regional, and national
networks. Internet2 promises to address this problem by focusing its attention on
the next generation of university networks, a system that promises to be 100 times
faster than today’s system.
The goals of Internet2 are to create a world-class network that will support the
national research community; develop a new generation of applications that push
the envelope of this new leading edge network; and make the new services resulting
from Internet2 available to every level of education and to the Internet community at
large. Internet2 universities, working with industry, government and other research
and education networking organizations are addressing the major challenges facing
the next generation of university networks by:
l First and most importantly, creating and sustaining a leading edge network
capability for the national research community.
l Second, directing network development efforts to enable a new generation of
applications to fully exploit the capabilities of broadband networks.
l Third, working to rapidly transfer new network services and applications to all
levels of educational use and to the broader Internet community, both nationally
and internationally.

10.6.2 Internet3
Similar to the origin of the Internet, the root of the emerging Internet3 also lies with
the US government and academics. These include the US government's Next
Generation Internet (NGI) initiative, the National Science Foundation' (NFS) and
Very High Bandwidth Network Service (VBNS). As computer and communication
208
corporate giants such as IBM, CISCO and Intel will eventually benefit with the What is Internet?

development of Internet3, they too are active participants in this new Internet project.
Initiated in October 1996, NGI aims to foster a partnership between academia,
industry and government to develop technologies that will be essential to sustain the
USA's technological leadership in computing and communications and enhance the
country's economic competitiveness. The NGI by the end of the year 2002 aims to
demonstrate the new Internet work with a capacity of 1 Terra-bps and over 10
advanced applications that will leverage this bandwidth. The Internet3 promises a
large number of new applications on a very high-speed network.
Self Check Exercise
1) How is Internet controlled?
2) What are Internet2 and Internet 3 ?
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................
...................................................................................................................

10.7 SUMMARY
The unit discussed the definition, growth and development of the Internet, Internet
control and the associated organization. The unit further explains the role of the
Internet in India and its future use in the international context. Therefore the Next
Generation Internet called Internet2 as well as Internet3 which promises a large
number of new applications on a very high speed network, have been discussed to
appraise the students about the changing scenario or trends of Internet.

10.8 ANSWER TO SELF CHECK EXERCISES

1) The Internet is a collection of interconnected networks that no single entity
owns. The overall system is controlled by a group of volunteers dedicated to
promoting the exchange of information using the Internet. The group is known
as the Internet Society, which maintains the Internet through several subgroups.
The Internet Architecture Board authorizes network and protocol standards
used by the Internet and allocates and keeps track of Internet Resources,
including addresses. The Internet Engineering Task Force concerns itself with
operational and technical difficulties that might arise in the daily operation of the
system. Lastly the Internet Research Task Force keeps its eyes on developments
that may be made to improve the services provided by Internet.
2) Internet2 is a consortium being led by 200 universities working in partnership
with industry and government to develop and deploy advanced network
applications and technologies, accelerating the creation of tomorrow's Internet.
Internet3 includes the US government’s Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative
to provide high bandwidth network service.
209
Internet Technology
10.9 KEYWORDS
E-Commerce : Conducting business (buying and selling products) on-line.
Gateway : A node on a network that serves as an entrance to another
network.
Root Server : There is one central, or “A”, server that replicates changes
to the other servers on a daily basis.
Super Computer : An extremely fast computer that can perform hundreds of
millions of instructions per second.

10.10 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

Benson, Allen C., Companion for Librarians. New York. Neal-Schuman Publishers,
1999.
Cady Glee Harrah & AcGregor pat. Mastering the Internet. New Delhi. BPB
Publications, 1998.
Ellsworth, Jill and Matthew. Marketing on the Internet: Multimedia Strategies for
the World Wide Web. New York, John Wiley, 1995.
Engst, Adam. Internet Starter Kit for Macintosh. Indianapolis: Hayden Press, 1993.
MacLeod, R. And Kerr, L. EEVL. Internet: Past, present and future. The electronic
Library, 15(4), 1997.

210