Internetworking

Introduction

* The Internet is a group of big computers connected to share the information they hold. Some of these computers belong to the government. Some of these computers belong to schools (mostly universities). Some of these computers belong to big companies (corporations). Some of these computers belong to small companies. And some of these computers belong to individuals (located in the basement of their mother). There are two things that may already come to your mind: This is wonderful, and this can be messy; right on both accounts.
* The computers that are connected may not have anything at all in common. To make sure that this communication is possible, a few rules (called protocols) were established so that anybody who wants to make his or her information available to other people through the Internet must follow these rules, no matter what he or she does with the server or computer.
Internet Connection

The rules to make a server available on the Internet are so numerous and complicated that people like you and I started having a headache when trying to figure them out. Therefore, another type of computers was created that allows casual users like you and I to get on the internet without knowing, or being interested to know, how these servers communicate. These new intermediate computers are held by companies called service providers (they are the middle man). When you have a computer and want to get on this internet thing, you use an Internet Service Provider (ISP) who will establish the connection for you and will make sure that your computer can get on the Internet. Based on this, the Internet can be illustrated as follows:
Notice that computers like yours or mine must first connect to an ISP, and the ISP would lead us to the Internet.

This lesson assumes that your computer is ready to connect to the Internet. Because there can

be many issues involved, we cannot review them here.

To establish a connection with the internet, your ISP must let you know how to proceed.