INTRODUCTION TO THE INTERNET

Today we will be looking at a very lovely topic; the internet. The internet has become a good part of our lives so we need to understand some what it is all about.

The word internet is formed from two words; international and network. An internet is simply an international network. 

Hence the term internet can be defined as a global connection of computers which provides communication and sharing of and resources.

The benefits of the internet include;

•      Faster communication channels like e-mailing, file transfer, internet calls, chats etc.

•      Latest news and gossips.

•      Entertainment like movie, videos and music download.

•      Socialization using median like facebook, twitter, Instagram, pinterest, tumblr, hi5, badoo, linkedin, yookos, google +, vine, meetup, tagged, ask.fm, flickr, meetme, classmates etc

•      E-commerce sites for buying and selling online, e-payment and internet banking

•      Education: schooling online is now possible.

•      Availability of research materials.

CLASSIFICATION OF NETWORKS

By Scale or Geographical Coverage

Computer networks may be classified according to the scale or extent of reach of the network, for example as a Personal area network (PAN), Local area network (LAN), Campus area network (CAN), Metropolitan area network (MAN), or Wide area network (WAN).

Personal area network (PAN)

This is a computer network used for communication among computer devices (including telephones and personal digital assistants) close to one person. The devices may or may not belong to the person in question. The reach of a PAN is typically a few meters. PANs can be used for communication among the personal devices themselves (intrapersonal communication), or for connecting to a higher level network and the Internet (an uplink).

Personal area networks may be wired with computer buses such as USB and FireWire. A wireless personal area network (WPAN) can also be made possible with network technologies such as IrDA and Bluetooth.

Local Area Network (LAN)

A network covering a small geographic area, like a home, office, or building. Current LANs are most likely to be based on Ethernet technology. The defining characteristics of LANs, in contrast to WANs (wide area networks), include their much higher data transfer rates, smaller geographic range, and lack of a need for leased telecommunication lines. A LAN network can be defined by the manual IP Address or by the selection of Auto IP option.

Campus Area Network (CAN)

A network that connects two or more LANs but that is limited to a specific (possibly private) geographical area such as a college campus, industrial complex, or a military base. A CAN, may be considered a type of MAN (metropolitan area network), but is generally limited to an area that is smaller than a typical MAN.

Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

A network that connects two or more Local Area Networks or CANs together but does not extend beyond the boundaries of the immediate town, city, or metropolitan area. Multiple routers, switches & hubs are connected to create a MAN

Wide Area Network (WAN)

A WAN is a data communications network that covers a relatively broad geographic area (i.e. one country to another and one continent to another continent) and that often uses transmission facilities provided by common carriers, such as telephone companies. WAN technologies generally function at the lower three layers of the OSI reference model: the physical layer, the data link layer, and the network layer.