The Internet is a global network that connects computers all around the globe. Through the Internet, individuals can exchange data and communicate with each other from virtually any place with an Internet connection. There are many websites on the Internet that allow users to upload their photos, videos and audio files. On the Internet you can find social networking sites such as MySpace, Friendster and Facebook, video sites such as YouTube, and there is also peer-to-peer file sharing systems such as Bitstream and Filecloud.
There are different layers of the Internet that make up the network. At the lowest layer, the lowest level of the Internet called Internetwork, is made up of connections through wireless networks such as Wi-Fi and cell phones. At this point, the Internet works almost the same way as an electric cable network. Data is sent from one computer to another over the Internet using the transport control protocol (TCP).
The next layer of the Internet, known as the Internet backbone, consists of the core libraries and resources of the Internet. The Internet backbone contains the data for the various networks on which the Internet operates. At this point, there are three types of networks in the Internet: the regional area networks (LANs), Internet service providers (ISPs) and packet data networks (PDNs). The Internet backbone is connected through the data centers of the various Internet service providers.
The central computer network, or CCN, consists of the largest collections of networks on the Internet. The CCN is made up of different Internet Service Providers (ISP’s) that connect to a central data center. In addition, the CCN provides connections to the different organizations that use the Internet for business purposes.
Finally, there is the edge network. This refers to the part of the Internet that connects the personal computers, such as desktops and laptops, and the different intranets and application software. It is used for file sharing, web browsing and other types of computer network activities. The edges of the Internet have less traffic than the main data center and the spine, and therefore, much slower speed.
These three networks plus the CCN make the Internet a very user-friendly medium. Users do not have to wait for their computers to download information from the Internet servers. They can surf the Internet with several websites simultaneously without interrupting each other.
A number of companies in the United States are trying to make the Internet more user-friendly. One such company is Cisco Systems, which is responsible for the development of many popular networking technologies. Cisco uses TCP/IP and VPN technology to allow Internet users to access the same applications over a local network or the Internet at the same time. A lot of businesses, especially small and medium-sized businesses, rely heavily on Cisco products.
With all the innovations happening in the Internet, it is very likely that other companies will come up with new methods of enhancing the quality of the Internet as well. It is also expected that people will begin using more digital devices to access the Internet, instead of using paper documents. With all these happening, there is no doubt that the Internet will continue to be a central communications and data exchange system. In order to keep the Internet running efficiently, it will be necessary for the different networks to work together.
