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Guide 2. What is the Internet?

How the Internet works (screen 3 of 6)

What is a network?

A network is formed by one computer being connected to another, or to many others. These connections enable the computers to exchange information with each other.

You can network different sorts of computers together - like Macintoshes and PCs. The computers can be in different rooms, different buildings or even different countries. It is this inter-networking between computers which makes up the Internet.

There are also intranets and extranets which we define later in this Guide.

Servers and clients

The Internet consists of a large number of computers connected, or networked, to each other. There are two types of such networked computers: servers and clients. There is no real difference between these computer types except that servers tend to have greater capacity and be more expensive. The different uses of servers and clients means that they tend to be configured differently and run different software.

• A server computer is an information storer and provider
  • Servers are usually connected permanently to the Internet by an ISDN line, a direct microwave link, or perhaps an ADSL connection(1).
    Want ISDN defined? Visit FOLDOC(2), the Free On Line Dictionary of Computing.
  • A server is a computer. It can be small through to very large in capacity depending on the demands of the organisation. Servers hold most of the information and services which are available on the Internet; that is, a server is an information storer and provider.
  • When you ask for a screen from a World Wide Web server, the server sends the screen you requested. It works by using HTTP commands (HyperText Transfer Protocol) - the standard for transfer of HTML-based(3) documents.
  • If your organisation wants to operate its own server, you will need to choose Web server software and configure the server for use.
  • There are probably more than one million servers connected to the Net. You can look at a list of Australian servers(4) which are associated with the arts. 
  • A server may also be called a 'HTTP server' or a 'Web server'.
  • A server firewall prevents unauthorised interference with the server and the organisation's computers connected to it. Firewalls consist of special software - or sometimes a separate computer - which creates a gateway through which all computer traffic must pass. The software decides whether the commands and requests can be allowed through or not.
     
• A client computer is an information seeker and consumer
  Client computers are used by people who want to access the information and services which are stored on servers. That is, a client computer is an information seeker or consumer. There are many more client computers than server computers. 

Intranets and extranets

• What is an intranet?
  An intranet is an organisation's internal network, not connected to the Internet. Intranets are confined to the organisation, although they can extend over many physical locations, or even across the globe.

  An intranet may be an internal website where members of an organisation, and/or its branches are able to access information about the organisation such as calendars, staff notices, staff contact details, membership or collection databases, and information on collaborative projects, and may be comprised of material the organisation does not want available to the general community.

  The Intranet Roadmap (5) provides further information about intranets.

• What is an extranet?
  An extranet is an extension of an organisation's intranet outside the organisation on to the Internet which allows those users with special permission to access the intranet materials. This special access permission may be extended to suppliers, special customers or subscribers to a particular service.

Connecting to the Internet in Australia: ISPs

Anyone who wants to connect to the Internet in Australia needs to link into one of the existing networks. While Telstra has the largest such network in Australia, there are other organisations that have a direct link of their own into the major Internet networks in the USA.

Those who provide connections to the Internet are called Internet Service Providers (ISPs)(6).

ISPs take your money and in exchange let you use their connection to the Internet subject to the terms of your agreement with them.

If you sign up with an ISP you will be a part of the estimated 10% growth every month in Internet connections in Australia.

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References

1. ADSL http://www.adsl.com/about_dsl.htm
2. Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing http://www.foldoc.org/
3. Guide 3 screen 3 http://culture.gov.au/resources/guides/g3/s3.htm
4. Australian servers related to the arts http://www.csu.edu.au/servers/arts.html
5. Intranet Roadmap http://www.intranetroadmap.com/
6. Guide 6 screen 5 http://culture.gov.au/resources/guides/g6/s5.htm

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