CHAPTER 2

E-commerce Infrastructure: The Internet, Web, and Mobile Platform

After this chapter, you will be able to:

Discuss the origin of the Internet.Identify the key technology concepts behind the Internet.

Describe the role of Internet protocols and utility programs.

Discuss the impact of the mobile platform and cloud computing.

Explain the current structure of the Internet.Understand the limitations of today’s Internet.Understand how the Web works.Describe how Internet and Web features and services support e-commerce.

Understand the impact of m-commerce applications.

Internet It is an interconnected network of thousands of networks and millions of computers (sometimes called host computers or just hosts) linking businesses, educational institutions, government agencies, and individuals.

Web It is one of the Internet’s most popular services, providing access to billions, perhaps trillions, of Web pages, which are documents created in a programming language called HTML that can contain text, graphics, audio, video, and other objects, as well as “hyperlinks” that permit users to jump easily from one page to another.

The Evolution of the Internet: 1961 - Present

The history of the Internet can be segmented into three phases:

Innovation (1961 – 1974) Institutionalization (1975 – 1995) Commercialization (1995 – present)

Innovation Phase

The fundamental building blocks of the Internet where conceptualized and then realized in actual hardware and software.

The basic building blocks are: Packet-switching hardware Communications protocol called TCP/IP Client/server computing

Institutionalization Phase

Large institutions such as the Department of Defense (DoD) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) provided funding and legitimization for the fledging invention called the Internet.

Commercialization Phase

Government agencies encourage private corporations to take over and expand both the Internet backbone and local service to ordinary citizens – families and individuals across America and the world who were not students on campuses.

By 2000, the Internet’s use had expanded well beyond military installations and research universities.

The Internet: Key Technology Concepts

1. Packet switching – is a method of slicing digital messages into discrete units called packets, sending the packets along different communication paths as they become available, and then reassembling the packets once they arrive at their destination.

Packet – the discrete units into which digital messages are sliced for transmission over the Internet.

Router – is a special-purpose computer that interconnects the different computer networks that make up the Internet and routes packets along to their ultimate destination as they travel.

Routing algorithm – computer program that ensures that packets take the best available path toward their destination

The Internet: Key Technology Concepts

2. Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

Protocol –a set of rules and standards for data transfer.

TCP/IP – the core communications protocol for the Internet.

TCP – protocol that establishes the connections among sending and receiving Web computers and handles the assembly of packets at the point of transmission, and the reassembly at the receiving end.

IP – protocol that provides the Internet’s addressing scheme and is responsible for the actual delivery of the packets.

TCP/IP is divided into four separate layers

1. Network Interface Layer Responsible for placing packets on and receiving

them from the network medium, which could be a LAN.2. Internet Layer

Responsible for addressing, packaging, and routing messages on the Internet.

3. Transport Layer Responsible for providing communication with the

application of acknowledging and sequencing the packets to and from the application.

4. Application Layer Provides a wide variety of applications with the

ability to access the services of the lower layers.

Two versions of IP

1. IPv4 Internet address Internet address expressed as a 32-bit

number that appears as a series of four separate numbers marked off by periods, such as 64.49.254.91

2. IPv6 Internet address Internet address expressed as a 128-bit

number

Domain name – IP expressed in natural language.

Domain name System – system for expressing numeric IP addresses in natural language. (Cnet.com’s numeric IP is 216.239.113.101)

Uniform Resource Locator (URL) – the address used by a Web browser to identify the location of content on the Web.

The Internet: Key Technology Concepts

3. Client/Server Computing A model of computing in which powerful

personal computers are connected in a network together with one or more servers.

Client – a powerful personal computer that is part of a network.

Server – networked computer dedicated to common functions that the client computers on the network need.

Cloud computing refers to a model of computing in which firms and individuals can obtain computing power and software applications over the Internet, rather than purchasing the hardware and software, and installing it on their own computers.

Fastest growing form of computing. Ex. Google, Microsoft, SAP, Oracle, and Salesforce.com sell software applications that are Internet-based.

Internet Protocols: HTTP, E-mail Protocols, FTP, Telnet, and SSL

HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) It is the Internet protocol used for transferring Web pages.

E-mail Protocols E-mail is one of the oldest, most important, and frequently used Internet services.

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the Internet protocol used to send mail to a server. It is relatively simple, text-based protocol that was developed in the early 1980s.

Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) or Post Office Protocol (POP3) A more current e-mail protocol that allows users to search, organize, and filter their mail prior to downloading it from the server.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP) One of the original Internet services. Part of the TCP/IP protocol that permits users to transfer files from the server to their client computer, and vice versa,

Telnet Is a network protocol that also runs in TCP/IP’s Application Layer and is used to allow remote login on another computer.

The term Telnet also refers to the Telnet program, which provides the client part of the protocol and enables the client to emulate a mainframe computer terminal.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Is a protocol that operates between the Transport and Application Layers of TCP/IP and secures communications between the client and the server.

Internet Service Providers

Campus area network (CAN) a local area network operating within a single organization that leases access to the Web directly from regional and national carriers.

Internet Service Providers (ISP) firms that provides the lowest level of service in the multi-tiered Internet architecture by leasing Internet access to home owners, small businesses and some large institutions.

Two types of ISP service: Narrowband service – is the traditional telephone modem connection now operating at 56.6 Kbps. The most common form of connection.

Broadband service – refers to any communication technology that permits clients to play streaming audio and video files at acceptable speed – generally anything above 100 Kbps.

Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) Delivers high-speed access through ordinary telephone lines found in homes or businesses.

Cable Modem Piggybacks digital access to the Internet on top of the analog video cable providing television signals to a home.

Cable internet is a major broadband alternative to DSL service, generally providing faster speeds and a “triple play” subscription: telephone, television, and Internet for a single monthly payment.

The Internet and the Web: Features and Services

Electronic mail The most-used application of the internet. Uses a series of protocols to enable messages containing text, images, sound, and video clips to be transferred from one Internet user to another. It also allows attachments, which are files inserted within the e-mail message. The files can be documents, images, sounds, or video clips.

Instant messaging Displays words typed on a computer almost instantaneously. Recipients can then respond immediately to the sender the same way, making the communication more like a live conversation than is possible through e-mail.

Search engines Identifies Web pages that appear to match keywords, also called queries, typed by the user and then provides a list of the best matches.

Intelligent agents (bots) Software program that gathers and/or filters information on a specific topic and then provides a list of results for the user.

Online forums and chat A Web application that allows Internet users to communicate with each other, although not in real time.

Streaming media Enables music, video, and other large files to be sent to users in chunks so that when received and played, the file comes through uninterrupted.

Ex. YouTube, Metacafe, and Google VideoCookies

A tool used by Web sites to store information about a user. When a visitor opens a Web site, the site sends a small text file (the cookie) to the user’s computer so that information from the site can be loaded more quickly on future visits. The cookie can contain any information desired by the site designers.