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Chapter 2. Infrastructure for Electronic Commerce. Learning Objectives. In this chapter, you will learn about: The general structure of the network Protocols of electronic commerce and e-mail Internet utility programs Popular Internet applications. Learning Objectives (Cont.).
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Chapter 2 Infrastructure for Electronic Commerce
Learning Objectives In this chapter, you will learn about: • The general structure of the network • Protocols of electronic commerce and e-mail • Internet utility programs • Popular Internet applications
Learning Objectives (Cont.) • The history and use of Web markup languages • Web client and server architecture • Differences and similarities between the Internet, intranets, and extranets • Cost and bandwidth of connecting to the Internet
E-commerce Technology • The Internet • Database software • Network switches and hubs • Encryption hardware and software • Multimedia support • World Wide Web
Packet-Switched Networks • Circuit switching is used in telephone communication. • The Internet uses packet switching. • Packet switching needs computers called ‘routers’ and the programs called ‘routing algorithms’.
ARPANET • ARPANET is the earliest packet-switched network. • This wide area network used the Network Control Protocol (NCP). • A protocol is a collection of rules for formatting, ordering, and error-checking data sent across a network.
Open Architecture of ARPANET • Independent networks should not require any internal changes in order to be connected to the network. • Packets that do not arrive at their destinations must be retransmitted from their source network. • The router computers do not retain information about the packets that they handle. • No global control exists over the network.
The TCP/IP Protocol • The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet Protocol (IP) are the two protocols that support the Internet operation. • TCP controls the assembly of a message into smaller packets before it is transmitted over the Internet. • The IP protocol includes rules for routing individual data packets from their source to their destination.
TCP/IP Architecture TCP/IP Protocol layers (from the highest to the lowest): • Application • Transport • Internet • Network Interface • Hardware
IP Address • Internet addresses are based on a 32-bit number called an IP address. • IP addresses appear as a series of up to four separate numbers delineated by a period. • An address such as 126.204.89.56 uniquely identifies a computer connected to the Internet.
Domain Names • A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) consists of names and abbreviations that are much easier to remember than IP addresses. • The HTTP protocol defines how an Internet resource is accessed. • An address such as www.microsoft.com is called a domain name.
HTTP • Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is responsible for transferring and displaying Web pages. • A user’s Web browser opens an HTTP session and sends a request for a Web page to a remote server. • In response, the sever creates an HTTP response message that is sent back to the client’s Web browser.
SMTP, POP, and IMAP • E-mail is sent across the Internet is managed and stored by mail servers. • Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is the standard for e-mail client program. • Post Office Protocol (POP) is the standard for e-mail server program. • The Interactive Mail Access Protocol (IMAP) is a newer e-mail protocol.
FTP • The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) implements a mechanism to transfer files between TCP/IP-connected computers. • FTP transfers both binary and ASCII text. • Full privilege FTP allows remote uploading and downloading files. • Anonymous FTP allows you to log on as a guest.
Internet Utility Programs • Finger • Ping • Tracert • Other route-tracing programs
Internet Applications Three representative Internet applications: • Electronic mail • Telnet • FTP
Overview of Markup Languages • SGML is a rich meta language that is useful for defining markup languages. • HTML is particularly useful for displaying Web pages. • XML defines data structures for electronic commerce.
Standard Generalized Markup Language • The ISO adopted SGML standard in 1986. • SGML is nonproprietary and platform-independent. • SGML supports user-defined tags and architecture to complement the required richness of documents.
Hypertext Markup Language • Tim Berners-Lee invented HTML. • HTML is a document production language that includes a set of tags that define the format and style of a document. • HTML is based on SGML. • HTML is an instance of one particular SGML document type – Document Type Definition (DTD).
Extensible Markup Language • XML is a descendant of SGML. • XML allows designers to easily describe and deliver structured data from any application in a standard, consistent way. • XML can be embedded within an HTML document. • XML allows you to create your own customized markup language.
HTML Tags • An HTML document contains both document content and tags. • The tags are the HTML codes inserted in a document to specify the format on screen. • Each tag is enclosed in brackets (< >). • Most tags are two-sided – opening and closing tags.
HTML Links • Hyperlinks are bits of text that connect the current document to: • Another location in the same document • Another document on the same host machine • Another document on the Internet • Hyperlinks are created using the HTML anchor tag. • Two popular link structures: • Linear hyperlink structure • Hierarchical hyperlink structure
HTML Version History • HTML version 1.0 was introduced in 1991. • HTML 2.0 was released in Sept. 1995. • HTML 3.2 was introduced in 1997. • HTML 4.0 was released by W3C in Dec. 1997. • HTML 4.01 was released in Dec. 1999. • XHTML 1.0 became a W3C recommendation in Jan. 2000.
HTML Editors • Low end editor displays HTML code on the screen and allow you to insert HTML tag pairs by clicking selected buttons. • High end editor are Web site builder programs, they provide a rich environment that displays the Web page, not the HTML code. • Microsoft FrontPage and Macromedia Dreamweaver are examples of Web site builders.
Web Clients and Severs • Your PC is a Web client in a worldwide client/server network. • Web software is platform-neutral. • Computers that are connected to the Internet and contain documents made publicly available are called Web servers.
Web Client/Server Architecture • Client/server architecture may be used on LANs, WANs, and the Web. • The server’s workload is heavy. It needs to be high-ended computers with lots of disk capacity, fault-tolerant processors, and ample memory. • The term thin client describes a client’s relatively low workload, compared with that of a server.
Two-Tier Client/Server • A two-tier architecture is one in which only a client (tier 1) and a server (tier 2) are involved in the requests and the responses that flow between them over the Internet. • A typical request message from a client to a server consists of three major parts: • A request line • Optional request headers • An optional entity body
Three-Tier Client/Server • A three-tier architecture builds on the traditional two-tier approach. • The first tier is the client, the second tier is the Web server, and the third tier consists of applications and their databases. • A Common Gateway Interface (CGI) is a protocol which allows Web servers to interact dynamically with clients.
Intranets • An intranet is a Web-based private network that hosts Internet applications on a LAN. • Intranets are an extremely popular and low-cost way to distribute corporate information. • The intranet infrastructure includes a TCP/IP network, Web authoring software, Web server hardware and software, Web clients, and a firewall server.
Intranet Benefits • Increased, less expensive, environmentally friendly internal communication. • Low acquisition and deployment costs. • Low maintenance costs. • Increased information accessibility. • Timely, current information availability. • Easy information publication, distribution, and training.
Extranets • Extranets connect companies with suppliers or other business partners. • An extranet can be: a public network, a secure (private) network, or a virtual private network (VPN). • Extranets provide the private infrastructure for companies to coordinate their purchase and communications with one another.
Extranets (Cont.) • A public network extranet exists when an organization allows the public to access its intranet from any public network. • A private network is a private, leased-line connection between two companies that physically connects their intranets to one another. • A VPN extranet is a network that uses public networks and their protocols to send sensitive data to partners, customers, suppliers, and employees using a system called “tunneling”.
Internet Connectivity • Internet Service Providers (ISPs) provide Internet access services to other businesses. • Ways to connect to an ISP: • Dial-up connection • DSL connection • ISDN connection • Cable connection • T1 connection • T3 connection