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Internet Policy

Internet Policy. Day 1 - Workshop Session No. 1 History and technical background Prepared for CTO by Link Centre, Witwatersrand University, South Africa. Sessions Summary. Day 1 Session 1 History and technical background Session 2 Market structure Day 2 Session 3 Governance processes

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Internet Policy

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  1. Internet Policy Day 1 - Workshop Session No. 1 History and technical background Prepared for CTO by Link Centre, Witwatersrand University, South Africa

  2. Sessions Summary • Day 1 • Session 1 History and technical background • Session 2 Market structure • Day 2 • Session 3 Governance processes • Session 4 Interconnection and exchanges • Day 3 • Session 5 The impact of telecommunications regulation • Session 6 Internet specific policy issues • Day 4 • Session 7 Content on the Internet • Session 8 E-commerce issues • Day 5 • Session 9 Internet tools for regulators • Session 10 Conclusion, review and evaluation

  3. History and technical background • The purpose of this session is to understand the basic design and functioning of the networks which make up the Internet.

  4. Topics of discussion • How did the Internet develop? • What kind of network is the Internet? • Packet-based networks • Backbone infrastructure • Basic Internet protocol (TCP/IP) • IP addresses • How does data get from A to B? • Infrastructure: Routers, Switches and Servers • Higher level protocols • Domain names

  5. How did the Internet develop? ARPANET (military) [1969 – 1980’s]: • Research sponsored by the US Dept. of Defense, specifically, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) • Objective was to link geographically distant computers to allow remote access and sharing of data • Network had to have no single point of failure

  6. How did the Internet develop? ARPANET (military) [1969 – 1980’s]: • The Internet’s Grandfather, ARPANET, was born in late 1969 • From the beginning ARPANET was packet-based, which has important ramifications on its operation (no single point of failure) • Initially used NCP (Network Control Protocol), but adopted TCP/IP from 1973 onwards.

  7. How did the Internet develop? NSFNet (academia) [1980’s – 1991] • By the mid-80’s ARPANET had grown into a widespread educational and scientific network • Started to expand to other countries • The backbone of this network (NSFNet) was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF)

  8. How did the Internet develop? NSFNet (academia) [1980’s – 1991] • Because it was government-funded, there remained restrictions on the commercial use of this backbone until 1991

  9. How did the Internet develop?

  10. How did the Internet develop? ISPs and Telcos (business) [1991-2001] • In the late eighties and early nineties, the backbone was commercialised and the Internet has grown exponentially since then

  11. What kind of network is the Internet? The word “internet” • network = interconnected computers • internet = inter connected networks (archaic :-) • Internet = The Internet

  12. What kind of network is the Internet? Types of networks • Circuit-based networks • Telephone networks • Power grids •  Packet-based networks • Post Office • The Internet

  13. Packet-based networks • Unlike circuit-based networks, packet networks have no dedicated end-to-end connection • A characteristic of these networks is the unpredictable nature of routing • The Post Office runs a packet-based network • The Internet is packet-based

  14. Backbone Infrastructure • Copper cable • Fibre-optic cable • Wireless • Satellite (VSAT) • “Broadband”

  15. Basic Internet protocols (TCP/IP) • TCP/IP = Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol

  16. IP addresses • Numbers – IP addresses • IP numbers currently consist of four 8-bit numbers (e.g. 209.212.117.130) • We are running out of these numbers, hence the introduction of IP version 6 • IP -- what version are you using? (version 4) • NAT = Network Address Translation

  17. How does data get from A to B? • The transmission process is roughly as follows: • Data is split up into IP packets (TCP’s job) • Variable packet size • The destination of the packets are clearly labeled (IP address) • The packets are dumped into the closest part of the network to fend for themselves

  18. Internet infrastructure: Routers, Switches and Servers Bigger blocks • Routers • routers direct TCP/IP packets to their destinations •  Switches • Tend to be simpler and faster than routers •  Servers • servers answer requests for information and serve information to others •  Speed • A connection is only as fast as its slowest link!

  19. Higher level protocols Other protocols • TCP/IP is the basis for moving packets of data on the Internet, but that is all it does •  On top of this, different protocols are run to provide useful services or functions • HTTP = Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (web) • SMTP = Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (e-mail) • POP3 = Post Office Protocol • BGP = Border Gateway Protocol

  20. Domain names • Names versus numbers • Recap: IP addresses (e.g. 109.212.117.130) • Humans are not good at remembering numbers, so domain names were created •  Generic versus geographic • Generic: .com, .net, .org • Special: .gov, .mil, .edu • Little known domains: .int • Country code: .uk, .za, .jp • further split up, e.g. .co.za, .org.za, .gov.za.

  21. Domain names • New domains • Generic: .biz and .info • Special: .museum and .aero • “New” domains • .tv, .nu, .to, etc.

  22. Summary • The Internet has had military, academic and commercial influences • Different media (copper, fibre, wireless) are used for the Internet backbone • The Internet uses TCP/IP packets • IP addresses and domain names are used as identifiers • Routers and switches move packets

  23. Quiz • What does NCP stand for? • What was the National Science Foundation’s backbone network called? • What year were commercial restrictions on the Internet backbone dropped? • What does BGP stand for? • What version of IP are we using now? • How many countries are not connected to the Internet?

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