Basic Internet Knowledge
Internet has been widely known
since 1980s – 1990s in the world commonly. Most of the people get in touch
with the new era of Internet since that period of time. From the very beginning,
internet is a very rare communication system that many people do not even
know what is it about. In the very old communication age where most of
the communication is done through telephone, we send our mail through post
office mailbox, we communicate using telegram, but since the age of internet
has come, this has changed the way we communicate with each others in this
world.
It is not difficult to understand that Internet is another medium of communication,
in other way to say that, it is a soft copy way of communication rather
than the hard copy way of communication, for example we send out mail in
envelope through post office, which is in hard copy, whereas we send our
mail through internet which is in soft copy; the email system. Soft copy
is a product of computer, where we type, we write and we display it on the
screen of our computer monitor. In email system, we type our letter through
computer keyboard and the output display on the computer screen, then we
send this email (electronic mail) through internet and the email arrive
in another computer. That is how Internet evolves in the way
we communicate with each others. In order for email to be sent and delivered,
both sender and receiver have to have computer to send and receive the
soft copy email through the Internet.
How does Internet communicate for each computers?
| Computer (A) -> | ISP (Internet Service Provider) | <- Computer (B) |
What our computer consists of in order for us to communicate with ISP?
| Computer (A) -> | ISP (Internet Service Provider) | <- Computer (B) |
| Client Platform | Server Platform | Client Platform |
| Telephone Line with Internet subscription | Telephone Line with Internet subscription | |
| Dial-up Modem / DSL Modem | Dial-up Modem / DSL Modem |
The user of the Computer (A) and Computer (B) are in client platform, whereas
ISP is in server platform. Whenever communication happen in between of Computer
(A) and Computer (B) in vice versa, server platform (ISP) will act as an medium
of communication which in other meaning is to serve both the clients in order
for Computer (A) and Computer (B) to communicate with each others successfully
in soft copy method or in other way of saying is in "digital method".
In order for us to have internet service for our telephone line, we have to subscribe
the internet service from our telecommunication company, we have to pay extra
for us to get our internet service for our telephone line. Once our telephone
line is subscribed with internet service, we might be provided with a modem from
our telecommunication company or in some cases we have to buy our own modem,
it depends on what internet service package the user is going to subscribe.
Modem is a device for modulation and demodulation process of the telephone line
signal, most of the telephone line has an analogue signal, and the signal has
to be converted to digital data in order for our computer system to understand
the way of communication.
We will discuss more about the communication of computer systems in receiving
data and sending data in later topics.
The connection from an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to a modem at home is typically through a coaxial cable, phone line, or fiber optic cable.
If the ISP uses a coaxial cable connection, a coaxial cable would run from a junction box or splitter outside the home, through a wall, and then connect to the modem. The modem would then convert the cable signal into a digital signal that can be used by the devices in the home.
If the ISP uses a phone line connection, the phone line would run from a junction box or splitter outside the home, through a wall, and then connect to a DSL modem. The DSL modem would then convert the phone line signal into a digital signal that can be used by the devices in the home.
If the ISP uses a fiber optic connection, a fiber optic cable would run from a junction box outside the home, through a wall, and then connect to an Optical Network Terminal (ONT). The ONT would then convert the fiber optic signal into a digital signal that can be used by the devices in the home. In some cases, the ONT and modem may be combined into a single device.
Once the modem is connected to the ISP’s network, it can then provide an internet connection to devices in the home, either through a wired Ethernet connection or a wireless Wi-Fi connection.
When an Internet Service Provider (ISP) sends network packets to a modem at home, the packets are transmitted over the internet using the TCP/IP protocol.
Each packet contains a header and a payload. The header contains information such as the source and destination IP addresses, the protocol type, and the sequence number. The payload contains the actual data being transmitted, such as a webpage or a file.
The ISP encapsulates each packet with the appropriate headers and sends it over the internet to the modem at the home. The modem receives the packets and removes the headers to extract the payload. The modem then reassembles the payload into the original data and sends it to the appropriate device on the home network.
The process of transmitting network packets from the ISP to the modem at home involves several different technologies, including routers, switches, and firewalls, which help to ensure that the packets are delivered securely and efficiently. Additionally, the ISP may use technologies such as Quality of Service (QoS) to prioritize certain types of traffic, such as streaming video or online gaming, over other types of traffic, such as email or web browsing.