Overview |
The Internet is a distributed network of computers around the world that are interconnected by communication lines of various bandwidth (mostly leased telephone lines). The distributed nature of the Internet and associated communication protocols (TCP/IP) were developed by the military (ARPANET), which desired a communication network that could operate even if part of the network was destroyed. Today, the Internet operates under the same protocols developed under ARPANET, but now consists of many networks interconnected by gateways. |
TCP/IP | Transmission control protocol/Internet protocol. The network protocols used over the Internet. This is a packet based network: an item sent over the net is first broken into packets, then reassembled at the destination. Packets need not travel the same route nor arrive in order sent. |
IP Address | All computers on the network have an unique IP address that consists of a quartet of three digits, such as 128.128.173.1. TCP/IP uses numbers only, not names. |
DNS | Domain Name System. A
distributed system for converting internet names, such as lupine.mbl.edu
to IP address. For MBL, the DNS servers are:
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URL | Universal
Resource Locator. A means to specifiy a resource on the Internet. Most URL's
are recognized by WWW browsers. The Format is:
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| PPP, SLIP | Point
to Point Protocol and Serial Line Internet Protocol. These are two protocols
that allow remote computers (typically PC's) to establish an internet connection
via modem over voice phone lines. Most operating systems (Win95, WinNT, Mac)
have these protocol built in. They are how most people at home connect to the
net. Speed is limited by the modem, which are not really adaquate for smooth
web browsing. For MBL, you need a Hoh account. Dial 457-0101. After loggin in, issue the command PPP at the annex prompt. You will probably need to specify the DNS severs in the PPP setup. Only TCP/IP is supported via this connection. |