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A Guide To The InternetThe Internet is a large collection of networks (all of which run the TCP/IP protocols) that are tied together so that users of any of the networks can use the network services provided by TCP/IP to reach users on any of the other networks. The Internet started with the ARPANET, but now includes such networks as NSFNET, NYSERnet, and thousands of others. There are other major wide area networks, such as BITNET and DECnet networks, that are not based on the TCP/IP protocols and are thus not part of the Internet. However, it is possible to communicate between them and the Internet via electronic mail because of mail gateways that act as "translators" between the different network protocols involved. When connected to the Internet you have access to all the resources you are authorized to use on your own Internet host, on any other Internet host on which you have an account, and on any other Internet host that offers publicly accessible information. The Internet gives you the ability to move information between these hosts via file transfers. Once you are logged into one host, you can use the Internet to open a connection to another, login, and use its services interactively (this is known as remote login or TELNETing. In addition you can send electronic mail to users at any Internet site and to users on many non-Internet sites that are accessible via electronic mail. There are various other services you can use. For example, some hosts provide access to specialized databases or to archives of information. TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is the common name for a family of over 100 data-communications protocols used to organize computers and data-communications equipment into computer networks. TCP/IP was developed to interconnect hosts on ARPANET, PRNET (packet radio), and SATNET (packet satellite). All three of these networks have since been retired; but TCP/IP lives on. It is currently used on a large international network of networks called the Internet, whose members include universities, other research institutions, government facilities, and many corporations. TCP/IP is also sometimes used for other networks, particularly local area networks that tie together numerous different kinds of computers or tie together engineering workstations. Anonymous FTP is a conventional way of allowing you to sign on to a computer on the Internet and copy specified public files from it. Some sites offer anonymous FTP to distribute software and various kinds of information. You use it like any FTP, but the username is "anonymous". Many systems will allow any password and request that the password you choose is your userid. If this fails, the generic password is usually "guest". The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical, distributed method of organizing the name space of the Internet. The DNS administratively groups hosts into a hierarchy of authority that allows addressing and other information to be widely distributed and maintained. A big advantage to the DNS is that using it eliminates dependence on a centrally-maintained file that maps host names to addresses. Mail to the Internet is addressed in the form user@domain. Remember that a domain name can have several components and the name of each host is a node on the domain tree. So, an example of an Internet mail address is totalsupport@btinternet.com There are several networks accessible via e-mail from the Internet, but many of these networks do not use the same addressing conventions the Internet does. Often you must route mail to these networks through specific gateways as well, thus further complicating the address. A newsgroup is a bulletin board which readers, interested in that newsgroup's particular topic, can read and respond to messages posted by other readers. Generally, there will be a few "threads" of discussion going on at the same time, but they all share some common theme. There are thousands of newsgroups, and there are more being added all the time. There are two types of newsgroups: moderated and unmoderated. A moderated newsgroup does not allow individuals to post directly to the newsgroup. Rather, the postings go to the newsgroup's moderator who determines whether or not to pass the posting to the entire group. An unmoderated newsgroup allows a reader to post directly to the other readers. |
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