The Internet, sometimes referred to simply as the Net, is a global system of interconnected computer networks — an enormous network of computers where users at any one node can, when they have authorization, obtain data from any other node (and in some cases share data with other nodes). It is often referred to as the World Wide Web, but the Internet is much more than a “storehouse of world knowledge,” as many people tend to think. The Internet provides a variety of different services that are accessible and usable by individuals all over the world. Some of these services are used for commercial purposes and others are available for free.
Internet services provide users with a facility known as packet switching or transport control protocol. This facility allows multiple devices to share the same IP address and it is this characteristic that underlies the very concept of the Internet. A packet is simply a data stream with no stopping point and no source or destination. The Internet works on this principle. Basically, an IP packet will be transmitted from a source to a destination through the use of a series of different communication protocols, the most common of which are the ICMP or Internet Message Format and the TCP/IP protocol.
There are also several service types that are based on the internet itself. The most popular among them are the normal file sharing methods, which permit two or more computers to work together on the same project by allowing them to exchange information. File redirection, or File Transfer Protocol, is one such method. Another is Frame Relay Service, which is used to allow data to be sent over a physical network line and received over an electronic network line. There are also several different sub-protocols that are specific to certain file types and protocols.
An example of the kind of service usually associated with the internet is the email system. Emails are the most widely exchanged application of the internet and work on its basic principles. Basically, an email system allows a user to send a message to another user by transferring the contents of an already existing message onto the recipient’s computer. This can be done in several ways, including the use of a protocol, which makes it possible to transfer information without having to change the previous message itself. Some internet service providers provide their subscribers with special email accounts, which allow them to perform internet work. These internet work services are what make emails popular means of communication.
Another example of the internet functions that do not involve any kind of communication is the File Transfer Protocol. The FTP, or File Transfer Protocol, is used by some file sharing programs to allow two or more computers to work together on a certain project. FTP transfers data between two computers using the Internet as a source and a destination. It is, in a sense, a protocol that makes the Internet work for us. Most FTP programs are controlled by the operating system itself.
Of course, no one ever talks about these types of things when they talk about how the Internet is used. The reason for this is that the Internet has become such a large and complicated system that it is simply too complex for mere individuals to take care of. The truth is that the Internet may be incredibly useful, but it also has a tendency to crash every time there is a slight misstep or a glitch in the overall system. When this happens, the national science foundation takes over and fixes the problem through the fixes that it develops.
