Networking and Telecommunications

Tom Kelliher, CS14D,F

Dec. 2, 3, 1996

1. What is a network? Telecommunications?

2. What can it be used for?

3. What is telnet? How do I use it? What can I do with it?

Telecommunications and Networking

Ways for computers to communicate (transfer information) on-line.

1. On-line?

2. Protocol?

3. Telecommunications --- using phone lines.

4. Networking --- Using Ethernet, token ring, ATM, FDDI, etc.

5. The line has blurred: PPP. The telephone ``network.''

6. Gigabit networks and the grand challenges.

7. Internet II.

Hardware

1. Modems
   1. Modulate/de-modulate: analog/digital.

   2. Baud rate --- bits per second. Common baud rates.

   3. Compression.

   4. Error detection. Fall back.

   5. Internal, external (serial port), PC card (PCMCIA).

   6. FAX modems. Area code explosions.

   7. Bandwidth and the ``last mile'' problem.

   8. Leased lines and Bandwidths.

   9. The future: ISDN (digital modems), cable modems (asymmetric transfer rates). Satellite?

2. Networking, Ethernet
   1. Media: Coaxial cable, twisted-pair, fiber optic cable.

   2. Network cards: internal, PC card. External?

   3. Ethernet, ATM bandwidth.

   4. How does Ethernet work?

   5. What is ATM?

   6. Packets.

   7. TCP/IP. SLIP, PPP. Layered protocols.

   8. Hubs, switches, routers, gateways.

Network Structures

1. Internet, internet, intranet.

2. LAN, WAN.

3. Why LANs rather than mainframes?

4. Backbones.

5. Star, ring, and bus topologies.

6. Client/server, peer-to-peer.

7. Host operating system, network operating system. Network services.

Services

1. Bulletin boards.

2. On-Line services.
   1. America Online, Compuserve, Prodigy.

   2. MSN. Office 97 and the Internet.

3. The Internet: WWW, e-mail, USENET, etc.

4. ISPs.

5. Teleconferencing, telecommuting.

URLs and Addressing on the Internet

http://www.westminster.edu/staff/kelliher
gopher://gopher.psu.edu
ftp://rtfm.mit.edu/pub/usenet/news.answers/mail/mailing-lists
http://www.NeoSoft.com:80/internet/paml/

1. Service name (optional with many browsers). Browsers vs.\ stand-alone tools.

2. Host.

3. Port.

4. Path.

Internet Addresses

Host and domain names and IP addresses:

abacus.westminster.edu --- 204.171.15.202
guardian.cse.psu.edu

Top-level domains:

1. edu

2. com

3. org

4. gov

5. mil

6. net

Country domains:

1. au

2. ca

3. de

4. fi Why is this common?

5. nl

6. uk