Imagine you're in a
room full of people from different countries, and everyone only speaks his or
her native language. In order to communicate, you'd have to come up with a
standard set of rules and vocabulary. That's what makes the Internet so
remarkable: It's a system that lets different computer networks communicate
with each other using a standardized set of rules. Without rules, these
computer networks wouldn't be able to communicate with each other.
Think for a minute
about the scope of the Internet. It's a collection of inter-networked computer
systems that spans the entire globe. It depends on several sets of rules called protocols. These
protocols make it possible for computer communication across networks. It also
relies on a huge infrastructure of routers, Network Access Points (NAPs) and computer
systems. Then there are the satellites,
miles of cable and hundreds of wireless routers that transmit signals between
computers and networks.
It's a truly global
system. Cables crisscross countries and oceans, crossing borders and linking
some of the world's most remote locations to everyone else. And the Internet is
still growing. More computers link to it every day, and various organizations
and companies are working to extend Internet access to countries that aren't
yet connected.
The Internet is a
giant system made up of much smaller systems. If it's one thing, does it have a
single owner? Is there some person or entity that controls the Internet? Is it
possible for someone to own something that spans nations and oceans? Keep
reading to find out…..
The
Internet's Owners
So
who actually owns the Internet? There are two answers to this question:
1.
Nobody
2.
Lots of people
If
you think of the Internet as a unified, single entity, then no one owns it.
There are organizations that determine the Internet's structure and how it
works, but they don't have any ownership over the Internet itself. No government
can lay claim to owning the Internet, nor can any company. The Internet is like
the telephone system -- no one owns the whole thing.
From
another point of view, thousands of people and organizations own the Internet.
The Internet consists of lots of different bits and pieces, each of which has
an owner. Some of these owners can control the quality and level of access you
have to the Internet. They might not own the entire system, but they can impact
your Internet experience.
The
physical network that carries Internet traffic between different computer
systems is the Internet backbone. In the early days of the
Internet, ARPANET served as the system's backbone. Today, several
large corporations provide the routers and cable that make up the
Internet backbone. These companies are upstream Internet Service
Providers (ISPs). That means that anyone who wants to access
the Internet must ultimately work with these companies, which include:
·
UUNET
·
Level 3
·
Verizon
·
AT&T
·
Qwest
·
Sprint
·
IBM
Then
you have all the smaller ISPs. Many individual consumers and businesses
subscribe to ISPs that aren't part of the Internet backbone. These ISPs
negotiate with the upstream ISPs for Internet access. Cable and DSL companies
are examples of smaller ISPs. Such companies are concerned with what the
industry calls the last mile -- the distance between the end
consumer and Internet connectivity.
Within
the backbone are Internet Exchange Points (IXPs), which
are physical connections between networks that allow data exchanges. For
example, while Sprint, Verizon and AT&T provide part of the Internet
backbone's infrastructure, the three networks aren't intertwined. They connect
together at an IXP. Several companies and non-profit organizations administer
IXPs.
The
individual computer networks that make up the Internet can have owners. Every
ISP has its own network. Several nations' governments oversee computer
networks. Many companies have local area networks (LANs)
that link to the Internet. Each of these networks is both a part of the
Internet and its own separate entity. Depending on local laws, the owners of
these networks can control the level of access users have to the Internet.
You
might consider yourself to be an owner of the Internet. Do you own a device
that you use to connect to the Internet? If so, that means the device you own
becomes part of the enormous inter-networked system. You are the proud owner of
part of the Internet -- it's just a very small part.
If
no one owns the Internet, who is responsible for making sure everything works?
Find out in the next section.
IN THE BEGINNING, THERE WAS ARPANET
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ARPANET was a network of computers housed in various
universities, government agencies and research facilities. The
people who built ARPANET designed many of the protocols that the Internet
uses today. ARPANET connected to several other computer networks and the
Internet was born. The agency responsible for ARPANET was the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency (DARPA), a branch of the United States Department
of Defense (DoD). Since ARPANET began as a U.S. government-sponsored project,
you could argue that at one time, the U.S. government owned the Internet.
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…………..
The
Internet's Caretakers
As
mentioned earlier, the Internetworks because of a system of rules called protocols.
By following these protocols, computers can send information across the network to
other computers. If there were no protocols, then there'd be no guarantee that
the information sent from one computer could be understood by another, or that
it'd even reach the right destination.
As
the Internet evolves, these protocols must also change. That means someone has
to be in charge of the rules. There are several organizations that oversee the Internet's
infrastructure and protocols. They are:
·
The Internet Society:
A nonprofit organization that develops Internet standards, policies and
education.
·
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF):
An international organization with an open membership policy that has several working
groups. Each working group concentrates on a specific topic, such as
Internet security. Collectively, these working groups try to maintain the Internet's
architecture and stability.
·
The Internet Architecture Board (IAB):
An IETF committee, the IAB's mission is to oversee the design of Internet
protocols and standards.
·
The Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN): A private
nonprofit corporation, ICANN manages the Internet's Domain Name System (DNS).
ICANN is responsible for making sure that every domain name links to the
correct IP address.
The
Internet Society and IETF are open membership organizations. Both welcome the
participation and input of Internet experts. They shape the way the Internet
works and evolves.
ICANN,
on the other hand, is a private organization. The exclusive nature of ICANN
concerns some people. They argue that ICANN holds a lot of power over anyone
who wants to register a domain name. ICANN makes money by accrediting vendors
called registrars. These registrars then sell domain names to
consumers and businesses. If you want to register a specific domain name,
ultimately ICANN decides if you can have it.
While
none of these organizations own the Internet, they each influence how the
Internet works. The Internet has no central owner. While its structure remains
carefully designed and maintained, the actual content on the Internet continues
to be the untamed cyberspace we all know and love.
DOMAIN NAMES
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Think of the Internet as a massive map.
Every computer connected to the Internet is a location with a physical
address on that map. On the Internet, this address is a series of numbers
called an IP address. It's not easy to remember a list of seemingly random
numbers. Fortunately, the people who created Internet protocols recognized
this problem and came up with a solution: Domain names. A domain name uses
words instead of numbers for Internet addresses.
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