Internet, Networks and TCP/IP
- (The Internet Network Diagram - Internet, Extranet, and Intranet)
The Internet Revolution is the New Industrial Revolution
- Overview
The idea that the Internet Revolution is the new Industrial Revolution is a common one, with many experts and commentators suggesting that the internet and related technologies are bringing about a transformation as profound as previous industrial revolutions.
This "Fourth Industrial Revolution," as some call it, is characterized by the fusion of technologies like AI, robotics, the Internet of Things (IoTs), and genetic engineering, leading to rapid changes in various aspects of life.
Overall, while the Internet Revolution shares many characteristics with previous industrial revolutions, it also presents unique challenges and opportunities that require careful consideration and proactive management.
Here's why this comparison is made:
- Transformative Impact: Just as the first three industrial revolutions (steam power, electricity, and digital technology) drastically altered how we live and work, the internet revolution is also causing widespread societal and economic changes.
- Technological Advancements: The internet revolution is built upon significant advancements in computer hardware, software, and telecommunications, mirroring the technological leaps of past industrial revolutions.
- Economic Restructuring: The internet has spurred new business models, increased productivity, and led to the reshaping of industries, much like the previous revolutions did.
- Social and Political Changes: The internet has facilitated new forms of social and political engagement, altered communication patterns, and raised important legal and ethical questions, mirroring the societal shifts seen during earlier industrial periods.
However, it's also important to note that:
- Complexity: The "Fourth Industrial Revolution" is not just about the internet. It encompasses a range of interconnected technologies, including AI, IoT, and advanced manufacturing, making it a complex and multifaceted phenomenon.
- Rate of Change: Some argue that the current revolution is evolving at a much faster pace than previous ones, requiring constant adaptation and careful consideration of its consequences.
- Potential Risks: Alongside the benefits, there are also potential risks associated with rapid technological change, such as job displacement, social inequality, and ethical concerns about AI and data privacy.
Please refer to the following for more information:
- Wikipedia: Internet Protocol
- Wikipedia: History of the internet
- Wikipedia: Fourth Industrial Revolution
- The Internet (Past, Present and Future)
The Internet, a global network of networks, has profoundly impacted communication, commerce, and access to information.
Initially emerging in the US during the 1970s and becoming widely accessible in the 1990s, it connected billions by 2020. Its growth is fueled by "smart" technologies and the Internet of Things (IoTs), enabling a vast array of devices to connect and interact.
The Internet's versatile nature allows for diverse applications, from social media and e-commerce to digital information access and collaborative work.
Past:
- Emergence: The Internet began as a US Department of Defense project, ARPANET, in the late 1960s, connecting research institutions.
- Early Development: It evolved from a research and development network to a more open system, with the establishment of the NSFNET in the 1980s.
- Commercialization: Restrictions on commercial use were removed in the early 1990s, leading to its widespread adoption.
Present:
- Connectivity: Billions are connected through various devices, including smartphones, computers, and the growing number of "smart" devices.
- Applications: The Internet supports communication, commerce, access to information, and collaborative work across the globe.
- "Internet of Things": Devices like appliances, vehicles, and even entire cities are becoming interconnected, creating new possibilities and challenges.
Future:
- Enhanced Immersion: Future iterations may involve augmented and virtual reality, with seamless integration of voice commands, gestures, and even brain-computer interfaces.
- Ubiquitous AI: Artificial intelligence is likely to play an increasingly prominent role, transforming how we interact with and utilize the Internet.
- Evolution of E-commerce: Online shopping and services will likely become even more integrated into our daily lives, with potential for personalized and immersive experiences.
- Industry 4.0 and The Internet
"The Internet Revolution is the New Industrial Revolution" means that the widespread adoption of the internet and its associated technologies is causing a fundamental shift in society and the economy, similar to the major changes brought about by the earlier Industrial Revolutions, which transformed manufacturing and production processes with new machinery and power sources; essentially, the internet is now driving a new era of innovation and disruption across industries and daily life.
- Impact on work and business: Just like the Industrial Revolution created factories and new jobs, the internet has enabled new business models, remote work, and globalized markets, significantly changing how people work and companies operate.
- Accessibility to information: The internet provides nearly instant access to vast amounts of information, which is analogous to the increased knowledge and sharing of ideas that occurred during earlier industrial revolutions.
- Technological advancements: The "Internet Revolution" is characterized by technologies like cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and big data, which are rapidly transforming various sectors, similar to how steam engines and electricity did in previous industrial revolutions.
In essence, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is the trend towards automation and data exchange in manufacturing technologies and processes which include cyber-physical systems (CPS), Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, cognitive computing, and AI.
- The Growth of the Internet
Because the United States Department of Defense backed the development of the networking approach through DARPA, it was dubbed the Department of Defense (DoD) model throughout its development. A protocol stack is used to implement it.
Since the early 1980’s when the U.S. government began to share their network technology with the world, there has been growth on a scale that is hard to imagine and in the early 1980’s there were only 213 registered hosts on the Internet. In 1986, this number had risen to 2,308 hosts.
According to the Internet society, a non-profit society that studies and promotes the use of Internet there were approximately 500,000 computers or hosts, connected to the Internet in 1990.
At the mid of 1995, this number grew to estimated 53.85 million. More astounding is the number of people using the Internet. 134 countries had full Internet connection and an additional 52 countries had limited access (for example, e-mail only) in 1996.
Surveys performed by International Data Corporation and Matrix information and Directory Services found that as of September 1997 there were between 53 and 57 million users of the Internet world wide. By January 1999 there were about 50 million Internet connections worldwide and which were estimated to grow to 200 million by the year 2000.
Today, the Internet is a public, cooperative, and self-sustaining facility accessible to hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Physically, the Internet uses a portion of total resources of the currently existing public telecommunication networks.
- The Internet and TCP/IP Protocol Suite
The Internet's fundamental distinction lies in the TCP/IP protocol suite, which enables digital computers to communicate across distances. This suite, encompassing Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP), facilitates data transmission by breaking it into packets, routing them individually, and reassembling them at the destination. TCP handles packet organization and reassembly, while IP manages routing to the correct location.
The TCP/IP model further divides this process into four layers: Link, Internet, Transport, and Application.
Key characteristics:
- TCP/IP as the Internet's Foundation: The Internet's architecture is built upon the TCP/IP protocol suite. This suite, consisting of TCP and IP, defines how data is packaged, addressed, transmitted, routed, and received.
- Packet Switching: The Internet utilizes a packet-switched network, meaning data is broken into smaller packets. These packets are routed independently through various paths and reassembled at the destination.
- TCP's Role: Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is responsible for the reliable delivery of data. It ensures that packets are delivered in the correct order and handles reassembly of the data at the receiving end.
- IP's Role: The Internet Protocol (IP) handles the routing of data packets. It assigns unique addresses to devices and directs packets to their intended destination.
- Interoperability: The TCP/IP model allows devices with different hardware and software to communicate, contributing to the Internet's scalability and flexibility.
Four-Layer Architecture:
The TCP/IP protocol suite is structured into four layers, each with specific functions and responsibilities:
- Link Layer: Manages communication within a single network segment.
- Internet Layer: Facilitates communication between different networks.
- Transport Layer: Handles communication between applications on different devices.
- Application Layer: Provides network services to applications, such as web browsers and email clients.
- The Internet: The Largest Network of All
The Internet comprises the network edge and the network core. The network core is the set of interconnected networks that provide wide area connectivity to the customers of the network. The network edge is the set of devices and local networks that connect to the core network. Your computers, TV sets, thermostats, and local network constitute a network edge. Your Internet service provider and its Internet service provider are components of the network core.
Today, The Internet is the largest computer network. It is composed of thousands of smaller networks and connects billions of devices worldwide, handling the majority of data communication that occurs on a daily basis.
The Internet is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to link devices worldwide. TCP/IP, or the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, is a suite of communication protocols used to interconnect network devices on the Internet. TCP/IP can also be used as a communications protocol in a private computer network (an Intranet or an Extranet).
The Internet is a network of networks that consists of private, public, academic, business, and government networks of local to global scope, linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless, and optical networking technologies. The mobile Internet, automation and AI will have profound implications - for jobs, infrastructure, investment, global competition and more.
- The Internet and Beyond
Initially restricted to military and academic institutions, the Internet now operates on a three-level hierarchy composed of backbone networks, mid-level networks and stub networks. It is a full-fledged conduit for any and all forms of information and commerce. Internet websites now provide personal, educational, political and economic resources to virtually any point on the planet.
The Industrial Internet is the next frontier. It merges the physical with the digital to predict, control and create systems that produce better outcomes. Through the Industrial Internet, companies will shift from responding to events and will instead use connected machines, big data and analytics to predict and plan, resulting in large gains in industrial productivity, bottom line results and societal outcomes.
The Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0) refers to the marriage of physical assets and advanced digital technologies, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), robots, drones, autonomous vehicles, 3D printing, cloud computing, nanotechnology, and more - that communicate, analyze, and act upon information, enabling organizations, consumers, and society to be more flexible and responsive and make more intelligent, data-driven decisions.
People around the world are accessing the Internet with mobile devices. The number of connected devices is soaring. Soon machines will be communicating with each other in the Internet of Things.
To progress the development of the digital society and make the Internet of Things working, we need a powerful wireless network that can transfer large volumes of data fast.
Wireless 5G will substantially improve the mobile Internet. LTE is currently the fastest mobile technology available, supporting peak data rates of up to 300 megabits per second (Mbs).
- (The Relation Between Internet, Extranet, and Intranet)
- Intranets and Extranets
Although Intranet and Extranet software are relatively new, they have advanced rapidly within the last 20 years.
Intranets and extranets are both widely used forms of networks, but they differ in many ways.
Intranets and extranets are both private networks, but they are very different. An intranet is a private, local network that enables employees within an organization to create content, communicate, and collaborate.
An extranet, on the other hand, is a controlled-access private network that provides authorized customers, vendors, and partners with access to certain parts of the internal network.
Both types of networks bring huge benefits to organizations, such as cost-effectiveness, ease of communication, collaboration, and enhanced security.
Intranet and Extranet software are full-fledged digital, interactive, collaborative communities for you and your customers. Every action is intuitive.
- Benefits of using Intranets and Extranets
Intranets and extranets are powerful tools for managing the internal and external elements of a business. They provide many benefits, such as secure and efficient communication, simplified information sharing, and improved collaboration. However, they can only serve their purpose if implemented correctly.
To organize your data, maximize efficiency, and provide a seamless user experience, pay attention to your system's architecture and design. With the right policies, you can ensure that all your data is easily accessible and secure.
Enhancing your organizational network with Intranets and Extranets means using a private network (Intranet) to improve communication and collaboration within the company, and extending that network to customers, suppliers, etc. through controlled access systems (Extranet) external partners to gain better information sharing across the entire network ecosystem and streamline business operations.
Benefits of using Intranets and Extranets:
- Improved communication: Streamlined information sharing within the company and with key external stakeholders.
- Enhanced collaboration: Facilitate teamwork and project management across different teams and organizations.
- Increased productivity: Easy access to relevant information, reducing time spent searching for data.
- Security: Controlled access to sensitive information through user authentication and permissions.
