Executive Summary

This report is dedicated to the technical aspects of the Internet. This publication contains the specifically technology orientated research for matters relating to the Internet and data transmission.

The reports are presented in simple English and primarily deal with the history of the various technologies and protocols used in the Internet, their variants and uses, their relative levels of success, and their likely futures. The various means of providing Local and Wide Area Networks are described and discussed. In many cases, examples are provided to facilitate understanding.

Considerable attention is also given to the matter of Quality of Service, and the relative merits of ATM and Frame Relay, where this is provided, and Ethernet where it is not. MPLS and other methods of provide the Quality of Service to Ethernet are also described.

1. OVERVIEW OF INTERNET TECHNOLOGY
1.1 Introduction
1.1.1 History
1.1.2 Contemporary and future impact
1.1.3 The Internet’s future – with QoS, ATM and MPLS
1.1.4 Terminology
1.2 Conclusion
2. TCP AND UDP
2.1 Introduction
2.2 UDP, TCP packets
2.2.1 Routing
2.2.2 TCP’s 3-way handshake
2.3 IP Addresses
2.3.2 Port numbers
2.3.3 Network and broadcast address
2.4 Upgrading to IPV6
2.4.1 Avoiding NAT – Network Address Translation
2.4.2 IPv6 Benefits
3. WEB BROWSING, ROUTING AND FLEXIBILITY
3.1 A Web browsing example of TCP and HTTP
3.1.1 Client-server computing
3.2 Routing, speed and reliability
3.2.1 Traceroute and Ping
3.3 Flexibility and contrasts with the phone system
3.3.1 TCP/IP’s flexibility and power
4. THE DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM
4.1 Overview
4.1.1 Text names and IP addresses
4.1.2 Name servers
4.1.3 Example of a primary name server
4.1.4 Sub-domains
4.1.5 Top Level Domains
4.2 Registering a Domain Name
4.2.1 Establishing the domain
4.2.2 Choosing a hosting company
4.2.3 Nameserver management is often neglected
4.2.4 Delegating the domain
4.2.5 Redelegating to another hosting company
4.3 DNS in action – translating a name into an IP address
4.3.1 Distributed name servers
4.3.2 Caching the result
4.3.3 Reverse address translation
5. APPLICATIONS AND PROTOCOLS
5.1 Introduction
5.2 Usenet ‘newsgroups’ – NNTP
5.3 IRC – Internet relay chat
5.4 network file system – NFS
5.5 Windows networking – SMB, CIFS and SAMBA
5.6 Virtual Private Networks – VPNS
6. E-MAIL
6.1 Clients and servers
6.1.1 Office and ISP based servers
6.1.2 Primary and backup server
6.1.3 ‘From:’ is insecure
6.1.4 Web-based e-mail clients
6.2 Simple Mail Transport Protocol – SMTP
6.3 Security limitations of SMTP
6.3.1 Virus and Trojan Horse E-mails
6.3.2 Anti-virus filtering
6.3.3 Spam – unsolicited bulk e-mail
6.3.4 Responding to and reporting spammers
6.3.5 Spam without a server
6.3.6 Filtering on the user’s computer
6.3.7 Rejecting spam at the mail server
6.3.8 Filtering at the mail server
6.3.9 Spam is a major threat to e-mail
6.4 Encryption for security and authentication
6.4.1 E-mail encryption software
6.5 Protocols for retrieving e-mails
6.5.1 POP3
6.5.2 IMAP4
6.5.3 Costs and benefits for the ISP
6.6 Attachments
6.7 Operational guidelines and plain-text formats
6.7.1 Problems with HTML e-mail
6.8 E-mail discussion lists
7. HTTP AND HTTPS
7.1 HTTP and FTP
7.1.1 FTP
7.1.2 HttP
7.1.3 FTP more efficient for large files
7.1.4 URLs which encode session information
7.1.5 Cookies
7.1.6 Proxy Servers for HTTP and FTP
7.1.7 Simple servers and complex clients
7.1.8 The challenge of complex websites
7.1.9 Server-side programming and database driven Websites
7.2 Secure HTTPS
7.2.1 Other uses of SSL/TLS
7.2.2 Restrictions on strong public-key cryptography
8. TELEPHONY AND VOICE OVER IP
8.1 VOIP
8.1.1 UDP packets preferred for voice
8.1.2 Private networks and the Internet
8.1.3 QoS – Quality of Service
8.2 Internet telephony
8.2.2 Cost-effectiveness of Internet telephony
8.3 VoIP on private networks
8.3.1 Costs and problems of VoIP
8.3.2 Additional benefits of VoIP
8.4 Comparing the Internet and the telephone network
9. SEARCH ENGINES AND DIRECTORIES
9.1 Introduction
9.2 Web Directories
9.3 Search engines
9.3.1 Search engine capabilities
9.3.2 Database size and timeliness
9.3.3 Relevancy
9.3.4 Popularity
9.3.5 Advertising with search engines
9.3.6 Special search engine services
9.3.7 Registering sites with search engines
9.3.8 Controlling search engine access to sites and pages
9.3.9 Meta tags to aid recognition by search engines
10. STREAMING MEDIA
10.1 Streaming video and audio
10.1.1 Video on demand meets the World Wide Web
10.1.2 Key characteristics of ‘streaming’
10.2 Unidirectional and bidirectional streaming
10.2.1 Video and audio conferencing
10.2.2 Real-time and stored material
10.3 Video on demand and bandwidth restrictions
10.3.1 Video compression
10.3.2 Internet bandwidth limits and costs
10.4 Open-standard streaming systems
10.4.1 MP3
10.4.2 MPEG-2
10.4.3 MPEG-4
10.4.4 H.264 AVC – Advanced Video Coding
10.5 Proprietary streaming systems
10.5.1 Real Networks
10.5.2 Microsoft’s Windows Media
10.5.3 Apple’s Quicktime
10.5.4 Comparing proprietary systems
10.6 File download vs. server streaming
10.6.1 Tunnelling through firewalls
10.6.2 Advantages of server streaming
10.7 Commercial aspects of proprietary systems
10.7.1 Future of streaming video
11. DATA PROTOCOLS
11.1 Introduction
11.1.1 ISDN primarily for voice, not data
11.1.2 Technologies for data communications
11.1.3 Voice to be carried as packets in the future
11.2 Frame relay
11.2.1 Introduction
11.2.2 Switching packets and cells
11.2.3 Permanent and Switched Virtual Circuits – PVCs and SVCs
11.2.4 Applications and futures
11.3 ATM and Ethernet
11.3.1 Introduction
11.3.2 Cell switching in hardware
11.3.3 Distinguishing characteristics of ATM
11.3.4 Applications and futures
11.3.5 ATM for LAN
11.3.6 Conclusion
12. DATA TRANSMISSION QUALITY - QOS, MPLS
12.1 Introduction and Terminology
12.2 One Network for all purposes
12.2.1 Network reengineering
12.2.2 Reducing the number of technologies
12.2.3 QoS works only within a single network
12.2.4 Ethernet, TCP/IP and MPLS
12.2.5 Frame Relay, ATM and DiffServ
12.3 MPLS
12.3.1 MPLS Principles
12.3.2 MPLS + Ethernet
12.3.3 The MPLS Label
12.3.4 Edge and core devices
12.3.5 Stacked or nested labels
12.3.6 QoS characteristics
12.3.7 Virtual Circuits and virtual LANs
12.3.8 Draft-Martini and beyond
12.4 Conclusion
13. DATA TRANSMISSION - NETWORKS WITHIN BUILDINGS
13.1 Introduction
13.1.1 Connecting multiple LANs
13.1.2 Layers 1 and 2
13.2 Ethernet and IEEE 802.3
13.2.1 Coaxial cable Ethernet 10Base2
13.2.2 UTP 10BaseT Ethernet
13.2.3 UTP 100BaseT Ethernet
13.2.4 Gigabit Ethernet
13.2.5 10 Gigabit Ethernet
13.2.6 Hubs, repeaters and bridges
13.2.7 Switches
13.2.8 Routers
13.3 Token Ring
13.4 FDDI – Fibre-Distributed Data Interface
13.5 ATM – Asynchronous Transfer Mode
13.6 Wireless LANs
14. GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS


Exhibit 1 – An 8 address TCP/IP subnet
Exhibit 2 – Traceroute of Routers between Melbourne and Iceland
Exhibit 3 – Generic Top Level Domains
Exhibit 4 – Australian Second Level Domains
Exhibit 5 – Contrasts between the telephone network and the Internet
Exhibit 6 – Estimated hours per month spent with major search engines – 2003
Exhibit 7 – Add URL pages for major search engines
Exhibit 8 – Adoption of digital broadband technologies