CHAPTER 2

E-commerce Infrastructure:
The Internet, Web, and
Mobile Platform
 After this chapter, you will be able to:

Discuss the origin of the Internet.

Identify the key technology concepts behind the Internet.
Describe the role of Internet protocols and utility programs.
Discuss the impact of the mobile platform and cloud
computing.
Explain the current structure of the Internet.
Understand the limitations of today’s Internet.
Understand how the Web works.
Describe how Internet and Web features and services
support e-commerce.
Understand the impact of m-commerce applications.
Internet
 It is an interconnected network of thousands of networks and
millions of computers (sometimes called host computers or
just hosts) linking businesses, educational institutions,
government agencies, and individuals.
Web
 It is one of the Internet’s most popular services, providing
access to billions, perhaps trillions, of Web pages, which are
documents created in a programming language called HTML
that can contain text, graphics, audio, video, and other objects,
as well as “hyperlinks” that permit users to jump easily from
one page to another.
The Evolution of the Internet: 1961 - Present

The history of the Internet can be segmented into

three phases:

 Innovation (1961 – 1974)

 Institutionalization (1975 – 1995)
 Commercialization (1995 – present)
 Innovation Phase

The fundamental building blocks of the Internet

where conceptualized and then realized in actual
hardware and software.
The basic building blocks are:
 Packet-switching hardware
 Communications protocol called TCP/IP
 Client/server computing
 Institutionalization Phase

Large institutions such as the Department of

Defense (DoD) and the National Science Foundation
(NSF) provided funding and legitimization for the
fledging invention called the Internet.
 Commercialization Phase

Government agencies encourage private

corporations to take over and expand both the
Internet backbone and local service to ordinary
citizens – families and individuals across America
and the world who were not students on campuses.
By 2000, the Internet’s use had expanded well
beyond military installations and research
universities.
 The Internet: Key Technology Concepts

1. Packet switching – is a method of slicing digital

messages into discrete units called packets, sending
the packets along different communication paths as
they become available, and then reassembling the
packets once they arrive at their destination.
 Packet – the discrete units into which digital messages are
sliced for transmission over the Internet.
 Router – is a special-purpose computer that interconnects the
different computer networks that make up the Internet and
routes packets along to their ultimate destination as they travel.
 Routing algorithm – computer program that ensures that
packets take the best available path toward their destination
 The Internet: Key Technology Concepts

2. Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol

(TCP/IP)
 Protocol –a set of rules and standards for data transfer.
 TCP/IP – the core communications protocol for the Internet.
 TCP – protocol that establishes the connections among
sending and receiving Web computers and handles the
assembly of packets at the point of transmission, and the
reassembly at the receiving end.
 IP – protocol that provides the Internet’s addressing scheme
and is responsible for the actual delivery of the packets.
 TCP/IP is divided into four separate layers

1. Network Interface Layer

 Responsible for placing packets on and receiving them from the
network medium, which could be a LAN.
2. Internet Layer
 Responsible for addressing, packaging, and routing messages on
the Internet.
3. Transport Layer
 Responsible for providing communication with the application of
acknowledging and sequencing the packets to and from the
application.
4. Application Layer
 Provides a wide variety of applications with the ability to access
the services of the lower layers.
 Two versions of IP

1. IPv4 Internet address

 Internet address expressed as a 32-bit number that appears
as a series of four separate numbers marked off by periods,
such as 64.49.254.91
2. IPv6 Internet address
 Internet address expressed as a 128-bit number
Domain name – IP expressed in natural language.
Domain name System – system for expressing
numeric IP addresses in natural language.
(Cnet.com’s numeric IP is 216.239.113.101)
Uniform Resource Locator (URL) – the address used
by a Web browser to identify the location of content
on the Web.
 The Internet: Key Technology Concepts

3. Client/Server Computing
 A model of computing in which powerful personal computers
are connected in a network together with one or more
servers.
 Client – a powerful personal computer that is part of a network.
 Server – networked computer dedicated to common functions
that the client computers on the network need.
Cloud computing
 refers to a model of computing in which firms and individuals
can obtain computing power and software applications over
the Internet, rather than purchasing the hardware and
software, and installing it on their own computers.
 Fastest growing form of computing.
 Ex. Google, Microsoft, SAP, Oracle, and Salesforce.com sell
software applications that are Internet-based.
 Internet Protocols: HTTP, E-mail Protocols, FTP,
Telnet, and SSL

HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

 It is the Internet protocol used for transferring Web pages.
E-mail Protocols
 E-mail is one of the oldest, most important, and frequently used
Internet services.
 Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
 is the Internet protocol used to send mail to a server.
 It is relatively simple, text-based protocol that was developed in the
early 1980s.
 Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) or Post Office Protocol
(POP3)
 A more current e-mail protocol that allows users to search, organize,
and filter their mail prior to downloading it from the server.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
 One of the original Internet services.
 Part of the TCP/IP protocol that permits users to transfer files from the
server to their client computer, and vice versa,
Telnet
 Is a network protocol that also runs in TCP/IP’s Application Layer and
is used to allow remote login on another computer.
 The term Telnet also refers to the Telnet program, which provides the
client part of the protocol and enables the client to emulate a
mainframe computer terminal.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
 Is a protocol that operates between the Transport and Application
Layers of TCP/IP and secures communications between the client and
the server.
 Internet Service Providers

 Campus area network (CAN)

 a local area network operating within a single organization that
leases access to the Web directly from regional and national
carriers.
 Internet Service Providers (ISP)
 firms that provides the lowest level of service in the multi-tiered
Internet architecture by leasing Internet access to home owners,
small businesses and some large institutions.
 Two types of ISP service:
 Narrowband service – is the traditional telephone modem connection
now operating at 56.6 Kbps. The most common form of connection.
 Broadband service – refers to any communication technology that
permits clients to play streaming audio and video files at acceptable
speed – generally anything above 100 Kbps.
Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
 Delivers high-speed access through ordinary telephone lines
found in homes or businesses.
Cable Modem
 Piggybacks digital access to the Internet on top of the analog
video cable providing television signals to a home.
 Cable internet is a major broadband alternative to DSL service,
generally providing faster speeds and a “triple play”
subscription: telephone, television, and Internet for a single
monthly payment.
 The Internet and the Web: Features and Services

Electronic mail
 The most-used application of the internet. Uses a series of
protocols to enable messages containing text, images, sound,
and video clips to be transferred from one Internet user to
another. It also allows attachments, which are files inserted
within the e-mail message. The files can be documents, images,
sounds, or video clips.
Instant messaging
 Displays words typed on a computer almost instantaneously.
Recipients can then respond immediately to the sender the
same way, making the communication more like a live
conversation than is possible through e-mail.
Search engines
 Identifies Web pages that appear to match keywords, also
called queries, typed by the user and then provides a list of the
best matches.
Intelligent agents (bots)
 Software program that gathers and/or filters information on a
specific topic and then provides a list of results for the user.
Online forums and chat
 A Web application that allows Internet users to communicate
with each other, although not in real time.
Streaming media
 Enables music, video, and other large files to be sent to users in
chunks so that when received and played, the file comes
through uninterrupted.
 Ex. YouTube, Metacafe, and Google Video
Cookies
 A tool used by Web sites to store information about a user.
When a visitor opens a Web site, the site sends a small text file
(the cookie) to the user’s computer so that information from
the site can be loaded more quickly on future visits. The cookie
can contain any information desired by the site designers.