CS101 Introduction to Computing

Lecture 4
Today’s Goal: Internet Services
 To look at several services provided by the
Internet
 FTP
 Telnet
 Web
 eMail
 Instant messaging
 VoIP

But first, we need to find out about the

addressing scheme used on the Internet
 Internet Addressing
 Regularpost cannot be delivered unless we
write a destination address on the envelope

 Same is true for the Internet

 Regularpost can be delivered at the intended

address even if the given address is not
precise. That is not the case for Internet
addressing
203.81.197.188

DNS address IP address

www.imt.edu.pk
 IP Address (1)
A unique identifier for a computer on a TCP/IP
network

 Format:four 8-bit numbers separated by periods.

Each 8-bit number can be 0 to 255

 Example:
203.81.197.188 (IP address of the IMT Web
server)
 ?
server
client
IP Address (2)
 Networks using TCP/IP route messages based
on the IP address of the destination

 AnyIP addresses (as long as they are unique)

can be assigned within a PN

 However, connecting a PN to the Internet

requires using unique, registered IP addresses
Domain Names

 IP addresses are fine for computers, but

difficult to recognize and remember for
humans

A domain name is a meaningful, easy-to-

remember ‘label’ for an IP address

 Examples:
203.81.197.188 www.imt.edu.pk
216.239.33.101 www.google.com
DNS: Domain Name System (1)

 DNSis the way that Internet domain names are

located & translated into IP addresses

 Maintaining
a single, central table of domain
name/IP address relationships is impractical
 Billions of DNS-IP translations take place every day
 The DNS-IP tables get updated continuously
DNS: Domain Name System (2)

 Tables of DNS & IP addresses are distributed

throughout the Internet on numerous
servers

 There is a DNS server at most ISPs. It

converts the domain names in our Internet
requests to actual IP addresses

 Incase it does not have a particular domain

name in its table, it makes a request to
another DNS server on the Internet
Internet Services

There are many, but we will look at only the

following:

 FTP
 Telnet
 Web
 eMail
 Instant messaging
 VoIP
 FTP: File Transfer Protocol

 Usedto transfer files between computers on a

TCP/IP network (e.g Internet)

 Simple commands allow the user to:

 List,
change, create folders on a remote
computer
 Upload and download files

 Typical
use: Transferring Web content from
the developer’s PC to the Web server
Telnet Protocol

 Using Telnet, a user can remotely log on to a

computer (connected to the user’s through a
TCP/IP network, e.g. Internet) & have
control over it like a local user, including
control over running various programs

 In contrast, FTP allows file operations only

 Typicaluse: Configuring and testing of a

remote Web server
 The Web

 Thegreatest, shared resource of information

created by humankind

A user may access any item on the Web through

a URL, e.g.
http://sst.imt.edu.pk/cs101/index.htm

 Before, going any further, let us dissect this

URL
 http://sst.imt.edu.pk/cs101/index.htm

Protocol Server Directory & Fil

Identifier Address Name
How does the Web work?
User launches the browser on his/her computer

User’s
Computer

Browser
User types in the URL into the browser

User’s
Computer
The browser breaks down the URL

User’s
Computer

http://sst.imt.edu.pk/cs101/index.htm

cs101/index.htm
Directory &
File Name
sst.imt.edu.pk
http Server’s Name
Protocol
Identifier
Browser sends server’s name to the DNS server
Domain Name
User’s DNS
Computer Server
IP Address
Browser establishes a connection with the server

User’s
Computer

Internet

Web
Server
Browser sends a ‘GET’ request for cs101/index.htm

User’s
Computer

Web
Server
Server sends the requested file to the browser

User’s
Computer

Web
Server
Browser displays index.htm

User’s X
Computer
 Email

 Computer-to-computer messaging

 Inexpensive, and quite quick, but not instant!

 The most popular service on the Internet,

even more than surfing, but soon to be
overtaken by instant messaging

 Billions are sent every day

How does an email system work?
But first, the components:

 Email client

 SMTP server

 POP3 server
Email Clients

 Programs used for writing, sending,

receiving, and displaying eMail messages

 Examples:Outlook, Communicator,
Hotmail, YahooMail
SMTP: Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
A protocol used to send and receive email messages over a TCP/IP
network
 POP3: Post Office Protocol

A protocol used for receiving email messages

A POP3 server maintains text files (one file per

user account) containing all messages received by
a user

 emailclient interacts with the POP3 server for

discovering and downloading new email messages
The message is prepared using the email client

Sender’s
Computer

Email Client
The email client sends it to the SMTP server

Sender’s
Computer

SMTP
Server
If the receiver is local, it goes to the POP3 server

Sender’s POP3
Computer Server

SMTP
Server
The receiver picks it at his/her convenience

Sender’s POP3
Computer Server

SMTP Receiver's
Server Computer
Otherwise, it is sent to receiver's SMTP server

Sender’s
Computer

SMTP
Server

Internet

SMTP
Server
Which forwards it to the local POP3 server

Sender’s
Computer

SMTP
Server

POP3 SMTP
Server Server
The receiver picks it at his/her convenience

Sender’s
Computer

SMTP
Server

Receiver's POP3 SMTP

Computer Server Server
 The Trouble with Email

 Slow response times

 No
way of knowing if the person we are sending
email to is there to read it

 Theprocess of having a conversation through

email by exchanging several short messages is
too cumbersome

Instant messaging (IM) solves these problems

 Instant Messaging

 The IM services available on the Internet

(e.g. ICQ, AIM, MSN Messenger, Yahoo!
Messenger) allow us to maintain a list of
people (contacts) that we interact with
regularly

 We can send an instant messages to any of

the contacts in our list as long as that
contact is online
Using Instant Messaging (1)

 Whenever a contact in our list comes online,

the IM client informs us through an alert
message and by playing a sound

 To send an instant message to a contact, just

click on the contact in the IM client, and
start typing the message
 Using Instant Messaging (2)

 Theselected contact will receive that

message almost immediately after you press
‘Enter’

 Whenthe contact’s IM client receives the

message, it alerts the contact with a blinking
message and by playing a sound
 Using Instant Messaging (3)

 Thatcontact then can type a response to the

received message, and send it instantly

 Severalsuch conversations can be carried out

simultaneously, each occupying a separate IM
windows
How instant messaging works?
User launches the IM client

IM Client

Internet

My Computer
IM client finds the IM server & logs in

My Computer IM Server
It sends communication info (IP address, etc) to
the IM server

Temporary
File

My Computer IM Server
IM server finds user’s contacts & sends him/her
the communication info for the ones online

My Computer IM Server
IM server also tells the contacts that the user is
online; sends his/her communication info to them

Contact’s
Computer

My Computer IM Server
Now the user’s & the contact’s IM clients are
ready to communicate directly (P2P)

Contact’s
Computer

My Computer IM Server

The IM server doesn’t

play any part in this P2P
communication
As new contact’s come online, IM server informs
them about the user being online & vice versa

Contact
A’s Computer

My Computer IM Server

Contact
B’s Computer
Multiple, simultaneous conversations are possible

Contact
A’s Computer

My Computer IM Server

Contact
B’s Computer
When the user logs-off, his/her IM client informs the
IM server

Contact
A’s Computer

My Computer IM Server

Contact
B’s Computer
IM server erases the temporary file and informs the
user’s contact’s about his/her ‘offline’ status

Contact
A’s Computer

My Computer IM Server

Contact
B’s Computer
Key Point

 Once the IM server provides the

communication info to the user and his/her
contact’s IM client, the two are able to
communicate with each other without the IM
server’s assistance

 This
server-less connection is termed as a P2P
connection
 Question

 Why do we require the server in the first

place?

 Why doesn’t my IM client look for the user’s

contact’s IM client without the IM server’s
help?
 Answer

 Many users (including almost all home users) do

not have permanent IP addresses. They are
assigned temporary IP addresses by their ISP
each time they connect to the Internet

 The server-based IM scheme removes the need

of having permanent IP numbers

 Italso gives IM users true mobility, allowing

them the use of IM from any Internet-
connected computer
 VoIP: Voice over IP

 Voicedelivered from one device to another using

the Internet Protocol

 Voiceis first converted into a digital form, is

broken down into packets, and then transmitted
over a TCP/IP network (e.g. Internet)

 Four
modes:
C2C
C2T
T2C
T2T (with a TCP/IP net somewhere in between)
 Pro

Much cheaper than traditional phone service

Con
Noticeably poor quality of voice as compared
with land-line phone service, but not much
worse than cell phone service
Today’s Goal: Internet Services

 We looked at several services provided by the

Internet
 FTP
 Telnet
 Web
 eMail
 Instant messaging
 VoIP

 We also found out about the addressing scheme

used on the Internet
Attendance