1.1 The role of computer networks in the information age

  • Computer network has developed from a communication infrastructure to an important information service infrastructure.
  • Computer networks have become as indispensable a part of our lives as basic facilities such as water, electricity and gas.

1.2 Overview of the Internet

  1. The Network, the Internet and the Internet
  2. The three stages of Internet development
  3. Standardization of the Internet
  4. The Composition of the Internet

1.2.1 Networks, the Internet (Internet) and the Internet

  • A network consists of nodes and the links that connect them.
  • Multiple networks can also be interconnected through routers, creating a larger network called the Internet (or Internet). Therefore, the Internet is “a network of networks”.
  • The Internet is the world’s largest interconnection network (with hundreds of millions of users and millions of interconnected networks).

The difference between Internet and Internet

  • Internet is a generic term that refers to a network of interconnected computers. The communication protocols between these networks can be arbitrary.
  • Internet(Internet) is a special term, it refers to the world’s largest, open, by a number of networks connected to each other into a specific computer network, it uses TCP/IP protocol family as the rules of communication, its predecessor is the United States ARPANET.

1.2.2 Three stages of Internet development