In this chapter
Now that you are pretty well rooted in LAN technology and have had a chance to peruse some information on TCP/IP networking and WAN connectivity, it's time to take a look at the biggest network in the worldthe Internet. In Chapter 12, "TCP/IP Network Administration," we took a look at IP addressing, DHCP, IP routing, and more importantly the Domain Name Service (DNS). Understanding how the TCP/IP protocol stack works and how services like DHCP and DNS work provides you with insight into how data moves on the Internet and how individual users connect to the Internet. How the Internet was built is somewhat shrouded in mystery. Interestingly enough, many people were not even aware of the Internet's existence prior to the advent of the World Wide Web. Although in this chapter we will concentrate on looking at how the Internet works and explore the various utilities and protocols used on the Internet's infrastructure, we will start with a look at the innovations that led to the birth of this mega-network. |