5. BRIEF HISTORY OF INTERNET

It was developed by the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in the 1970s and was initially known as ARPANET. The Internet was designed to be used by companies and Universities doing military research so that they could share information. Since then the number of people who use the Internet and the services that are provided on the Internet have grown tremendously. There are now over 200,000,000 people who regularly make use of it.

Network

There‘s need to define network before discussing internet. What is computer network? A computer network is a set of computers / devices sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. It can also be define as a network consists of two or more computers/ devices that are linked in order to share resources (such as printers and CDs), exchange files, or allow electronic communications.

Types of Network

1.     Local Area Network (LAN): Typically covers a small geographical area, such as a home, office, or campus. Used for connecting devices within a limited area for resource sharing and communication.

2.     Wide Area Network (WAN): Spans a larger geographical area, often connecting LANs in different locations. Facilitates long-distance communication and data exchange between distant sites.

3.     Metropolitan Area Network (MAN): Covers a city or metropolitan area.Used by organizations or service providers to interconnect LANs in a city for high-speed data transfer.

4.     Home Area Network (HAN): A small network within a home. Connects devices within a household for sharing resources like printers, files, and internet access.

5.     Campus Area Network (CAN): Spans a campus or large university. Interconnects multiple buildings or areas within a campus for efficient data sharing and communication.

Intranet: A private network within an organization that uses internet technologies to share information and resources among employees.

Extranet: Similar to an intranet but extends network access to external parties, such as partners, suppliers, or customers.