Internet

What is the Internet? 





The Internet links are computer networks all over the world so that users can share resources and communicate with each other. Some computers, have direct access to all the facilities on the Internet such as the universities. And other computers, eg privately-owned ones, have indirect links through a commercial service provider, who offers some or all of the Internet facilities. In order to be connected to Internet, you must go through service suppliers. Many options are offered with monthly rates. Depending on the option chosen, access time may vary.
The Internet is what we call a metanetwork, that is, a network of networks that spans the globe. It's impossible to give an exact count of the number of networks or users that comprise the Internet, but it is easily in the thousands and millions respectively. The Internet employs a set of standardized protocols which allow for the sharing of resources among different kinds of computers that communicate with each other on the network. These standards, sometimes referred to as the Internet Protocol Suite, are the rules that developers adhere to when creating new functions for the Internet.
The Internet is also what we call a distributed system; there is no central archives. Technically, no one runs the Internet. Rather, the Internet is made up of thousands of smaller networks. The Internet thrives and develops as its many users find new ways to create, display and retrieve the information that constitutes the Internet.

Development of the Internet: 


In its infancy, the Internet was originally conceived by the Department of Defense as a way to protect government communications systems in the event of a military strike. The original network, dubbed ARPANet (for the Advanced Research Projects Agency that developed it) evolved into a communications channel among contractors, military personnel, and university researchers who were contributing to ARPA projects.
The network employed a set of standard protocols to create an effective way for these people to communicate and share data with each other.
ARPAnet's popularity continued to spread among researchers, and in the 1980's the National Science Foundation, whose NSFNet, linked several high speed computers, took charge of the what had come to be known as the Internet.
By the late 1980's, thousands of cooperating networks were participating in the Internet.
In 1991, the U.S. High Performance Computing Act established the NREN (National Research & Education Network). NREN's goal was to develop and maintain high-speed networks for research and education, and to investigate commercial uses for the Internet.
The rest, as they say, is history in the making. The Internet has been improved through the developments of such services as Gopher and the World Wide Web.
Even though the Internet is predominantly thought of as a research oriented network, it continues to grow as an informational, creative, and commercial resource every day and all over the world.