What components make up the Internet?

The Internet has several component applications. These include:

• Telnet - Allows a user on one computer to log onto a remote computer and run software on that remote computer as if it were on the user's local computer
• FTP – File Transfer Protocol - Allows users to upload and download files from other computers
• EDI – Electronic Data Interchange - Allows for electronic transfer of data between companies over the Internet
• IRC – Internet Relay Chat - Allows people connected over the Internet to participate in discussions
• Email – Electronic Mail
• World Wide Web

Each computer on the Internet is called an Internet host or a host machine. Each host machine has a special Internet protocol address (IP address) that uniquely identifies that computer. IP addresses were never designed to be seen by human eyes. They are an address that is interpreted by a computer. An example of an IP address is:

205.213.164.10

Since numbers are easy for a computer to work with but difficult for humans, most host machines have a Domain Name Service (DNS) address. For instance, the domain name service address of the IP address listed above is:

depts.alverno.edu

Each Domain Name Service address is made up of two parts – the institution site name (alverno) and the Top-Level Domain (TLD) (edu). The Top-Level Domain identifies the type of site on which the host machine resides. Sometimes the TLD are referred to as "domains". This can be very confusing, since a domain is also the name for a DNS. For instance, alverno.edu is a domain. The most common TLD, or top level domains are:

TLD Name	Type of Organization
.com	A commercial organization
.edu	An educational site in the United States
.gov	A government agency in the United States
.mil	A military site in the United States
.net	A network site
.org	A nonprofit organization

Other TLD names identify geographical locations by country – such as:

TLD Name	Type of Organization
.au	Australia
.ca	Canada
.dk	Denmark
.fr	France
.de	Germany
.uk	Great Britain
.hk	Hong Kong
.hu	Hungary
.ie	Ireland
.il	Israel
.es	Spain
.lk	Sri Lanka

Newly added Top-Level Domains include:

TLD Name	Type of Organization
.biz	Businesses
.info	For all users

TLD scheduled to be added soon include:

TLD Name	Type of Organization
.aero	For the air-transport industry
.coop	For cooperatives
.museum	For museums
.name	For individuals
.pro	For professions

Top-Level Domain Names help the user to identify what type of site they are visiting

Take the Internet Review!