The Internet
Internet
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A network is a group of connected
computers that can interact with each
other and share resources
The internet is a large network that
spans the entire Earth. It is actually a
network made up of many smaller
networks that are all combined.
Internet
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The internet is more than just web pages
and the W W W (World Wide Web).
The internet includes the www,
newsgroups, email and other shared
resources.
So, the world wide web is a part of the
internet.
Web Pages and Web Sites
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A web page is a single file or page on the
world wide web that can display images
and text, links to other web pages and can
be designed to be interactive.
A web site is a collection of two or more
connected or linked web pages.
Browser
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A browser is a program that allows a
user to view web pages on the World
Wide Web.
The 4 most popular browsers:
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Internet Explorer
Mozilla Firefox
Safari
Opera
Browser
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Different browsers display web pages in
different ways.
As a web page designer it is important to
design your page with at least Internet
Explorer and Firefox in mind – make it
work with both browsers!
How the Internet Works
(Basically)
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On a network there are two types of
machines:
A server is a computer that shares files
and other resources such as a printer with
other computers on a on a network.
A client is a computer on a network that
accesses files or resources on another
computer (server).
How the Internet Works
(Basically)
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So, if you are viewing files on your screen
that are actually saved on a different
computer  that makes your machine the
client and the machine that you are
viewing the files from the server.
A computer can be both a client and a
server at the same time.
How the Internet Works
(Basically)
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So the world wide web is a large network made
up of many servers and clients.
The servers are storing the web sites, and the
clients are viewing those web sites.
For example, let’s say ‘www.anything.com’ is
saved on a computer in Missoula, MT. You type
in ‘www.anything.com’ in your browser here in
Watkinsville. The web page that you are seeing
is being sent all the way from Missoula where it
is stored.
How the Internet Works
(Basically)
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So the big question is: When you type in
‘www.anything.com’, how does your
browser know to look on a server in
Missoula, MT to find it?
How the Internet Works
(Basically)
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There are many servers around the world
that store web pages for the world wide
web.
Every computer – whether it’s a server or
client is given a unique identification
number when it connects to the internet.
This unique number is called an I.P.
Address
How the Internet Works
(Basically)
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An IP Address looks like the following:
192.168.120.101
There are four segments to an IP Address.
The numbers that make up each segment
can be from 0 – 255 (although the very
first segment can’t have a zero).
How the Internet Works
(Basically)
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To connect to the internet and receive an
IP Address for your computer, you must
have an ISP (Internet Service
Provider).
There are two types of ISP’s:
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Dial-up
Broadband
How the Internet Works
(Basically)
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Dial-up ISPs
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America Online
Earthlink
Net Zero
Broadband ISPs
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Charter
Bell South DSL
(basically, cable and DSL connections are the
two broadband options)
How the Internet Works
(Basically)
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Dial-up internet access requires your
computer to dial a phone number to
connect and is very slow
Broadband internet access is always
connected, and has much faster speeds
for loading web pages and downloading
files
How the Internet Works
(Basically)
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Every time that you connect to your ISP,
whether by calling in to your dial-up
connection or restarting your broadband
modem you get a new IP address. This is
called a dynamic IP address.
If your computer keeps the same IP
address always and it never changes it is
called a static IP address.
How the Internet Works
(Basically)
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Servers that are storing or hosting a
website have static IP addresses. This
means that if you know the IP address for
a server you can always find that
webpage.
Wouldn’t it be nice if there was a place
that stored that information? A place that
knew what the IP address was for every
server and what web pages were stored
there?
How the Internet Works
(Basically)
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A DNS Server (Domain Name Service)
stores that information.
But what if you had to remember an IP
address for every single web page that
you want to visit? Could you remember
them all?
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Instead of google.com what if you had to
remember that it was 64.110.98.24
How the Internet Works
(Basically)
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A domain name is a group of letters that
represent the IP address for a particular
web site.
anything.com is an example of a domain
name.
cia.gov is a domain name.
lost.tv is a domain name.
How the Internet Works
(Basically)
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So instead of having to remember IP
addresses, you just have to remember the
domain name. That’s what a DNS server
does – it keeps track of which domain
names are associated with which IP
address so that when you type in
google.com, the DNS server knows that
means to actually go to 64.233.167.104
How the Internet Works
(Basically)
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URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is
what you type into your browser to
request a page.
The URL contains the domain name, and
additional path information and the
protocol.
The protocol is the http:// part at the very
beginning.
How the Internet Works
(Basically)
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http (hypertext transfer protocol) tells the
browser that you are requesting a document
created using hypertext – what we will be
writing our web pages with.
Most browsers do not require you to write
http:// or even www. before typing in the rest
of the address.
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http://www.google.com should be the same as typing
google.com
How the Internet Works
(Basically)
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The additional path information is if the webpage
you are trying to view is in a subfolder
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http://www.google.com/folder/inhere/index.htm
Notice that for URLs we use / or forward slash.
When using the path on our computer it is a back
slash or \
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C:\programs\microsoft\word.exe
http://www.google.com/folder/index.htm
How the Internet Works
(Basically)
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So to sum it all up 
You type in the URL for a website into
your browser. Your browser is connected
to the internet through your ISP. It checks
the ISP’s DNS server to see what IP
address matches up with the domain
name and where it is located. The request
is sent to the server at that IP address and
the web page is sent back to your
browser.
Putting Your Website Online
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You know how it works, you’ve made a
website, now you want to get it
published online so others can see it.
There are three things you have to do:
1.
2.
3.
Register a domain name
Find a host
Upload your files
Register A Domain Name
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Pick a domain name – yourname.com or
whatever you want.
You’ll need to check to make sure it hasn’t
been taken. You can do that here:
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www.internic.com/whois.html
You can also check to see if it is taken at
many other places as well.
Register A Domain Name
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Registering a domain name costs money.
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Usually around $7.95/year.
There are many websites you can visit to
register your domain. A quick search in
google will provide you with a long list to
choose from.
Find A Host
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The host is the company that you pay
money to allow you to store your website
files on their server.
Some hosts also register domain names as
well.
Some hosts are free, but do not allow you
to have your own domain name.
Find A Host
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Again, searching google.com will provide you
with a long list of website hosts.
The host will provide you with a specific amount
of disk space on which to save your files
More importantly the host provides your website
with an IP address that doesn’t change.
After finding a host, your domain is registered
on the name servers to point to that IP address.
Upload Your Files
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Dowloading is when you copy or move
files from another computer to your own
computer.
Uploading is when you copy or move
files from your computer to another
computer.
Now that you have a domain name and a
server to host your website, you have to
upload your website files to the server.
Upload Your Files
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Uploading your files to the server is done
by using an FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
program.
There are many free FTP programs
available – just search google!
Putting Your Website Online
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Once you’ve uploaded your files, your
website is ready to go.
It may take a day or two for your website
to show up after registering the domain
name and setting up your host.
Hosting A Website On Your Own
Computer
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Bad Idea
You have to pay extra to have a static IP address,
meaning an IP address that never changes. Most ISPs
provide you with a dynamic IP address – meaning it
changes every time you connect.
It opens your computer up to major security concerns
It will cause your connection to the internet to slow to a
crawl as more and more people visit your site.
Your page will load slowly for people who visit your site
Many ISPs have contracts that specifically state that you
may not host your own website using the IP address
they assign you.
Important Terms
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network
Internet
W W W (World Wide
Web)
Web page
Web site
Browser
URL (Uniform Resource
Locator)
Server
Client
IP Address
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ISP (Internet Service
Provider)
Hosting
DNS (Domain Name
Service)
Domain Name
http (hypertext transfer
protocol)
Downloading
Uploading