How the Internet Works:
Part I - In the Beginning

This article originally appeared in the January/February 2002 issue of Progressive Distributor. Copyright 2002.

This is the first in a series of articles that explain basic Internet technology concepts in non-technical terms for distributors.

by Akarin Weatherford

With this series of articles in Progressive Distributor, it is my hope that I can arm distributors with knowledge to combat marketing hype. These articles do not attempt to bring distributors up to speed with bleeding-edge technology. They attempt to build a solid understanding of basic Internet fundamentals upon which distributors can base rational, intelligent business decisions. In this first article, we start with a brief history.

History
From trading exchanges to CRM (customer relationship management) packages, we use the interconnection of computers as a new tool for generating revenues and improving our businesses. So how did we get to the point where worldwide access is available on information about our business products, services, and transactions to people whom we want to receive it (and even sometimes those we don’t want)? How did we come to this intangible thing called the Internet that our business relies on? We can thank the good old Russians for the kick-off.

In 1957, the ping literally heard all around the world was from a little satellite named Sputnik. In response to this menacing Cold War threat, the United States formed the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA). This agency was formed to investigate the use of science for military purposes.

In 1969, the Department of Defense commissioned the development of ARPANet. ARPANet was a non-centralized communication network connecting four research campuses across the United States. Non-centralized communication helps the military in this way: Imagine if City A and City C were linked via phone lines through City B. If an enemy attacked and blew away City B, the communication between City A and City C would be lost because of the direct connection. However, if we add to that picture a City D that also connects to City A, City B, and City C, then it would not matter if City B was blown away because an alternate communication route existed between City A and City C via City D. This is the fundamental concept that drives the Internet.

In 1972, the InterNetworking Group was established to set the standards for this mass of inter-networked computers. This inter-networking of computers became known as "internetting," and thus the Internet was born.

At this point, the Internet was nothing more than a text delivery method for basic e-mail, file transfer, remote access, and a slew of other applications that would make any techno-geek of the time just drool. Pretty colors, graphics, animations and sounds didn’t show up until 1991, when Tim Burners Lee invented the World Wide Web (WWW).

[Although the explanation above went into some detail, all you really need to take away from this section is that the Internet was started by the government back in the late ’60s, and the Internet as we know it didn’t really boom until the late ’90s.]

Technology adoption
To gain perspective, the innovation curve below shows how quickly people adopt a particular technology.

Consider the fax machine. The fax machine was first applied to business by the Associated Press in 1935 and was not widely adopted as a means of doing business until nearly 50 years later. The first cell phone system was deployed in Chicago in 1977 with huge, clunky equipment. Today, a teenager isn’t considered normal if he or she doesn’t carry a cell phone. The World Wide Web as we know it, with all the “you’ve got mail” bells and whistles, didn’t get started until 1991. In essence, the World Wide Web is a relatively new thing.

As a distributor, you’re probably feeling left behind in all this technology hoopla. Yes, it is true that distribution and manufacturing sectors are traditionally behind the technology power cure. It’s not that you’ve really missed the boat, contrary to what software package salespeople have been feeding you for the past couple of years. It’s just that this particular boat came by the dock traveling at 60 miles per hour. Some people jumped and landed on the boat. Some people jumped and landed in the water. Some people just stood there scratching their heads wondering what just happened. So, don’t feel like you’re the only one not getting the big picture about this stuff. The majority of people out there are just like you, including those technology sales guys.

Networks
A network is the basic building block of the Internet. It is a series of points (often called nodes) connected together by communication paths. For example, there are pager, cell phone and even satellite networks, to name a few. For now, we’ll keep the discussion simple by referring to networks as being computer networks. In a computer network, you can have any number of devices, but you need at least two. Most of the devices on the computer network in your office are probably personal computers (PCs), laptops, printers, servers and maybe even other computer networks. However, there are a number of behind-the-scenes devices that help manage your network which are beyond the scope of this cursory discussion.

There are three basic categories of computer networks.

Local Area Network (LAN)
A LAN is a computer network that is small in size and has a very fast interconnection speed. Typically, LANs cover no more area than up to a square mile. Usually a LAN is found inside your home, office, or even a university campus. Because of their limited size and simple construction, LAN equipment is very affordable, which makes them popular. You can run to any major office supply store and buy a LAN networking kit off the shelf and network a couple of computers in your office for well under a hundred bucks. For this discussion, think of a LAN as being all the computers hooked together in your office.

Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
A MAN (plural is not MEN) is a larger version of a LAN. Imagine your main office as having a LAN. Your company may have a remote location such as a warehouse, distribution center, or branch office on the other side of town or even in another state. At that remote location, there may be a few computers hooked together which make up its own LAN. You want the computers at your corporate LAN to talk to the computers at the remote LAN, so you rent a dedicated connection from the phone company that directly connects both LANs together. By doing this, you have created a MAN.

Wide Area Network (WAN)
A WAN is a larger version of a MAN. However, the distances covering a WAN are usually across a country or across continents. The type of company that may have a WAN is probably a multi-billion dollar company with manufacturing plants in different countries. Since it’s tough to run a direct phone cable from here to a distribution center in Europe, the connection from the corporate office are broken up into many shorter distances. The main difference with a WAN is that most of the connections are not direct.

What is the Internet?
So, how does all this talk about different types of networks relate to the Internet? Let’s start off by saying that no one person owns the Internet. Each company owns its own network whether it is a LAN, MAN, or WAN. When Company A wants to share information from computers on its LAN with a computer on Company B’s MAN, they simply get the phone company to hook them together. When Company C wants Company A and Company B to share information with its WAN, the phone company just interconnects the networks. This cycle goes on and on at a global scale. This interconnecting of networks (or “internetting”) is how we come to have the shapeless entity we call the Internet.

Internet service providers (ISPs)
You may be wondering how your Internet service provider (ISP) fits into the picture. Imagine your ISP as being a company with a LAN. Your ISP is connected to all the other LANs, MANs and WANs around the world (a.k.a., the Internet). Whether you dial into your ISP (i.e., AOL, AT&T, NetZero, etc.) or you’re constantly connected (i.e., Road Runner, @Home, Sprint, etc.), you actually become part of the ISP’s LAN. You get to the Internet through your ISP, and this is what you pay for every month: the right to park your PC or office computers on the Internet.

What’s next
Future articles in this series will explain software applications for the Internet, some common e-business transactions, and other related information technology (IT) issues that distributors can better address once they’ve improved their understanding of the “big picture.”

This article originally appeared in the January/February 2002 issue of Progressive Distributor. Copyright 2002.