The Computer Revolution/Internet/Connections

Narrowband
Narrowband is also known as dial up modem. It is low speed and inexpensive. It uses telephone modems to connect computers to the Internet. Telephone lines are widely available. Therefore, many home computer users still use this type of Internet connection.

Narrowband is also known as voiceband and used for regular telephone communication, which includes speech, faxes and data. Dial up modems use the same bandwidth that is used for telephone communications, which is 100 kilobits per second or less. Bandwidth is used for short distances.

Because narrowband is somewhat slow, fewer people in the world are accessing the Internet using a narrowband connection. Nielsen/Net Ratings' latest figures show that 77.4m people in the US used a dial-up connection from home in December. This is down 10 per cent from the previous year. By comparison, 33.6m - an annual increase of almost 60 per cent - used a broadband connection from home to access the Net. Broadband connection is characterized by a bandwidth of very high speed.

"2002 marked an entire year of decline for narrowband usage at home," said Greg Bloom, senior Internet analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings. "As the broadband infrastructure continues to expand across the US, we expect to see the mainstream online population convert to higher speeds," he said. http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/01/16/narrowband_net_use_declines/

The research also found that broadband users do more online than their narrowband counterparts. Narrowband usage will likely continue to decrease in popularity as speed becomes more important when accessing the internet.

Cable
Trjiririjdk hrough the use of an underground coaxial cable, internet connection speeds vary between 12 and 30 Mbps, considerably faster than other broadband connections such as DSL. Cable although, is only available where there is cable television providing previously dug underground coaxial cables. Despite it being averaged at about $40 to $60 per month, it is the most used broadband connection.

ISP
Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a company that provides Internet access, usually for a fee. This includes conventional and mobile telephone companies like AT&T, Verizon and Sprint this are just some. There are different classifications of ISPs. ISP servers are continually connected to a larger network, called a regional network.



Introduction to Network Access Protection
Network Access Protection (NAP) is a platform that allows to better protect network assets.NAP has an infrastructure and an API set for extending its functionality. Software developers can use the API(Application programming interface), which provides information and services to application programs and users can write their own programs for use with a specific product. taken from url: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/itsolutions/network/nap/default.mspx Network Access Protection Platform Architecture Internet Protocol Security Enforcement in the Network Access Protection Platform Network Access Protection Partners To find out about the leaders in the industry that have supported NAP click on the link url:http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/partners/nappartners.mspx
 * In other words NAP is a platform to perform computer health policy validation, ensure ongoing compliance with health policies, and does not allow unhealthy computers to access the system, or computers that do not comply with the policies. NAP has a client and a server architecture. taken fromurl: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/itsolutions/network/nap/naparch.mspx
 * Internet Protocol security (IPsec) is a system of rules and standards that protects the Internet traffic. IPsec support in the NAP platform protects the computers in a way that unhealthy computers that do not comply with the regulations can not send information to computers that are healthy and eliminates the possibility of viruses. taken from url: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/itsolutions/network/nap/napipsec.mspx

Internet2
'''The term "Internet" simply refers to a network of computers. The one that most of us use is Internet1, or the "commodity Internet." '''

Internet2 or UCAID (University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development) is a non-profit cooperative university/business education and research project that enables high-end users to quickly and reliably move huge amounts of data over high-speed networks, both nationally and internationally. Internet2 is a separate network from Internet1. Led by the research and education community since 1996, Internet2 adds "toll lanes" to the older Internet to speed things up. The purpose is to advance videoconferencing, research, and academic collaborations-to enable a kind of "virtual university."

What makes Internet2 so different?

It has many fewer users and much faster connections. Internet2 moves data 100 to 1,000 times faster than the old-fashioned Internet. Internet2 is led by 207 universities [1] in the United States and partners from the networking (Cisco Systems), publishing (Prous Science) and technology industries (such as Comcast, Intel, Sun Microsystems). Some of the technologies it has developed include IPv6, IP multi-casting and quality of service. Internet2 is a registered trademark. Organizations that want to join up must demonstrate a research-related purpose, pay dues, and meet minimum technical requirements so they don't slow down the rest of the Internet2 empire. A typical university would pay about $200,000 a year. Internet2 is also a service engine for 60 companies and a handful of organizations and government agencies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet2 and taken from page 62 in the text "Using Information Technology" Williams/Sawyer.

Beyond just providing network capacity, Internet2 actively engages our community in the development of important new technology including middleware, security, network research and performance measurement capabilities which are critical to the progress of the Internet. http://www.internet2.edu/about/

Will Internet2 ever be open to the public?

Probably not. But the technologies developed in Internet2 will gradually be transferred to the original Internet, making it faster and more stable. The goal is to "create the next-generation Internet," says network director Brian Buege of the University of Missouri-Rolla. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techinnovations/2005-04-13-qa-internet2_x.htm