I S 300: INTRODUCTION TO

INFORMATION SYSTEMS
- Winter 2017
- Shaosong Ou, Ph.D.

Session 15 February 22nd, 2017

Understanding the Internet:
DNS, Packet Switching & TCP/IP
 Agenda

Introducing the Internet

IP address, domain names and DNS
Client/server communication
Packet switching
Communication protocol: TCP/IP

Reminder: Assignment 2
Excel decision models for NFL Playoffs
 The Internet
The biggest and most used network

Our everyday activities are moving

online
Communicate: email/IM
Search/research
News and weather
Shopping, selling
Map (driving directions)
Education
Entertainment
Sharing
Socializing
Gaming
Internet Architecture of the U.S.
 IP Address and DNS
Every device connected to the Internet must have a unique ID: IP address
General format of IP addresses
Four segments of numbers, each ranging from 0 to 255
For example
10000000 01011111 10011011 10000110 (in binary format); or
128.95.155.134 (in decimal format)
IP address is required for all Internet communication
Problem: hard to memorize, non-intuitive
Solution: DNS (Domain Name System)
DNS maps an IP address with a domain name
Easier to remember and more intuitive
For example www.washington.edu
Domain Name Structure
 Internet Domain Names
Domain names are strictly controlled by ICANN
Good domain name = great asset
Nissan.com, Pizza.com & Vodka.com
Obamas decision to relinquish control in 2014
The original six Top-Level-Domains (TLDs):
.edu: education .com: commercial
.gov: government .org: non-profit organization
.net: network .mil: military
Country code
.ca, .au, .uk, .cn, .de, .ch, .su, .za
New domain names
.name, .biz, .info, .me, .tv, .xxx, .anything
International whois listing
 IPv4 vs. IPv6 Addresses
Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4)
Format: 32 bits (4 bytes) in binary form
#.#.#.# each number ranging from 0 to 255
Contains up to 4 billion addresses
Example: 128.95.155.134

Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6)

Format: 128 bits (16 bytes) in binary form
#:#:#:#:#:#:#:# each number ranging from 0 to 65535
contains over a quadrillion possible unique addresses
Example: 2002:0:0:0:0:0:805f:9b86
 The Need for IPv6

Scarcity of IPv4 addresses

Total IPv4 address: 232=4,294,967,296
4.2 billion vs. 7 billion (still growing) world population
Ubiquitous computing and IP address demand

Uneven distribution of IPv4 addresses

For example, UW was allocated a Class A IP address space which includes
65,000 addresses, many more than the university needed.
Stanford University has 17 million addresses, vs. 2 million for India with more
than 1 billion population
 Quick Facts about IPv6

IPv6 uses 16 byte addresses, i.e. 128 bit:

So there are 2128 = 340,282,366,920,938,463,463,374,607,431,768,211,456
Or 3.2 x 1038 addresses

How big is it?

Beyond our imagination
For every square meter of the Earths surface, it provides
655,570,793,348,866,943,898,599 (6.5x1023) addresses
6 gallons of oxygen have 6.02x1023 molecules
18 ml of water have 6.02x1023 molecules

Is it enough? Think again.

 Client/Server Computing

Client/server computing is a distributed computing model in which much of

the processing power is located within small, inexpensive client computers.
Major Web Servers
Web Server: Microsoft IIS
 Packet Switching
Messages are first broken down into small bundles of data called
packets.
Packet size varies depending on network: Upper limit is 64 KB; Common packet
size is 1 KB.
In addition to the actual message, the packets include information on
origination, destination, error checking, priority, type of service, etc.
These packets are sent along different communication routes.
The packets are then reassembled once they reach their destinations.
Packet switching makes more efficient use of a network than circuit
switching.
It is also a more robust and secure communication.
Packed-Switching Communication
 Communication Protocol: TCP/IP

TCP/IP is the communications protocol used by the Internet and all

Internet devices.
It allows communication between different networks, connecting them into
an inter-net.

TCP/IP provides for breaking up digital messages into packets, routing

them to the proper addresses, and then reassembling them into
coherent messages.

TCP/IP uses a suite of protocols: TCP and IP.

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP):
Handles the movement of data between computers.

Establishes a connection between the computers, sequences the

transfer of packets, and acknowledges the packets sent.

Internet Protocol (IP):

Responsible for the delivery of packets.

Includes the disassembling and reassembling of packets during

transmission.