Having watched and completed the flow diagram on the two provided videos about the transfer of data throughout the internet I will now be making some notes on how the data is shared from a network system but also how a router and firewall data is separated and then send it to the right bandwidth based on the proxy.
1. The first part of the transaction starts with the information being send via IP address as data packets
2. The router then recognises the data
3. The third part of the transaction is where the packet is required to have a proxy address which will enable the access to the internet
4. Once the packet receives the packet it will then transfer the packets to the LAN (Local Area Network)
5. The local router is responsible for redirecting the packet to a different network
6. The packet in the network is then going through to the corporate internet
7. The packet is now on the corporate internet
8. Meets another router switch that will redirect the packet again
9. The packet gets to the network interface (proxy)
10. It will then search for a proxy to successfully carry on the transaction
11. The proxy goes through the firewall that checks whether or not the packet has everything needed for the rest of the transaction as well as viruses checking that could affect the system
12. At this point of time, the packet goes through another router/satellite that is redirected to another bandwidth
13. Transaction proceeds
14. Further firewall and viruses checking
15. At this stage, the packet is ready to be on the WWW (world Wide Web) which is then displayed on our screens
16. End of transaction
17. The packet is going back to its starting point and the process will be repeated all over again
1.2
Web Architectures
• Internet Service Providers (ISP) – Internet Service Providers such as TalkTalk, BT and Virgin are important since these companies are responsible for providing internet access and domain registration names. They can be organised differently from private to community owned.
• Web Hosting Services – These refer to companies’ network which gives users the chance to buy certain amount of storage to store its website files so other people can visit the website. Users are then allowed to view the website because the packets of information are downloaded.
• Domain Structure – This allow the program and/or user to interpret different information. The address: http://www.google.com/ where the http:// is referred to the protocol that is hypertext transfer protocol, the www. refers to a page on the WWW (World Wide Web) and the actual domain name is google.com/
This allows the users of the website to visibly see what part of the website they are on. For example https://www.google.co.uk/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi where /imghp?hl=en&tab=wi refers to the Google’s images page
• Domain Name – It refers to a public IP address of a website. It is used to help the user to understand the name instead of numbers more easily. Domain names can have different extensions, the most common ones being .com .co.uk .gov and .org
• Registrars – These keep information related to a domain name. These include contact information which submits technical information to a database. This database is called the ‘registry’ The registrar is then responsible for making the information available to the public and anyone else visiting the website.
• World Wide Web – Also known as WWW this is a system of hyperlinked documents that are linked to the internet. The use of a web browser such as Google Chrome and Safari can display webpages on the internet which may contain text and multimedia such as images, animated images and/or videos
Components:
• Routers – This component is a device forwarding the packet information between different computers connected to one router. This is required when there are more than one computer and other devices which are capable of connecting to the internet via Wi-Fi
Routers take information between diverse networks. It then chooses the best path for the packets to reach their destination the fastest and harmless way.
• Software – Other part of components are software such as browsers and email. Nowadays, there are several browsers available for the public such as Google Chrome, Safari and Microsoft Edge previously known as Internet Explorer. Browsers allow its users to display documents delivered by the internet. Email is a component that allows users to communicate by sending and receiving electronic mail between individuals. The use of browsers and email has made life easier for people to buy products and to communicate with each other more effectively and more easily in real time.
Protocols:
Protocols are approved ways to communicate with each other. When we try to communicate the protocols are communicating with different systems. Different protocols are used for different jobs communication.
• Transport And Addressing – Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) are responsible for transmitting data and making sure that this goes to the right address.
• Application Layer – The URL bar that is used to search for webpages is separated in different segments. These are the link, internet, transport and application layers.
The application layer is where other protocols transfer data such as HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and STMP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol).
Web Functionality:
• Online Applications – As the internet emerges so does the way we our daily tasks such as paying bills and/or applying for services such as subscriptions to gym club members. The use of the internet has made applications so much easier at the comfort of our homes. By simply accessing certain websites we are now able to make online applications for so many different purposes including College courses, driving licence and many more.
• Cloud Computing – In computing terms this refers to an online place where users have the advantage to use certain amount of storage to store and access for free to store their electronic files such as documents, pictures and other media. Dropbox, iCloud and Google Drive are the most commonly used cloud storages, and all can be accessed using a desktop but also on the go by using a mobile device as long as there is internet connection to it.
Dropbox features of a free basic account with a quite small store amount of 2GB. If you required more storage space, you can upgrade to 1TB plan for £7.99 while iCloud’s free account gives 5GB to its users also allowing people to upgrade their storage space by paying a monthly fee which can range from £0.79 for 50GB to £6.99 for 2TB. Google Drive is the one that offers the highest storage amount for free with a capacity of 16GB for everyone with a Google account not forgetting that people are equally fortunate enough to pay for more space if this is required.
Task 2 (P2)
User Side Factors
Uploading & Downloading Speeds – The upload and download speeds depend on the internet connection speed plus the Internet Service Provider (ISP) that the server has. The higher the upload and download speed is, the quicker the end-user will get an answer from the server. When trying to access a website and it takes long to load, it may be not the users fault but so could be the server’s fault that has a very low upload and download speed.
Browser – The browser used by the user is a software tool to display documents delivered by the internet. To get a website running on Google Chrome browser or any other browsers it is important to maintain the website and keep it up to date with meaningful information as some browsers may not be able to display certain content. Therefore, testing for compatibility is important to make sure that the end user will be able to view the website on different browsers and devices.
Cache Memory – A device has a small memory to store shorts commands that programs installed on the device will be using often. These commands are stored to make it easier to load all the program’s functions.
Processor Speed – A server needs to be strong and have all the latest technologies devices to provide excellent service to the end-user. The processor speed will also give better performance to the end-use.
Server-Side Factors
Bandwidth Availability – Bandwidth will not have an impact on the website performance this is because a user’s bandwidth will usually if not always be outperformed by the servers’ performance.
Number Of Hits – The number of hits denotes the amount of people that are visiting the website. If there are too many people visiting the website at once it could cause crashing to other people who are already on the website or to face a slow performance while navigating around the website.
File Types – Different file types are all different in size. An example of this is Bitmaps which are bigger in size then JPEGs this means that the JPEG will need less bandwidth to be able to send and receive JPEG files displaying these quicker.
Task 3 (P3)
Security
Having access to information on the internet can involve different risks. When accessing websites such as internet banking, we are sending important packets of data over different networks. Packets are easy to track and intercept, giving easier access to hackers who can use important information leading to identity theft.
wPersonal data is stored in the website owners’ data base. The administrators are the only ones who can access it, but so do hackers throughout hacking techniques. But there are also other risks involved when using the internet such as:
• Hacking – This is done through unauthorised by the website’s owner, change of software and/or device to gain access to features that could only be accessible by the administrators. If someone’s website were to be hacked this would cause problems to the company and customers as the hacker could get access, change or even use personal information.
• Viruses – These can be easily picked up and spread quickly on computers. This could lead to damage of devices and increase the risk of access to personal information. Viruses can infect one or multiple computers. For example, if a website becomes infected with a virus it will not only infect one specific computer, but it is very likely to spread to other computer as users visit the website. Therefore, the use of a good antivirus is highly recommended.
• Identity Theft – This is a form of fraud comprising using other person’s identity, allowing access to assets of data, to claim and make money. This has become more dangerous in the past years as people tend to use internet to do virtually every application form, shopping and access their bank accounts online.
Security Protection Mechanisms
Security protection mechanisms are tools that allow security on websites. Different tools protect internet users from malicious threats from hackers, viruses, malwares and others.
• Firewalls – These can be both software tools but also hardware for network security. Firewall systems control the incoming and outgoing traffic within a network by analysing the data and choosing whether or not that information is allowed to be accessed. If it is secure the firewall will give access to the data otherwise, the access will be denied. In another words this is a virus checker based on different rules. It is recommended for big companies and/or businesses such as hospitals to use both software and hardware firewall to prevent viruses from being able to spread to the entire computer making sure that if one or more computers are affected the rest of the devices are less likely to also become infected.
• Secure Socket Layers (SSL) – Secure socket layers provide communication security over the internet. SSL encrypt part of network connections beyond the transport layer using message codes. Websites with SSLs have a certificate showing that users are on a secure website. This can easily be identified by the user because a padlock will be shown next to the URL bar as shown in the image below and are mostly used by shopping and bank websites. Secure websites make users feel more confident and safer when visiting the website and providing personal details online.
• Adherence To Standards – Nowadays, we use websites for almost all purposes. This goes from shopping to internet banking where important personal data is shared with different organisations. Therefore, making sure we do adhere to high standards such as using a strong password is a good start. A strong password consists on a combination of both letters and numbers as well as capital and non-capital letters. It is not only a good habit to use strong passwords but to also change it quite often. Passwords should be changed between 2 to 3 months and the same password should not be shared across different websites. That is to prevent hackers to have access to all your online accounts in the case of them having discovered the password used for one specific website the risk of accessing other websites with your login details is reduced.