Guided Reading Questions: The Internet as a System and Spirit

The Internet as a System

Packet Switching

❔ What critical decisions had to be made about the Internet?

❔ What is the difference between circuit switching and packet switching?

❔ What makes the Internet work in practice?

Core and Edge

❔ What is the core and edge of the Internet?

❔ What is an Internet Service Provider (ISP)?

IP Addresses

❔ What are IP addresses?

❔ How many IP addresses are there?

❔ Will that be enough?

❔ What's the plan for creating more?

❔ What are Domain Name Servers?

❔ What is a port number?

❔ What is Network Address Translation (NAT)?

The Key to It All: Passing Packets

❔ What is the key to it all?

❔ What is a buffer?

❔ What happens if the buffer fills up?

❔ What happens to packets that are damaged?

Protocols

❔ What is a protocol?

❔ What is Transport Control Protocol (TCP)?

❔ What is a higher-level protocol and what do they transport?

❔ What are two key components of IP that makes it general?

❔ How is IP doubly general?

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Stop here the first night of homework.

The Reliability of the Internet

❔ Why is the Internet remarkably reliable?

❔ What happens if enough links are broken?

❔ Give examples of when data has been lost?

❔ What is another reason you may not receive data intended for you?

The Internet Spirit

The Hourglass

❔ What is Internet architecture like?

❔ What is HTTP?

❔ What is it used for?

❔ What is SMTP?

❔ What it is used for?

Layers, Not Silos

❔ What is the benefit of creating the Internet with layers rather than silos?

End to End

❔ What does "End to End" in the Internet mean?

Separate Content and Carrier

❔ What is net neutrality and why is it important?

Clean Interfaces

❔ What are some key concepts of designing information systems?

❔ What are RFCs?

❔ What is meant by "The Internet is an object lesson in creative compromise producing competitive energy."?