The document discusses several key topics relating to internet infrastructure:
It defines packet switching as the process of grouping all transmitted data into standardized blocks called packets. It also explains that routers determine optimal paths between networks and transport packets through their use of routing tables and algorithms that select the best next hop based on metrics like bandwidth. Finally, it provides references to Wikipedia and a document on routing basics for more information.
1. The internet
a global computer network providing a
variety of information and communication
facilities, consisting of interconnected
networks using standardized
communication protocols.
2. State the link between domain names
and IP addresses
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) is a department of
ICANN, a non profit private American corporation, which oversees
global IP address allocation, autonomous system number allocation,
root zone management in the Domain Name System (DNS), media
types, and other Internet Protocol-related symbols and numbers.
Prior to the establishment of ICANN primarily for this purpose in 1998,
IANA was administered principally by Jon Postel at the Information
Sciences Institute (ISI) of the University of Southern California (USC)
situated at Marina Del Rey (Los Angeles), under a contract USC/ISI had
with the United States Department of Defense, until ICANN was
created to assume the responsibility under a United States Department
of commence contract.
3. A very simple explanation of data
packets and packet switching
Packet switching is a digital networking
communications method that groups all
transmitted data – regardless of content, type,
or structure – into suitably sized blocks, called
packets.
4. A very simple explanation of the
function of routers
Routing involves two basic activities: determining optimal routing paths and
transporting information groups (typically called packets) through an
internetwork. In the context of the routing process, the latter of these is
referred to as packet switching. Although packet switching is relatively
straightforward, path determination can be very complex.
Routing protocols use metrics to evaluate what path will be the best for a
packet to travel. A metric is a standard of measurement, such as path
bandwidth, that is used by routing algorithms to determine the optimal path
to a destination. To aid the process of path determination, routing algorithms
initialize and maintain routing tables, which contain route information. Route
information varies depending on the routing algorithm used.
Routing algorithms fill routing tables with a variety of information.
Destination/next hop associations tell a router that a particular destination
can be reached optimally by sending the packet to a particular router
representing the "next hop" on the way to the final destination. When a
router receives an incoming packet, it checks the destination address and
attempts to associate this address with a next hop.