The Internet is a loose federation of networks.
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Cooperative organization - no administration, no fees. Protocols and standards are evolved through the IETF, Internet Engineering Task Force.
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Most national and international networks are members: NSFNET, ESNET, ARPANET, BITNET
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All these networks are packet switched systems based on TCP/IP. Together these protocols allow for communication over a wide variety of technologies. Machines called gateways connect the networks.
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Standard domain name system - names are looked up by name server to obtain routing information.
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symbolic names: npac.syr.edu
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internet addresses: 128.230.7.2
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