every web site you wanted to access; the Internet would not be nearly as easy to use. A domain name is a human-friendly name, convenient for remembering a website. These names generally consist of a descriptive word followed by a dot (period) and the Top-Level Domain (TLD). For example, Wikipedia’s domain name is wikipedia.org. Wikipedia describes the organization and .org is the TLD. Other well- known TLDs include .com , .net , and .gov . For a list and description of top level domain names, see this Wikipedia article. • DNS DNS stands for “domain name server or system.” DNS acts as the directory of websites on the Internet. When a request to access a host with a domain name is given, a DNS server is queried. It returns the IP address of the host requested, allowing for proper routing. • Packet-switching When a message’s packets are sent on the Internet, routers try to find the optimal route for each packet. This can result in packets being sent on different routes to their destination. After the packets arrive, they are re- assembled into the original message for the recipient. For more details on packet-switching, see this interactive web page. • Protocol A protocol is the set of rules that govern how communications take place on a network. For example, File Transfer Protocol (FTP) are the communication rules for transferring files from one host to another. TCP/IP, discussed earlier, is known as a protocol suite since it contains numerous protocols.
Information Systems for Business and Beyond (2019) pg. 94
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