An overview of Internet protocols

In a very short period of time, the Internet has risen from being viewed as a peculiarity of the defence and academic community of the late sixties to become a significant component of many of our working and home lives. The possible impact of this technology has the futurists talking of the collapse of national borders, the bypass of tax systems and traditional commerce and the emancipation of the individual from the clutches of government, corporations and the boundaries of culture, gender and physical constraints. Most users' experience of the Internet is through browser software and applications such as e-mail, World Wide Web, Newsgroups and media plug-ins. Beneath this glossy, graphical, multimedia world exists the architectural and protocol components which have enabled the Internet evolution to reach into so many parts of everday life in such a short time. The aim of this paper is to outline some of these components, their characteristics and limitations, and their ongoing development to address those limitations and add new capabilities. Even though an overview of Internet protocols is included in this paper, basic knowledge of Internet technology is assumed.