TCP/IP Ports Protocols FTP SMTP DNS POP2 POP3 HTTP NAME File Transfer Protocol Simple Mail

Transfer Protocol. Domain Name System. Post Office Protocol, version 2 Post Office Protocol, version 3 HyperText Transfer Protocol. Ports 21 25 53 109 110 80

Domain Names If we had to remember the IP addresses of all of the Web sites we visit every day, we would all go nuts. Human beings just are not that good at remembering strings of numbers. We are good at remembering words, however, and that is where domain names come in. You probably have hundreds of domain names stored in your head. For example: www.howstuffworks.com - a typical name www.yahoo.com - the world's best-known name www.mit.edu - a popular EDU name encarta.msn.com - a Web server that does not start with www www.bbc.co.uk - a name using four parts rather than three ftp.microsoft.com - an FTP server rather than a Web server The COM, EDU and UK portions of these domain names are called the top-level domain or first-level domain. There are several hundred top-level domain names, including COM, EDU, GOV, MIL, NET, ORG and INT, as well as unique two-letter combinations for every country. Within every top-level domain there is a huge list of second-level domains. For example, in the COM first-level domain, you've got: Howstuffworks Yahoo Msn Microsoft Plus millions of others... Every name in the COM top-level domain must be unique, but there can be duplication across domains. For example, howstuffworks.com and howstuffworks.org are completely different machines. In the case of bbc.co.uk, it is a third-level domain. Up to 127 levels are possible, although more than four is rare. The left-most word, such as www or Encarta, is the host name. It specifies the name of a specific machine (with a specific IP address) in a domain. A given domain can potentially contain millions of host names as long as they are all unique within that domain.

Domain

(1) A group of computers and devices on a network that are administered as a unit with common rules and procedures. Within the Internet, domains are defined by the IP address. All devices sharing a common part of the IP address are said to be in the same domain. (2) In database technology, domain refers to the description of an attribute's allowed values. The physical description is a set of values the attribute can have, and the semantic, or logical, description is the meaning of the attribute.
Domain names - Because it is hard to remember the string of numbers that make up an IP address, and because IP addresses sometimes need to change, all servers on the Internet also have human-readable names, called domain names. For example, it is easier for most of us to remember www.howstuffworks.com than it is to remember 216.27.61.137. A company might block all access to certain domain names, or allow access only to specific domain names. Protocols - The protocol is the pre-defined way that someone who wants to use a service talks with that service. The "someone" could be a person, but more often it is a computer program like a Web browser. Protocols are often text, and simply describe how the client and server will have their conversation. The http in the Web's protocol. Some common protocols that you can set firewall filters for include: IP (Internet Protocol) - the main delivery system for information over the Internet TCP (Transport Control Protocol) - used to break apart and rebuild information that travels over the Internet HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) - used for Web pages FTP (File Transfer Protocol) - used to download and upload files UDP (User Data gram Protocol) - used for information that requires no response, such as streaming audio and video ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) - used by a router to exchange the information with other routers SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol) - used to send text-based information (e-mail) SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) - used to collect system information from a remote computer Telnet - used to perform commands on a remote computer A company might set up only one or two machines to handle a specific protocol and ban that protocol on all other machines.

Network Services DHCP :(Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) This is a protocol that lets network administrators centrally manage and automate the assignment of IP Addresses on the corporate network. When a company sets up its computer users with a connection to the Internet, an IP address must be assigned to each machine. Without DHCP, the IP address must be entered manually at each computer. DHCP lets a network administrator supervise and distribute IP addresses from a central point and automatically sends a new IP address when a computer is plugged into a different place in the network.DHCP uses the concept of a lease or amount of time that a given IP address will be valid for a computer. Using very short leases, DHCP can dynamically reconfigure networks in which there are more computers than the Stands for "Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol." A network server uses this protocol to dynamically assign IP addresses to networked computers. The DHCP server waits for a

computer to connect to it, and then assigns it an IP address from a master list stored on the server. DHCP helps in setting up large networks, since IP addresses don't have to be manually assigned to each computer on the network. Because of the slick automation involved with DHCP, it is the most commonly used networking protocol. DNS: Domain Name System (or Service or Server), an Internet service that translates domain names into IP addresses. Because domain names are alphabetic, they're easier to remember. The Internet however, is really based on IP addresses. Every time you use a domain name, therefore, a DNS service must translate the name into the corresponding IP address. For example, the domain name www.example.com might translate to 198.105.232.4. Wins Windows Internet Naming Service, a system that determines the IP address associated with a particular network computer. This is called name resolution. WINS supports network client and server computers running Windows and can provide name resolution for other computers with special arrangements. Determining the IP address for a computer is a complex process when DHCP servers assign IP addresses dynamically. For example, it is possible for DHCP to assign a different IP address to a client each time the machine logs on to the network. WINS uses a distributed database that is automatically updated with the names of computers currently available and the IP address assigned to each one. PPTP Short for Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol, a new technology for creating Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) , developed jointly by Microsoft Corporation, U.S. Robotics, and several remote access vendor companies, known collectively as the PPTP Forum. A VPN is a private network of computers that uses the public Internet to connect some nodes. Because the Internet is essentially an open network, the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) is used to ensure that messages transmitted from one VPN node to another are secure. With PPTP, users can dial in to their corporate network via the Internet. PPP Point-to-Point Protocol, a method of connecting a computer to the Internet. PPP is more stable than the older SLIP protocol and provides error checking features. Working in the data link layer of the OSI model, PPP sends the computer's TCP/IP packets to a server that puts them onto the Internet.

SLIP Serial Line Internet Protocol, a protocol for connection to the Internet via a dial-up connection. Developed in the 80s when modem communications typically were limited to

2400 bps, it was designed for simple communication over serial lines. SLIP can be used on RS-232 serial ports and supports asynchronous links. A more common protocol is PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol) because it is faster and more reliable and supports functions that SLIP does not, such as error detection, dynamic assignment of IP addresses and data compression. In general, Internet service providers offer only one protocol although some support both protocols. Firewall A system designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network. Firewalls can be implemented in both hardware and software, or a combination of both. Firewalls are frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networks connected to the Internet, especially intranets. All messages entering or leaving the intranet pass through the firewall, which examines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified security criteria. There are several types of firewall techniques: Packet filter: Looks at each packet entering or leaving the network and accepts or rejects it based on user-defined rules. Packet filtering is fairly effective and transparent to users, but it is difficult to configure. In addition, it is susceptible to IP spoofing. Application gateway: Applies security mechanisms to specific applications, such as FTP and Telnet servers. This is very effective, but can impose a performance degradation. Circuit-level gateway: Applies security mechanisms when a TCP or UDP connection is established. Once the connection has been made, packets can flow between the hosts without further checking. Proxy server: Intercepts all messages entering and leaving the network. The proxy server effectively hides the true network addresses. In practice, many firewalls use two or more of these techniques in concert. A firewall is considered a first line of defense in protecting private information. For greater security, data can be encrypted. IPX/SPX Short for Internet work Packet Exchange, a networking protocol used by the Novell NetWare operating systems. Like UDP/IP, IPX is a datagram protocol used for connectionless communications. Higher-level protocols, such as SPX and NCP, are used for additional error recovery services. Short for Sequenced Packet Exchange, a transport layer protocol (layer 4 of the OSI Model) used in Novell Netware networks. The SPX layer sits on top of the IPX layer (layer 3) and provides connection-oriented services between two nodes on the network. SPX is used primarily by client/server applications. Whereas the IPX protocol is similar to IP, SPX is similar to TCP. Together, therefore, IPX/SPX provides connection services similar to TCP/IP.