Lec. 1 Introduction to Data communication Network

The Internet is a structured, organized system. Before we discuss how it works and its relationship to TCP/IP, we first give a brief history of the Internet. We then define the concepts of protocols and standards and their relationships to each other. We discuss the various organizations that are involved in the development of Internet standards. These standards are not developed by any specific organization, but rather through a consensus of users. We discuss the mechanism through which these standards originated and matured. Also included in this introductory chapter is a section on Internet administrative groups.
OBJECTIVES
The chapter has several objectives:
? To give a brief history of the Internet.
? To give the definition of the two often-used terms in the discussion of
the Internet: protocol and standard.
? To categorize standard organizations involved in the Internet and give
a brief discussion of each.
? To define Internet Standards and explain the mechanism through
which these standards are developed.
? To discuss the Internet administration and give a brief description of
each branch.