Chapter 7 Telecommunications, the Internet and Wireless
Technology
Learning objectives
7.1 What are the principal components of telecommunications networks and key networking technologies?
7.2 What are the different types of networks?
7.3 How do the Internet and Internet technology work, and how do they support communication and e-business?
7.4 What are the principal technologies and standards for wireless networking, communication, and Internet access?
7.5 How will MIS help my career?
Cases
Alibaba: Redefining Traditional Retailing
The Global Battle over Net Neutrality
Singapore Shuts Down 2G Network
Google, Apple, and Facebook Battle for Your Internet Experience
7.1 What are the principal components of telecommunications networks and key networking technologies?
Today we use computers, email, text messaging, the Internet, mobile phones and mobile computers connected to
wireless networks. Networking and the Internet are nearly synonymous with doing business
Networking and Communication Trends
In the past firms used two fundamentally two different types of networks: telephone networks (handled voice
communication) and computer networks (handled data traffic). But now telephone and computer networks are
converging into a single digital network using shared Internet-based standards and technology, they also became
more powerful/more portable/less expensive. Every household in the US has high-speed broadband connections (3
till 20 megabits (millions of bits per second))
What is a computer network?
Components of a simple network: a client computer and a dedicated server computer, network interfaces, a
connection medium, network operating system software, and either a hub or a switch.
- Network interface = link to the computer to network, can be telephone wire, coaxial cable, radio signal in the
case of a cell phone, wireless local area networks (Wi-Fi networks)
- Network operating system (NOS) = routes and manages communications on the network and coordinates
network resources, most widely used are Microsoft Windows Server and Linux
- Hubs = simple devices that connect network components, sending a packet of data to all other connected
services
- Switch = has more intelligence than a hub and can filter and forward data to a specified destination on the
network
- Router = communications processor that routes packets of data through different networks, ensuring that
the data sent get to the correct address
, - Software-defined networking (SDN) = networking approach in which many of these control functions are
managed by one central program, which can run on inexpensive commodity servers that are separate from
the network devices themselves (especially helpful in a cloud computing environment with many pieces of
hardware)
Networks in large companies
Small networks can be tied together in a corporate-wide networking infrastructure. The network infrastructure for a
large corporation consists of a large number of these small local area networks linked to other local area networks
and to firmwide corporate networks. A number of powerful servers support a corporate website, a corporate
intranet, and perhaps an extranet. Some of these servers link to other large computers supporting back-end systems.
Key digital networking technologies
- Client/server computing = distributed computing model in which some of the processing power is located
within small, inexpensive client computers and resided literally on desktops or laptops or in handheld
devices. These powerful clients are linked to one another through a network that is controlled by a network
server computer
- Packet switching = method of slicing digital messages into parcels called packets, sending the packets along
different communication paths as they become available, and then reassembling the packets once they
arrive at their destinations
- TCP/IP and connectivity
Protocol = set of rules and procedures governing transmission of info between two point in a network
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) = single common worldwide standard used by
corporate networks; uses a suite of protocols, main ones are TCP (handles the movement of data between
computers) and IP (responsible for the delivery of packets and includes the disassembling and reassembling
of packets during transmission).
Technology
Learning objectives
7.1 What are the principal components of telecommunications networks and key networking technologies?
7.2 What are the different types of networks?
7.3 How do the Internet and Internet technology work, and how do they support communication and e-business?
7.4 What are the principal technologies and standards for wireless networking, communication, and Internet access?
7.5 How will MIS help my career?
Cases
Alibaba: Redefining Traditional Retailing
The Global Battle over Net Neutrality
Singapore Shuts Down 2G Network
Google, Apple, and Facebook Battle for Your Internet Experience
7.1 What are the principal components of telecommunications networks and key networking technologies?
Today we use computers, email, text messaging, the Internet, mobile phones and mobile computers connected to
wireless networks. Networking and the Internet are nearly synonymous with doing business
Networking and Communication Trends
In the past firms used two fundamentally two different types of networks: telephone networks (handled voice
communication) and computer networks (handled data traffic). But now telephone and computer networks are
converging into a single digital network using shared Internet-based standards and technology, they also became
more powerful/more portable/less expensive. Every household in the US has high-speed broadband connections (3
till 20 megabits (millions of bits per second))
What is a computer network?
Components of a simple network: a client computer and a dedicated server computer, network interfaces, a
connection medium, network operating system software, and either a hub or a switch.
- Network interface = link to the computer to network, can be telephone wire, coaxial cable, radio signal in the
case of a cell phone, wireless local area networks (Wi-Fi networks)
- Network operating system (NOS) = routes and manages communications on the network and coordinates
network resources, most widely used are Microsoft Windows Server and Linux
- Hubs = simple devices that connect network components, sending a packet of data to all other connected
services
- Switch = has more intelligence than a hub and can filter and forward data to a specified destination on the
network
- Router = communications processor that routes packets of data through different networks, ensuring that
the data sent get to the correct address
, - Software-defined networking (SDN) = networking approach in which many of these control functions are
managed by one central program, which can run on inexpensive commodity servers that are separate from
the network devices themselves (especially helpful in a cloud computing environment with many pieces of
hardware)
Networks in large companies
Small networks can be tied together in a corporate-wide networking infrastructure. The network infrastructure for a
large corporation consists of a large number of these small local area networks linked to other local area networks
and to firmwide corporate networks. A number of powerful servers support a corporate website, a corporate
intranet, and perhaps an extranet. Some of these servers link to other large computers supporting back-end systems.
Key digital networking technologies
- Client/server computing = distributed computing model in which some of the processing power is located
within small, inexpensive client computers and resided literally on desktops or laptops or in handheld
devices. These powerful clients are linked to one another through a network that is controlled by a network
server computer
- Packet switching = method of slicing digital messages into parcels called packets, sending the packets along
different communication paths as they become available, and then reassembling the packets once they
arrive at their destinations
- TCP/IP and connectivity
Protocol = set of rules and procedures governing transmission of info between two point in a network
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) = single common worldwide standard used by
corporate networks; uses a suite of protocols, main ones are TCP (handles the movement of data between
computers) and IP (responsible for the delivery of packets and includes the disassembling and reassembling
of packets during transmission).
