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The Low Down on the Internet
The Internet is a world wide network of computers that share information. Information sharing and communication are the primary purpose for the Internet. Worldwide e-mail, software archives, and other informational resources abound on the Internet. It is these vast informational resources that many refer to when they say Internet. While this use of the word Internet is not wrong, there is a lot more to the Internet than information, such as personal communications like online chatting or e-mail.

Internet A world wide network of computers that share information. Information sharing and communication are the primary purpose for the Internet.


The Internet itself is just cables, wires, and specialized computers, but its value lies in the vast amounts of information it contains. At the physical level, the structure of the Internet is one that is often described as a network of networks. It can be said that the Internet is one large virtual network composed of many smaller networks. In fact, it is the connection of networks from which the Internet derives its name. Much like the interstate highway system in the U.S., which enables land travel between states, the Internet facilitates communication between networks (inter -> between + net -> network = Internet).

The "shape" of the Internet can be visualized by imagining its layout as an inverted tree much like a diagram of a family tree or an organizational chart. At the very bottom, or ends of the tree are leaves or nodes�individual computers that make up end points on the network. These nodes usually make up a network that is confined to a small geographic area. These type of networks are called LANs, or Local Area Networks.

Jargon: LAN (Local Area Network)�network containing individual computers that make up end points on the Internet.

Typically these networks can be found in a building, department, or college campus. These "local" networks connect to larger networks, which cover a broader geographic area. These networks are called WANs, or wide area networks, and make up the "branches" of the tree. Further up stream many WANs connect to large regional networks, national, and international networks. At the top, the large regional, national, or international networks interconnect at many locations to form the virtual world-wide network. Thus, in our example individual computers can be thought of as leaves, LANs as twigs, WANs as branches, and large regional and international networks as the trunks.
 WAN (Wide Area Network)�network that covers broad geographical areas.
It is the arrangement just described that facilitates worldwide communications over the Internet. The structure of the Internet can be observed in many places around us. Taking a look at one of these structures can help to understand how Internet communications occur.

The national system of roads and highways, for example, is laid out in much the same fashion as the Internet. Using this large network of roads, highways, and superhighways, an individual can travel from any location in the country to any other location thousands of miles away. The Internet is similar in this respect because using your home computer, you can "travel," or connect to a computer half the world away.

Let's take a trip from a small town in Virginia to another small town in Oregon, as an example.

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