Data Communications 2 Module 1

The subject is divided into four modules, as per the syllabus . Each module covers three topics. The student should cover a topic per week. The subject runs for six weeks, breaks for two, then resumes for six more. The final exam is in the week following topic 12.

There is a break of two weeks during which time students should work on the major assignment .

This file is a study guide for this module, it describes the work to be completed by students. This file includes three topics. Each topic consists of

• a statement of the aims of the topic
• a syllabus
• a list of required reading
• a set of exercises
• some multi-choice, self assessed questions,
• some short answer exam questions,
• some essay length exam questions.

A fuller set of assessment guidelines is available elsewhere.

Module 1 Global information marketplace

Contents

• Global and ubiquitous data communications
• Trends in Computing and Data Communications
• Trends in business, education, government service provision
• The Internet, a single global telecommunications network
• Intranets, organisation wide, standards based networks
• Technical issues in global communications
• Open standards
• Security
• Network management

Because this area is not only very new, but is also changing at a rapid pace, it has proved impossible to find a single text which includes all the necessary content (and, indeed, text books in this area tend to focus either exclusively on the technology or exclusively on the strategic aspects of telecommunications - in this subject we aim to draw out the links between the two). Much of the material for this subject is therefore based upon recent academic and industry journal articles and, students can expect to receive further supplementary material throughout the duration of the unit.

Module 1, Topic 1 Global data communications

Aims

At the end of this topic you should understand:

• the concept of a global information marketplace, including the issues of:
• what it is;
• how it arose;
• the opportunities and threats it presents; and
• its possible consequences for organisations and individuals.

This topic also serves as an introduction to the subject.

Syllabus

• The study plan for data communications 2;
• Global and ubiquitous data communications:
• Trends in Computing and Data Communications,
• Trends in business, education, government service provision,
• The Internet, a single global telecommunications network.

1. The study plan for data communications 2

Take some time and read through the General Information in the Data Communications 2 home page , read all items:

General Information

• Your tutor
• Recommended prior study
• Overview
• Aims
• Objectives
• Recommended study technique
• Assessment
• The syllabus
• Study resources
• Reference texts and readings

2. Global and ubiquitous data communications

2.1 Trends in Computing and Data Communications

From your previous study of data communications, you will know that Universal connectivity has been the aim, of those designing data communication systems. This goal has been achieved, in my view, not by the thoughtful development standards, this was the path of the ISO OSI reference model, but by the cheap and easy availability of standard (meaning common) hardware, software and most importantly content over the Internet via the world wide web.

Read the Streeter article, item number 2 in your reader for a formal analysis of the advantages to be gained by an economy as a whole as a result of the introduction of a large scale (in this case national) standards based (in this case Teletext) ubiquitous data communications infrastructure.

Streeter et. al concludes that " a national infrastructure increases network use in general and promotes technological participation of small firms by reducing their capital and expertise disadvantage ".

Can you find similar evidence, with a similar level of rigour, for the global networks? I can't. The articles by Cronin (reader item 1) and by Jaap Van Till (reader item 2) lay out an informal argument. To most of us it seems clear that if a firm has access to global communications, then it will perform better in many ways. It seems clear that small firms can't set up such networks, and even large firms can benefit from a universal global network, one accessible to the large firm and to other large firms. This universality can not be achieved with a purely private global network. Read the Van Till and Cronin articles reader items number 3 and 1 respectively and in the light of the three articles Streeter, Van Till and Cronin answer the essay question posed.

Aside from these trends towards open standards based global data communications, there have been a number of other shifts in the way data processing and computing are done. The data processing trends include:

• a trend away from mainframe computers to network file servers and work-stations;
• a trend away from mainframe/file-server data base management to Client server systems;
• a trend toward new languages and programming paradigms based on the concept of objects;
• a trend towards new ways of organising the corporate data processing group, using more outside contract resources, called out-sourcing;

2.2 Trends in business, education, government service provision

The best way to learn how the global communications network might be used is to look at some of the ways businesses, educational institutions and government departments are using the Internet.

Look at some of the pages here (not all, that would take too long).

Send your tutor Email from your browser. The mail should contain an attachment being the page you are looking at. The purpose of this task is to assess your level of skill using the Internet.

As you browse through the pages, take a note of the types of business operations are being supported. This list will form the basis of your answer to Question 2, below. Just to get you started, here is a very short list:

• Technical support for customers
• Product marketing information
• Pricing information
• Banking - movement of funds between accounts
• etc.

Business

• BHP
• Hewlett Packard
• Microsoft
• IBM
• Sun
• Advance Bank
• National Australia Bank
• Cisco
• Ascend
• Telstra
• The AGE Newspaper

Education

• Monash University
• Faculty of Computing and Information Technology , Monash University
• Department of Computer Technology , Monash University
• A personal home page , your tutor
• Melbourne University
• Deakin University
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Government

• Australian Bureau of Statistics
• Australian Constitution
• Australian Governments' Entry Point Links to Federal, State, and Local Government
• Department of Premier & Cabinet, Tasmania
• Electoral system

Network access providers

• Access One
• Telstra Internet
• Connect.com
• GeoCities provides free Email and home page facilities to all

2.3 The Internet, a single global telecommunications network

Read some history of and ideas about the Internet:

• What is it?
• What is the Internet ?
• World Wide Web Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
• The current configuration of the Telstra Internet part of the Internet network is indicated here.
• How did it arise?
• A Little History - The history of the World Wide Web from the people who invented it.
• Community Memory - discussion list on the history of cyber-space.
• History of the Internet [pbs.org] - from the PBS series Life on the Internet.
• History of the Internet and World Wide Web - List of links to the best of the web sites about Internet and WWW history and statistics.
• Hobbes' Internet Time-line - starting in 1950, tracing the events that lead to the Internet of today.
• How can an individual get access?
• Try the Telstra list of Australian Providers of Internet Access Services. See also the Telstra Internet Access Service.
• How can a firm get access to the Internet in Australia?
• Via Access One ,
• Connect.com ,
• Telstra Internet.
• How can a firm establish a permanent presence with an Internet domain name?

Required Reading

Cronin, Mary J. (1996) Global advantage in the Internet: from corporate connectivity to international competitiveness, Van Nostrand Reinhold, Chapter 1 Business without borders, pp.1-25, reader item 1.

Streeter, Lynn A. et. al. (1996) How open data networks influence business performance and market structure , in Communications of the ACM, Volume 39, Number 7, July 1996, pp.62-73 reader item 2.

Van Till, Jaap (1995) Global networking: the next ten years , in Netnews IBM's quarterly networking magazine, issue 3, 1995, pp. 4-5 reader item 3.

Exercises

Module 1, Topic 2 Intranets

Aims

At the end of this topic you should understand the implications of changes in computing and communications technology and their possible effects on organisations, including:

• the degree of decentralisation, out-sourcing and facilities management now possible;
• the nature and role of Intranet technology in those trends;
• some key issues needing further study for a proper understanding of these changes: security, standards and others.

Study of this topic will provide a foundation for the more technical sections which follow.

Syllabus

• Intranets, organisation wide, standards based networks

1. Intranets

Read the papers by Udell and that by Erkes, these describe two typical Intranet computer aplications.

Intranets are networks built with Internet technology providing Internet services such as information access, person to person and group communications. Intranets also provide modern, Internet technology based access to standard office, business and CAD/CAM computer applications. Intranets provide these services to the firm and perhaps a closed group of customers and suppliers.

The hype associated with Intranets comes from the need, perceived by technology marketing groups, to present their products as modern. The Internet and Intranet are new technologies in the business community. Although there is a great deal of hype, Intranet technology is an important tool for systems deployment.

In the next section are some Internet sites which may help you understand a little better the nature of an Intranet and it's role relative to the Internet. As you read these articles try to identify:

• the difference between Internet and Intranet technology;
• the extra services and features required of Internet technology to provide an Intranet;
• the limitation of Intranet technology that may required the continued use and development of conventional computer systems;
• the difference between Intranet and client-server computing.

2. Intranet case studies on line

Investigate some real organizational intranets? The links below leads to Internet-accessible Intranet resources, or point to detailed case-study information which Intranet planners can use in their own work.

• Case Studies for Intranet Planners
• WebMaster magazine's Intranet case study collection.

3. The Intranet white papers

Look at these Intranet white papers:

• Netscape Intranet white paper,
• Microsoft Intranet Solution Centre,
• Lotus Internet Update.

4. Issues for Intranets

Add to this list of Intranet special issues:

• Security WWW Security FAQ: General Questions: What's to worry about? The Internet is much less secure than a private network. Using Internet technology in your private network without proper Internet security will substantially reduce the security of your private network.
• Standards: One of the main benefits available from Intranets is the possibility of standardising on open systems. Should your organisation stay with open standards? How will this be enforced? There are many proprietary "standards" for Internet technology.
• Setting priorities for the content development task: Whereas your organisation may have put the task of managing your Internet in the hands of some special parts of the organisation, with a complete commitment to the Intranet, your IT strategic plan and your Intranet development plan must be one and the same.

5. Other Intranet information

• Intranet Design Magazine
• The Intranet FAQ: Part 1 of 2
• The Intranet FAQ: Part 2 of 2
• Fredrik's Intranet Links

Required reading

Udell, John (1996) Your business needs the web, in Byte, Volume 21, Number 8, August 1996, pp. 68-80.

Erkes, J. W. et. al. (1996) Implementing shared manufacturing services on the world-wide web, in Communications of the ACM, Volume 39, Number 2, February 1996, pp. 34-45.

Ebbs, Geoff (1996) Intranet fever, in Information Age, June 1996, pp. 30-33.

Streitberger, Stephen (1996) Help yourself by using your intranet, in Victorian ACS news, Volume 35, Number 8, September 1996, p. 8.

Exercises

Module 1, Topic 3 Technical issues in global communications

Aims

At the end of this topic you should understand:

• the technical issues which have led to the emergence of a single global telecommunications network;
• including the technologies which underpin and enable the global network;
• the standards debate;
• some key issues of network management.

The purpose is to facilitate your ability to identify possible strategic opportunities which the network offers to businesses and individuals.

Syllabus

• Technical issues in global communications
• Open standards
• Security
• Network management

1. Open standards

To begin our study of some of the important technical issues that underpin global communications, turn to your reader article number 1, Cronin, Mary J. (1996) Global advantage in the Internet: from corporate connectivity to international competitiveness, Van Nostrand Reinhold, Chapter 1 Business without borders, pp.1-25.

Read pages 14-23, these contain a simple brief history of the Internet and give a view of the strategic future of it. Re-read the whole article looking for the technological developments wich lead to the Internet becoming a global network for business.

Did you notice, in that article, the importance of open standards?

Now look at your reader article number 10, Ayre, Rick and Mace, Thomas (1996) Online Internet access : just browsing, in PC Magazine, Volume 15, Number 5, March 12, 1996, pp. 100-146. This review article covers a large range of web browsers, the sheer number of products, all able to inter-work with the web is a pointer to the "openness" of web standards.

Why not look at some details of the web standards in your text book, Orfali, Robert, Harkey, Dan and Edwards, Jeri (1996) The essential client/server survival guide (2nd. ed.), John Wiley & Sons Inc. pp. 675.

Read about the web standards in chapters 28, 29 and 30. Chapter 30 will be re-visited in a later module of this course, one on client/server computing.

2. Security

The common wisdom is that TCP/IP is insecure, relative to proprietary data communications protocol stacks. At the end of our study of security in communications, a little now, and again in a later module, it is expected that the student will understand that TCP/IP, in practice, with it's various extensions and due to the efforts to both break the security and tighten the security of various TCP/IP protocols, that, TCP/IP and it's extensions are much more secure than proprietary systems.

First turn to your reader to look at some of the security issues in the articles there. Page 72 of Udell, John (1996) Your business needs the web, in Byte, Volume 21, Number 8, August 1996, pp. 68-80.

Look also in your text book Orfali et. al., pages 502-503, these describe one secure web protocol called secure socket layer (SSL).

Here are some on-line Internet security resources:

• A high level view of Internet security is available in the paper Internet Security Issues.
• FAQ - Internet Security
• DTCG - FAQ's: Internet Security
• Microsoft Internet Security Framework
• Netscape On Internet Security
• RSA Data Security Inc.
• X509.com a web security software provider
• Secure telnet and other TCP/IP sockets with Datafellows SSH
• Apache WWW server and Apache-SSL secure server
• Test your viewer does it support P.I.C.S. ratting labels? RSACi is the Recreational Software Advisory Council, they rate web sites
• SSLeay Certificate Authority FAQ and how to be a CA

3. Network management

Article number 3 in you reader, touches briefly on some of the key issues for global networks, see Van Till, Jaap (1995) Global networking: the next ten years , in Netnews IBM's quarterly networking magazine, issue 3, 1995, pp. 4-5.

Read the Van Till article looking for information on network management.

Network management and management of the desktop workstations are areas of active research, your text book, Orfali, Robert, Harkey, Dan and Edwards, Jeri (1996) The essential client/server survival guide (2nd. ed.), John Wiley & Sons Inc. pp. 675, chapters 32 and 33 gives an excellent introduction to some of the key issues in network management.

4. Other technologies

Answer this question. What does Van Till say about lower cost high speed digital lines for data communications and about virtual local area networks?

In later topics, we will look at ISDN and we will re-visit network security and the role it plays in private virtual local area networks. For now here are two on-line resources for those interested in ISDN.

• Dan Kegel's ISDN Page
• ISDN Equipment Distributors

Required reading

Ayre, Rick and Mace, Thomas (1996) Online Internet access : just browsing, in PC Magazine, Volume 15, Number 5, March 12, 1996, pp. 100-146.

Cronin, Mary J. (1996) Global advantage in the Internet: from corporate connectivity to international competitiveness, Van Nostrand Reinhold, Chapter 1 Business without borders, pp.1-25.

Orfali, Robert, Harkey, Dan and Edwards, Jeri (1996) The essential client/server survival guide (2nd. ed.), John Wiley & Sons Inc. pp. 675. Read about the web standards in chapters 28, 29 and 30.

Udell, John (1996) Your business needs the web, in Byte, Volume 21, Number 8, August 1996, pp. 68-80.

Van Till, Jaap (1995) Global networking: the next ten years , in Netnews IBM's quarterly networking magazine, issue 3, 1995, pp. 4-5.

Exercises