P1 Web servers Web server is a used to upload your website and its webpages online on the internet. This will allow the website to be available on the World Wide Web for the public to see. These can either be software as well as hardware. Most websites are hosted via these web servers as well as other internet applications. Mail servers A email server or mail server is where all of your emails are kept for the user or within its network. The mail server is used whenever a user is sending an email, receiving any email etc. When an email is sent; it goes through the mail sever and then sent to its destination Proxy servers A proxy server is a software that can responds to any communication to from other programs and software. E.g. client. Proxy servers are used to manager the different network capitals within a system and a network. There are many aspects in which a proxy server controls such as hosting any website. Some proxy servers can be dedicated servers which can be used for specific tasks Routers A router is a hardware that allows different data packets to be sent through networks and making sure that they right data is going to the right destination. Whenever a request is made within a website; it is sent through routers and gradually goes to the web server. It then responds by the web server sending this information through the routers back to the user. Browsers A browser or a web browser is one of the main programs within a web architecture which allows the system to process the web script e.g. HTML on websites and make sure it’s easier for the user to read the web page. With browsers you are allowed to complete many tasks such as watching videos, editing documents etc. Some examples are Chrome, Edge, and Mozilla Email With email software; you can easily send and receive emails from other users. It uses an email address to send and receive these emails. Some examples of these email software are Outlook, Gmail, and Yahoo etc. Protocols Protocols are used to make sure that different systems and programs can easily communicate with each other. There are many different types and versions of protocols that are in use at all times. One example is transmission control protocol/internet protocol or TCP/IP. This protocol is used to make sure that all information that is being exported ends up at the right destination or IP address. This has four different layers; link layer, internet layer, transport layer and application layer. Each layer has a different role. Link layer, the lowest level, deals with all the different hardware and navigates its way
through different routers, servers and hardware. Internet layer makes sure that it constantly focuses on the IP address. The transport layer makes sure that communication is created between the different hosts and makes sure that the package reaches its destination. The application layer, the highest layer, uses and contains all the other different protocols needed such as the SMTP, HTTP and HTTP. SMTP protocol is used to transfer emails. HTTP is used to give the website permission to transfer data to a destination. Whether it’s the final destination depends as it could be a node. HTTPS is similar to HTTP however its security protocol is much more extensive. Hence the reason it is used within e-commerce and online banking. POP and IMAP protocols are used to access the different mail servers. Web functionality As there are many new technology and upgrades within technology; many internet connections are becoming much faster, reliable as well as cheaper for some users. E.g. Fibre optic. Web 2.0 Web 2.0 is the different uses in which the web has since the new developments within technology. It is the different and new ways in which the internet is used compared to previous years however it does not refer to a new version of the internet or web. It allows different users to be able to contribute their knowledge as well as their different opinions. Social networking – Social network are different web sites and apps that can be used to socialise and communicated with other people, no matter where they are in the world. With social networking sites you can post different videos, pictures etc. Some examples are Facebook, Twitter etc. Wikis – is a website in which users can add and contribute to the information on the website. You can add new information, edit wrong information or even create a whole new page. One of the main examples is Wikipedia. Online applications - applications are normally downloaded and need to installed on a system; however with online applications, you can easily use the program as long as there is internet connection (without the need of downloading). Most of these applications are free or have a small fee. Blogs – blogs are online diaries or journals that are posted on different blogging websites. Most blogs are public to everyone however some may require you to be friends with the user. Anyone can become a blogger. Cloud computing – With the new developments within the internet and web 2.0 it has led to cloud computing to flourish. Cloud computing is where different files and programs are stored on a cloud server rather than being saved within the system or network itself. Some of the main advantages of using cloud computing is that you can access your files on any system as long as you have internet connection, no need to carry mass storage devices etc. Some disadvantages of using cloud computing is that some users may not trust the servers to store the information as it may get lost or stolen, especially within financial and personal data.
P3
Security: risks e.g. There are many different types of risks within the security if a website. This is especially important for E-commerce and banking website as they hold personal and confidential information which attracts different hackers. The website developers must make sure that they take the correct security procedures to protect their website and their data. hacking, Hackers are a huge problem regarding the security risks. Hackers use different tools and software to be able to steal information from different websites. Many e-commerce websites store many different confidential customer details such as their bank account, phone numbers, addresses etc. It is up to the business to stop hackers from gaining access to this information. viruses, Viruses are a huge problem for any system whether it’s a business or even just a normal user. Viruses can gain unauthorised access to the computer or a website that a user uses and is able to see and even steal the data within the computer. They can also damage the computer system itself and cause to break. If a website becomes infected with a virus; it will affect all users that visit the webpage, this can lead to hundreds of people being infected. identity theft As the internet becomes bigger, the amount of e-commerce businesses is also increasing. This means more people are entering their personal and confidential information on different websites. This has increased the rate of identity theft. With customers personal information; identity thieves can use the information to impersonate them and also buy items with their money. The website must be able to protect all of their customer’s private and confidential informative on so that hackers and identity thieves do not get access to the information Security protection mechanisms: There are many different security protection mechanisms which are available to all users that can stop many risks within a website. firewalls; Firewalls set up a gateway which only allows authorised data to come through into the network and stops any unauthorized data packets. This is completed by opening and closing the different ports within the system. Firewalls will keep the website safe from hackers or viruses, however if a firewall is not added onto a website, it can be easily hacked. This will lead to the website crashing and losing important information. This can be important information such as customer banking information, address, contact number etc. Whenever a user tries to breach the firewall, the admin is notified and can start working towards stopping the hacker or virus. Secure Socket Layers (SSL); SSL or security socket layer is a protocol that can use the internet/network to transfer different files and documents. SSL encrypts the data using different public as well as private keys. The use of SSL makes sure that all the information is encrypted and so that hackers and viruses cannot read the information. This means that even if the information is stolen; without the correct decryption key the information cannot be read. You can see a website has SSL via the ‘Lock’ icon or the ‘S’ after HTTP. adherence to standards e.g. strong passwords
It is vital that all users use strong passwords to make sure that no one can easily guess the password and have access to the system or website. Some ways to make a password strong is by; using a mixture of letters and numbers, using a mixture of capital and lowercase letters, using symbols and longer passwords (above 8 characters). Hackers can use different software that can be used to crack passwords and having stronger passwords will take the software longer to find the password and this will alert the website admin. P2 User side factors: The capabilities of the users systems must be taken into consideration beforehand, otherwise users that want access to the website may not be able to and may be forced to use a different website download speed; the download speed of the user will determine how long it will take for the web page to be downloaded on the users system. The slower the internet connection the slower it will take for the web page to load and even then it may not load some items due to the lower speeds. However this problem has reduced over the past few years due to the developments within internet connections as they have a much higher speed as well as lower price. Dial up – this was one of the main methods of internet connection before. It used an analogue telephone lines to connect to the internet. However speeds ranged to 56kbps. ISDN – integrated services digital network which added digital lines to increase faster speeds. Speeds ranged to 128kbps DSL – digital subscriber line used the digital lines and it was the main basis of broadband. The most common in the UK was ADSL.. It can reach up to 1mbps to 8mbps. Broadband – is a technology that is always being developed and advanced in the currents. At this time some users can experience 1gbps or 1000mbps. You must make sure that the website can be used on the lowest internet speeds as well as the highest internet speeds. PC performance factors e.g. Computer components can also factor the speed in which an item is displayed on a webpage as well as the performance when a user interacts with it. Browser, Most browsers nowadays are very up-to-date and the speeds between these browses are fairly similar. However there can be some times in which there are compatibility problems and it may not show some aspects of the web page. At this moment Google Chrome is the most used browser due to its high speed and easy compatibility however browsers like internet explorer are much slower and need constant updates to keep up with other browsers. Cache memory, Cache memory is a type of memory that is stored within your computer and it stores data from websites that you have visited. Data is downloaded into the cache memory so whenever you visit that website again it will load faster as well as carry some information across from your previous visit. Some examples are Cookies, passwords and scripts. As time goes by the cache memory becomes larger and the system may become slower. Processor speed
The different speeds of their systems processor can factor the performance of the website. A processor with higher speeds can complete different tasks within their system a lot quicker; meaning the system can quickly open and process all the different aspects within the web page. However having a slower processer will slow down this process and can cause some other problems. It is important that the webpage can be used for both users with slower and fast processors. Server side factors: If a website takes a long time to load or to download; this will reduce the amount of users that will come to the website or revisit again. There are many different methods that can be used to reduce the download time as well as making the website more efficient as a whole. Web server capacity As well as making sure that the capabilities of the users computers are met; it is important that the capacity of the web servers are also met. Available bandwidth, Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be downloaded as well as uploading from the web servers to all the users per second. It depends on the size of the business, website as well as the amount of users. If you have a bigger bandwidth than it allows more users to be able to access the website at the same time as well as the amount of users in that specific month. It also allows the users to download the data from the website quicker however this will most likely be limited. It is important that the bandwidth is high as if the website has a low bandwidth; even if the user had very fast internet, it would only be the speed of the bandwidth. Executions to be performed before page load, Executions to be performed before the page itself loads is where the websites scripts e.g. Java, PHP, allows the website to load all the different images and videos onto the website so it is available to the user straight away instead of them having to wait. Another factor is that it can personalise the web page for them as if they log in; they may have a customer background that should automatically change before the page is loaded. This gives a more personalised feeling for the user and will cause them to come back to the site. Number of hits; Number of hits can affect a website as if there are too many users on a website at once it can affect the websites performance a lot. It can in some cases overload the web servers and either slow down the website or even crash the website it self. Most websites have a large server so this will not cause a problem and it is also good to have a backup server in case of problems such as this. File types File types are crucial when in involved within a websites performance. If the website has small file types then this will decrease the time it takes for the website to load for any user. It will also load all the different aspects faster as well. The website developers must consider how long it will take for a user to download the page as having a larger sized image will have better quality but will also take longer to download. Within image files there are two main file types. Bitmap and vector images. Bitmap save all their pixels
separately which means that they have a higher file size and whenever the image is resized; it becomes pixelated and loses its quality. This is a lossey image. Vector images use co-ordinates for their images and they have a smaller file size as well as whenever the image is resized; it keeps its quality. This is a lossless image. Another file type that the website developer must consider is their sound files. WAV files are the most common and they are very large in size and can increase the download speeds on website however a lot of website uses a WAV file format. MP3 are more popular compared to WAV but it has a lower quality compared to WAV but have a small file size. Meaning that it will slow down the website less. M1 In this report I will be explaining what web architecture is and how it has affected communication. Web 2.0 Web 2.0 is the different uses in which the web has since the new developments within technology. It is the different and new ways in which the internet is used compared to previous years however it does not refer to a new version of the internet or web. Web 2.0 can be both software as well as hardware and it can be used in many different platforms. One of the main features of web 2.0 is social networking and social platforms. This allows website developers to directly add social network integration into the website allowing communication to be much easier. Another example would be wiki pages. With the integration of Web 2.0 it has allowed the use of wiki pages. With wiki pages users can add, edit and delete information on these websites so that the users on the internet can take this information. This has increased the amount of communication within the internet itself. Another factor is that previous web pages required users to code the whole websites themselves which meant that users would have to spend more time coding their websites or developing and this made it a lot harder for webpages to communicate with each other. With the use of web 2.0 it is much easier to develop and create websites and in some cases websites can automatically change some of the features for you. Cloud computing With the new developments within the internet and web 2.0 it has led to cloud computing to flourish. Cloud computing is where different files and programs are stored on a cloud server rather than being saved within the system or network itself. This means that the user would not have to install any other software or program to be able to store their data. Instead they can store their data online on the cloud servers. One example of how cloud computing affects communication would be within emails. Whenever you are using an email service such as Outlook, Gmail and Yahoo; you are not downloading software onto your computer. With cloud computing you are able to use the online service and are able to send emails and attachments all around the world.
Web storage Web storage is a new type of data storage service that has been created since the use of web 2.0. It allows user to be able to store their data and information on different websites via the web server that have been provided. With these web servers you are able to
access these files anytime as long you have a device that supports it. E.g. a laptop or a smartphone. This has allowed users to be able to access their information wherever as well as being able to give other users their data. If users give permission they can send the link to other users across the world and they will be able to access that file and download it, thus making it a lot easier to transfer data across websites now.
D1 Explain the Role of the TCP/IP Protocol and How It Links to Application Layer Protocols TCP/IP TCP/IP or transmission control protocol/internet is a vital protocol that is used within networks. It is used so that information sent from the network is sent to the right destination; whether it’s on the same network or on another network/system. TCP/IP allows users to able to connect to the internet as well as being able to send and receive emails. TCP/IP checks for any errors whenever information is being sent or received. TCP/IP has four different layers which each have their separate user within the protocol. All layers are vital for the protocol. -
Link layer
Link layer is the lowest layer and it deals with all the hardware within the computer system. It gets all the information together and creates a data link layer. It also makes sure that the protocol is in use and can be used in other network and systems that the information is traveling to. -
Internet Layer
The internet layer focuses on the IP address as well as making sure that the different networks are connected to each other to transfer the data across. It also makes sure that the data is sent to the correct destination via the IP address. -
Transport Layer
The transport layers make sure that the data sent through the network is correct as well as making sure that the network has access to the information in an efficient manner. -
Application Layer
The application layer, the highest layer, uses and contains all the other different protocols needed such as the SMTP, HTTP and HTTP. It makes sure that the user can access the internet with the different protocols.
HTTP
HTTP or Hypertext Transfer Protocol is the protocol that allows the connection between the web servers and the user. It uses two nodes to create a connection between each other. It is used within the World Wide Web to distribute information across. FTP FTP or file transfer protocol is a type of protocol that is used to transfer different information from a host or user to another user via the internet or any other TCP network. The FTP requires security login information from the admin of the web server to be able to access the information however most web servers have it so that the downloads do not need this login. SMTP SMTP or Simple mail transfer protocol is used within sending and receiving emails and it is directly in use with either a POP3 protocol or an IMAP protocol, this lets the user able to download and save the emails in a server for further use. DNS Domain name system or DNS is a protocol that is used to name the different services, computers and other resources on a network or the internet. It gives each item a specific and unique domain name and these names can easily be translated to IP address which are used to find a specific computer service or a device on the users network or the worldwide network. All these different protocols, TCP/IP, that are in used within the applications layer are used to make sure that all information is sent through the internet and the network without failing. There reason for many different protocols is to make sure that if one protocol fails; there is another protocol in place instead. In some cases if the information keeps failing to send; then the protocol will stop and give an error message.
