FACULTY OF INFORMATION & COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

UCIM 3003 ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

Chapter 03 : Ecommerce Infrastructure

Internet Service Providers

Internet service provider (ISP) is a company that links users to the Internet for a fee Services offered by ISPs Linking consumers and businesses to the Internet
Monitoring and maintaining customers' Web sites Providing network management and system integration Offering payment systems for online purchases

Many local governments are funding the use of the Internet because of its political, educational, and commercial benefits
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Internet Service Providers (Cont'd)

The problem for some ISPs is sudden growth without advance planning to accommodate that growth

A well managed ISP requires:

Professional management A highly skilled technical staff Healthy budget to bring the technology in line with the voracious Ensure a balance between creativity and control and between managing growth and a stable technical infrastructure appetite of today's consumer
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How The Internet Works?

Computers connected to the Internet work together to transfer data around the world When a computer sends data over the Internet, the computer's software divides the data into small pieces called packets The data in a packet might be part of an e-mail message, a file, a document, a graphic, or a request for a file A single packet contains a header to keep track of the actual data it carries Packets range in size from 100 bytes to 2,000 bytes Messages that are larger than the standard packet size are split into a series of packets for transmission
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How The Internet Works? (Cont'd)

Routers is a specialized devices that send packets across the Internet Routers use computer programs called routing algorithms to ensure packets take the best available path toward their destination Packet switching is a basic Internet communication term It refers to the way data are exchanged between two communicating computers Packet switching makes it possible to enable multiple communicating computers to share the network efficiently, quickly, and accurately
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How The Internet Works? (Cont'd)

Packet switching
A technique of breaking a message into individual packets (datagrams), sending the packets along the best route available, and resembling the data once they arrived at destination

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How The Internet Works? (Cont'd)

A communications protocol specifies the rules that define how devices connect to each other and transmit data over a network Protocols are pieces of software that run on every node or computer and allow every pair of computers to communicate directly without having to know much about each other, except for the IP address More specifically, protocols govern communication between peer processes on different systems The different system are the use of client browser and Web server Protocols used in connection with the Internet include many functions and the TCP/IP protocol suite
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How The Internet Works? (Cont'd)

The protocol used to define packet switching on the Internet is Transmission control protocol/ Internet protocol (TCP/IP)
TCP: Establishes the connections among sending and receiving Web computers, handles the assembly of packets at the point of transmission, and their reassembly at the receiving end IP: Provides the Internet's addressing scheme The purpose of TCP/IP is to provide high-speed communication network links
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Other networks
TCP/IP protocols are not restricted to the Internet Companies have found TCP/IP useful for:
Creating intranets, or internal company networks Forming extranets to connect with vendors and suppliers and establish shared databases

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Public and Private Networks

Public network Any computer network or telecommunications network that is available to the public Private network A private, leased-line connection between two companies that physically connects their intranets Leased line:
Permanent telephone connection between two points Advantage of a leased line is security -- Only the two parties that lease the line to create the private network have access to the connection
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Virtual Private Network (VPN) (Cont'd)

Private network (Cont'd) Drawback to a private network is cost
Leased line are expensive Every pair of companies wanting a private network in between them requires a separate line connecting them For instance, if a company wants to set up an extranet connection over a private network with seven other companies, the company must pay the cost of seven leased lines, one for each company
If the extranet expands to 20 other companies, the extranet-sponsoring company must rent another 13 leased lines

As each new company is added, costs increase by the same amount

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Virtual Private Network (VPN) (Cont'd)

virtual private network (VPN) refers to a secure connection between two points across the Internet Connection seems to be a permanent, internal network connection but it the connection is actually temporary VPNs establish short-term logical connections in real-time that are broken once the communication session ends. Establishing VPNs does not require leased line

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Virtual Private Network (VPN) (Cont'd)

VPN uses public networks and protocols to send sensitive data by using "tunneling" or "encapsulation" -- private passageways through the Internet Network that sends encrypted data across the public Internet IP tunneling
Effectively creates a private passageway through the public Internet

Encapsulation
Process used by VPN software VPN software must be installed on the computers at both ends of the transmission Virtual passageway is created using VPN software that encrypts the packet content (called IP wrapper) then places the encrypted packets inside another packet

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What Is An Intranet?
The term "Intranet" was coined from the Latin "Intra", which means "within", to mean an internal network An Intranet is an interconnected network that does not extend beyond the organization that created it Normally runs in a client/server environment and a local area network configuration Separated from other networks by firewalls, a means of preventing unauthorized access to the company's internal data or leaks of sensitive company information A firewall is a device (a hardware or software combination) that sits between your internal network and the outside Internet that provides security for the intranet by separating network nodes into those on the inside and outside
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What Is An Intranet? (Cont'd)

Other definitions of Intranet:
An internal corporate network built using Internet and World Wide Web standards and products that allows employees of an organization to gain access to corporate information An internal, private network using Web technologies to securely transmit information within the organization. This private internal Web limits viewing access to authorized users within the organization
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Intranet Architecture And Components

Top tier Browser corresponds to the client layer Second tier Web server and optional application server(s) are part of the business logic tier Third tier Middleware layer, which most commonly contains CGI (Common Gateway Interface) scripts
The middleware layer includes JDBC (Java Database Connectivity) drivers and specific application server APIs (application program interfaces), most developed in-house to connect to operational applications
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Intranet Architecture And Components (Cont'd)

Fourth tier
Transaction manager level, which may consists of a component transaction server
Component transaction servers function as an interface to the back-end database servers Database servers are connected into the Intranet via transaction servers

Hence, the lowest tier constitutes the back-end data stores or, in Intranet parlance, the database servers

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Intranet Architecture And Components (Cont'd)

Logical View of An Intranet
WEB BROWSER

TOP TIER

2ND TIER
WEB SERVER WEB SERVER APPLICATION SERVER JDBC DRIVER APPLICATION SERVER API COMPONENT TRANSACTION SERVER WEB SERVER APPLICATION SERVER APPLICATION SERVER API COMPONENT TRANSACTION SERVER

3RD TIER

CGI

COMPONENT TRANSACTION SERVER

COMPONENT TRANSACTION SERVER

4TH TIER

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Intranet Applications
Collaboration Training

Intranet Hub Online Entry of Information Real-time Access To Information Application Integration

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Intranet Benefits
An organizational Intranet provides facilities to: Share information within the organization

Transfer information between departments within the organization

Ensure information accessible across geographic and organizational boundaries Collaborate with other people in the organization / support collaborative project Automate internal operational process

Train and educate individuals within the organization

Improve the quality of its decision Expedite decision making
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Intranet Benefits (Cont'd)

An organization can use these capabilities to: (Cont'd)
Eliminate duplicate of effort
Improve communication throughout the organization Increase the cohesiveness of the organization Facilitate collaborative efforts Enhance competitive advantage Boost morale and increase employee retention Increase productivity

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Intranet Benefits (Cont'd)

An intranet offers the opportunity for an organization to:
Provide ready access to information needed to make informed decisions
Increase awareness of other projects happening within the organization Support geographically dispersed individuals and departments Stay abreast of the latest advances in fields related to the organization's mission
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E-mail and the Intranet (Marriage Made In Cyber Heaven)

E-mail is what intranets are best known for Over 200 million in-boxes are active worldwide E-mail is becoming smarter: It now can direct specific messages to defined folders and be a place to check voice, text, and fax messages Intranets inherit Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) from the TCP/IP suite to operate e-mail
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E-mail and the Intranet (cont...)

E-mail is a potential threat for employers
Confidentiality breaches Legal liability Lost productivity Damage to company reputation

Important for a firm to create an e-mail usage policy and make sure the policy is actually implemented

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Spamming and Appropriate E-mail Use

Spamming is sending unwanted advertisements or literature through e-mail or the Internet Companies have been overwhelmed by e-mail traffic, and spam is out of control Spot checks are no longer adequate Trend is more toward systematic monitoring of email traffic using content-monitoring software
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Spamming and Appropriate E-mail Use

(Contd)

Spamming is nearly impossible to eliminate, but solutions exist:

Blacklist the sender; obtain a spammers address and block any e-mail from that address Accept e-mail only from a list of approved addresses Look for signs of spam Use anti-spam software

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Difference Between Intranet And Internet

Internet Versus Intranet
Internet: The public, global communication networks that provides direct connectivity to anyone (e.g. businesses, educational institutions, government agencies and individuals) over a LAN (Local Area Network) via an Internet service provider (ISP) or directly via an ISP

Many companies build Internets, or interconnected networks, that do not extend beyond their organizational boundaries -- Intranets
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Difference Between Intranet And Internet (Cont'd)

Internet Versus Intranet (Cont'd)
Intranet: A corporate LAN or wide area network (WAN) that uses Internet technology and is secured behind a company's firewalls Designed to serve the internal informational needs of a company Low-cost way to distribute corporate information Only selected individuals are allowed access

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What Is An Extranet?
Organizations were using Intranets and realizing the benefits of internet-based technology for internal communications within their organizations Some of these organizations then decided to extend their Intranets to include entities outside the boundaries of an organization The prefix "extra", the Latin word for "outside" is used to indicate that the network operates outside the organization's boundaries, since these networks extend beyond the boundaries of a single organization to include external partners Extranets are networks that connects companies with suppliers, business partners, or other authorized users Extranets enable two or more firms to use the Internet to do business together
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What Is An Extranet? (Cont'd)

Extranets are controlled by the community of trading partners using the facilities to conduct their business Extranets operates as virtual private networks (VPNs), protect the community from the general public on the Internet and offer connectivity via the Internet The organization adopt EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) to connect with their trusted partners to achieve an integration of supply chain
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Difference Between Extranet And Intranet

An Intranet serves an organization or a community of interest and restricts access to members of the organization or community

An Extranet extends some of the facilities of an Intranet to selected members of an organization's community of suppliers, customers, business partners and allied organizations

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Extranet Architecture And Components

Extranets are similar to Intranets in terms of their components. It includes:
Extranets IP (Internet Protocol)-based network connectivity Hardware: Include at least a web server and a firewall

Software: Network facilities, web server, business application software to be used by an organization and its partners
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Basic Extranet Layout

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Extranet Applications
Supply Chain Management Procurement Portals Exchanges Distribution Portals Real-Time Info Access

Collaboration Enterprise Portals

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Extranet Benefits
In implementing an Extranet, the organizations hope to: Decrease operational cost

Increase speed of processing requests and handling day-today business operations

Enhance information flow between organizations and individuals

Increase quality of service

Enhance quality of collaborative efforts Improve quality of products developed by partner organizations working together Information dissemination and sharing Distributed access to a shared knowledge base

Collaborative projects
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Extranet Business Relationship

Business partners can be divided into various types: Key customers Suppliers and contractors Sales personnel include sales representatives, dealers, distributors, and subsidiaries Customer and technical support, including repair and maintenance Joint ventures partners Members of industry consortia Fellow members of community of interest
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Network Design Considerations

STEP 1: Factors to Keep in Mind
Location - Where will the network be installed?
Capacity - What is the optimum traffic capacity of the network?

Distance Limitations - What is the distance of the farthest PC to the server?

Cost - What is the estimated cost of the proposed network installation?

Potential Growth - How easily and how well can the network be scaled to meet growing demands?
Security - How secure is the proposed network?
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Network Design Considerations

(Cont'd)

STEP 2: Hardware and Software Considerations

Hardware Requirements

Software Requirements
Disaster Recovery and Fault-Tolerance Requirements

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Network Design Considerations (Cont'd)

STEP 3: Successful Installation
Conduct a survey of current technology and constraints Document network requirements Decide on the network operating systems Decide on the file server hardware platform Determine the physical environment and client support
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End Electronic Commerce