Understanding the Basics of the Internet

The Internet is a computer network that interconnects billions of computing devices throughout the world. In Internet jargon, all of the devices that are connected to the Internet are called ______ or end systems.

In our discussion, we’ll use the public ______, a specific computer network, as our principal vehicle for discussing computer networks and their protocols. But what is the ______.

First, we can describe the nuts and bolts of the ______, that is, the basic hardware and software components that make up the ______. Second, we can describe the ______ in terms of a networking infrastructure that provides services to distributed applications.

Not too long ago, these computing devices were primarily traditional desktop computers, Linux workstations, and socalled ______ that store and transmit information such as Web pages and e-mail messages.

Increasingly, however, users connect to the Internet with ______ and tablets—today, close to half of the world’s population are active mobile Internet users with the percentage expected to increase to 75% by 2025 [Statista 2019].

The term computer network is beginning to sound a bit ______, given the many nontraditional devices that are being hooked up to the Internet

By some estimates, there were about 18 billion devices connected to the Internet in 2017, and the number will reach 28.5 billion by ______

End systems are connected together by a network of communication links and ______ switches

Different links can transmit data at different rates, with the transmission rate of a link measured in ______/second

When one end system has data to send to another end system, the sending end system segments the data and adds header bytes to each ______

A packet switch takes a packet arriving on one of its incoming communication links and forwards that packet on one of its outgoing communication ______

Link-layer switches are typically used in access networks, while routers are typically used in the network ______

The sequence of communication links and packet switches traversed by a packet from the sending end system to the receiving end system is known as a route or ______ through the network

End systems access the Internet through Internet Service Providers (ISPs), including residential ISPs such as local cable or telephone companies; corporate ISPs; university ISPs; ISPs that provide WiFi access in airports, hotels, coffee shops, and other public ______

Cisco predicts annual global IP traffic will reach nearly five zettabytes (1021 bytes) by ______