E-Commerce 2018: Business. Technology.
Society
Fourteenth Edition
Chapter 3
E-Commerce Infrastructure
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Learning Objectives
3.1 Discuss the origins of, and the key technology
concepts behind, the Internet.
3.2 Explain the current structure of the Internet.
3.3 Understand the limitations of today’s Internet
and the potential capabilities of the Internet of the
future.
3.4 Understand how the Web works.
3.5 Describe how Internet and web features and
services support e-commerce.
3.6 Understand the impact of mobile applications.
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Tech Titans Target a Prize: Bringing Internet
Access to Rural India
• Class Discussion
– How can the business opportunities of rural
India be assessed?
– What is rural India’s biggest potential?
– Which of the various methods described for
bringing the Internet to rural India do you feel
might be most successful?
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The Internet: Technology Background
• Internet
– Interconnected network of thousands of
networks and millions of computers
– Links businesses, educational institutions,
government agencies, and individuals
• World Wide Web (Web)
– One of the Internet’s most popular services
– Provides access to billions, possibly trillions, of
web pages
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The Evolution of the Internet 1961–Present
• Innovation Phase, 1961–1974
– Creation of fundamental building blocks
• Institutionalization Phase, 1975–1995
– Large institutions provide funding and
legitimization
• Commercialization Phase, 1995–present
– Private corporations take over, expand Internet
backbone and local service
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The Internet: Key Technology Concepts
• Internet defined as network that:
– Uses IP addressing
– Supports TCP/IP
– Provides services to users, in manner similar to
telephone system
• Three important concepts:
– Packet switching
– TCP/IP communications protocol
– Client/server computing
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Packet Switching
• Slices digital messages into packets
• Sends packets along different communication
paths as they become available
• Reassembles packets once they arrive at
destination
• Uses routers
• Less expensive, wasteful than circuit-switching
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Figure 2.3 Packet Switching
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TCP/IP
• Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
– Establishes connections among sending and
receiving Web computers
– Handles assembly of packets at point of
transmission, and reassembly at receiving end
• Internet Protocol (IP)
• Four TCP/IP layers
– Network interface layer
– Internet layer
– Transport layer
– Application layer
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Figure 2.4 The TCP/IP Architecture and
Protocol Suite
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Internet (IP) Addresses
• IPv4
– 32-bit number
– Four sets of numbers marked off by periods:
[Link]
▪ Class C address: Network identified by first
three sets, computer identified by last set
• IPv6
– 128-bit addresses, able to handle up to 1
quadrillion addresses (IPv4 can handle only 4
billion)
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Figure 2.5 Routing Internet Messages:
TCP/IP and Packet Switching
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Domain Names, DNS, and URLs
• Domain name
– IP address expressed in natural language
• Domain name system (DNS)
– Allows numeric IP addresses to be expressed in
natural language
• Uniform resource locator (URL)
– Address used by Web browser to identify
location of content on the Web
– For example:
[Link]
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Client/Server Computing
• Powerful personal computers (clients) connected
in network with one or more servers
• Servers perform common functions for the clients
– Storing files
– Software applications
– Access to printers, and so on
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The Mobile Platform
• Primary Internet access is now through tablets
and smartphones
• Tablets supplement PCs for mobile situations
– Over 160 million people in U.S. use Internet
with tablets
• Smartphones are a disruptive technology
– New processors and operating systems
– Over 220 million in U.S. access Internet with
smartphones
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The Internet “Cloud Computing” Model
(1 of 2)
• Firms and individuals obtain computing power and
software over Internet
• Three types of services
– Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
– Software as a service (SaaS)
– Platform as a service (PaaS)
• Public, private, and hybrid clouds
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The Internet “Cloud Computing”
Model (2 of 2)
• Drawbacks
– Security risks
– Shifts responsibility for storage and control to
providers
• Radically reduces costs of:
– Building and operating websites
– Infrastructure, IT support
– Hardware, software
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Other Internet Protocols and Utility
Programs
• Internet protocols
– HTTP
– E-mail: SMTP, POP3, IMAP
– FTP, Telnet, SSL/TLS
• Utility programs
– Ping
– Tracert
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The Internet Today
• Internet growth has boomed without disruption
because of:
– Client/server computing model
– Hourglass, layered architecture
▪ Network Technology Substrate
▪ Transport Services and Representation
Standards
▪ Middleware Services
▪ Applications
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Figure 2.10 The Hourglass Model of the
Internet
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Figure 2.11 Internet Network Architecture
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The Internet Backbone
• Tier 1 Internet Service Providers (Tier 1 ISPs) or
transit ISPs
• Numerous private networks physically connected
to each other
• Undersea fiber optics, satellite links
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Internet Exchange Points (IXPs)
• Regional hubs where Tier 1 ISPs physically
connect with one another and with regional Tier 2
ISPs.
• Tier 2 ISPs provide Tier 3 ISPs with Internet
access.
• Originally called Network Access Points (N APs) or
Metropolitan Area Exchanges (M AEs).
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Tier 3 Internet Service Providers
• Retail providers
– Lease Internet access to home owners, small
businesses
– Large providers: Comcast, Verizon, Time Warner
Cable
– Smaller local providers
• Services
– Narrowband
– Broadband
– Digital subscriber line (DSL)
– Cable Internet
– Satellite Internet
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Campus/Corporate Area Networks
• Local area networks operating within single
organization
• E.g. NYU, Microsoft Corporation
• Lease Internet access directly from regional and
national carriers
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Intranets
• Intranet
– TCP/IP network located within a single
organization for communications and
processing
– Used by private and government organizations
for internal networks
– All Internet applications can be used in private
intranets
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Insight on Society: Government Regulation
and Surveillance of the Internet
• Class discussion:
– How is it possible for any government to
“control” or censor the Web?
– Does the Chinese government, or the U.S.
government, have the right to censor content
on the Web?
– How should U.S. companies deal with
governments that want to censor content?
– What would happen to e-commerce if the
existing Web split into a different Web for each
country?
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Limitations of the Current Internet
• Bandwidth limitations
– Slow peak-hour service
• Quality of service limitations
– Latency
• Network architecture limitations
– Identical requests are processed individually
• Wired Internet
– Copper and expensive fiber-optic cables
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The Internet2 Project
• Consortium of 450+ institutions collaborating to
facilitate revolutionary Internet technologies
• Primary goals:
– Provides leading-edge very-high-speed network
for national research community
– Environment for developing and testing new
technologies
– Distributed and collaborative computing
environments for sciences, health, arts, and
humanities initiatives
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The First Mile and the Last Mile
• Most significant private initiatives
– Fiber optic trunk-line bandwidth (first mile)
– Wireless internet services (last mile)
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Fiber Optics and the Bandwidth Explosion
in the First Mile
• “First mile”: Backbone Internet services that carry
bulk traffic over long distances
• Fiber-optic cable: hundreds of glass strands that
use light to transmit data
– Faster speeds and greater bandwidth
– Thinner, lighter cables
– Less interference
– Better data security
• Substantial investments in fiber optic by
telecommunications firms in last decade
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The Last Mile: Mobile Internet Access
• “Last mile”: From Internet backbone to user’s
computer, smartphone, and so on
• Two basic types of wireless Internet access:
– Telephone-based (mobile phones,
smartphones)
– Computer network–based (wireless local area
network–based)
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Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) –
Based Internet Access
• Wi-Fi
– High-speed, fixed broadband wireless L AN (WL
AN)
– Wireless access point (“hot spots”)
– Limited range but inexpensive
• WiMax
• Bluetooth
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Other Innovative Internet Access
Technologies: Drones, Balloons, and White
Space
• Google: Project Loon
• Facebook: Facebook Connectivity Lab/Acquila
drone
• Microsoft: White spaces project
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Figure 2.13 Wi-Fi Networks
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The Future Internet
• Latency solutions
– diffserv (differentiated quality of service)
• Guaranteed service levels and lower error rates
• Declining costs
• The Internet of Things (IoT)
– Objects connected via sensors/RFID to the
Internet
– “Smart things”
– Interoperability issues and standards
– Security and privacy concerns
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Insight on Business: The Apple Watch:
Bringing the Internet of Things to Your Wrist
• Class Discussion
– Are you or anyone you know using the Apple
Watch? If not, why not? If so, what apps do you
use most?
– What are the potential benefits of wearable
technology? Are there any disadvantages?
– What effects will features like the Apple Pay
button and Taptic Engine have?
– Are there any privacy issues raised by
wearable technology?
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The Web
• 1989–1991: Web invented
– Tim Berners-Lee at CERN
– HTML, HTTP, web server, web browser
• 1993: Mosaic web browser w/GUI
– Andreessen and others at NCSA
– Runs on Windows, Macintosh, or Unix
• 1994: Netscape Navigator, first commercial web
browser
• 1995: Microsoft Internet Explorer
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Hypertext
• Text formatted with embedded links
– Links connect documents to one another, and
to other objects such as sound, video, or
animation files
• Uses Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and URLs
to locate resources on the Web
– Example URL:
[Link]
html
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Markup Languages
• Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)
– Fixed set of pre-defined markup “tags” used to
format text
– Controls look and feel of web pages
– HTML5 the newest version
• eXtensible Markup Language (X ML)
– Designed to describe data and information
– Tags used are defined by user
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Insight on Technology: the Rise of H TML5
• Class Discussion
– What features of HTML5 are changing the way
websites are built?
– Is HTML5 a disruptive technology, and if so, for
whom?
– Are there any disadvantages in websites and
mobile apps moving to an HTML5 platform?
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Web Servers and Web Clients
• Web server software
– Enables a computer to deliver web pages to clients on a
network that request this service by sending an H TTP
request
– Basic capabilities: Security services, F TP, search engine,
data capture
• Web server
– May refer to either web server software or physical
server
– Specialized servers: Database servers, ad servers, and
so on
• Web client
– Any computing device attached to the Internet that is
capable of making HTTP requests and displaying
Copyright H TML Ltd.
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Web Browsers
• Primary purpose is to display web page, but may
include added features
– Google’s Chrome: 60% of desktop market, 56%
mobile market
▪ Open source
– Internet Explorer: 17% of desktop, >1% mobile
– Mozilla Firefox: 12% desktop, >1% mobile
▪ Open source
– Apple’s Safari: 4% desktop, 33% mobile
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The Internet and Web: Features
• Features on which the foundations of e-commerce
are built:
– Communication tools
– Search engines
– Downloadable and streaming media
– Web 2.0 applications and services
– Virtual reality and augmented reality
– Intelligent digital assistants
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Communication Tools
• E-mail
– Most used application of the Internet
• Messaging Applications
– Instant messaging
• Online message boards
• Internet telephony
– VOIP
• Video conferencing, video chatting, telepresence
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Search Engines
• Identify web pages that match queries based on
one or more techniques
– Keyword indexes
– Page ranking
• Also serve as:
– Shopping tools
– Advertising vehicles (search engine marketing)
– Tool within e-commerce sites
• Top three providers: Google, Bing, Yahoo
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Figure 3.17 How Google Works
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Downloadable and Streaming Media
• Downloads:
– Growth in broadband connections enables
large media file downloads
• Streaming technologies
– Enables music, video, and other large files to
be sent to users in chunks so that the file can
play uninterrupted
• Podcasting
• Explosion in online video viewing
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Web 2.0 Features and Services
• Online Social Networks
– Services that support communication among
networks of friends, peers
• Blogs
– Personal web page of chronological entries
– Enables web page publishing with no knowledge of
HTML
• Wikis
– Enables documents to be written collectively and
collaboratively
– E.g. Wikipedia
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Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality
• Virtual reality
– Immersing users within virtual world
– Typically uses head-mounted display (H MD)
– Oculus Rift, Vive, PlayStation V R
• Augmented reality
– Overlaying virtual objects over the real world,
via mobile devices or HMDs
– Pokémon GO
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Intelligent Digital Assistants
• Computer search engine using:
– Natural language
– Conversational interface, verbal commands
– Situational awareness
• Can handle requests for appointments, flights,
routes, event scheduling, and more.
– Examples:
▪ Apple’s Siri
▪ Google Now
▪ Google Assistant
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Mobile Apps
• Use of mobile apps has exploded
– Most popular entertainment media, over T V
– Always present shopping tool
– Almost all top 100 brands have an app
• Platforms
– iPhone/iPad (iOS), Android, Blackberry
• App marketplaces
– Google Play, Apple’s App Store, RIM’s App
World, Windows Phone Marketplace
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Careers in E-Commerce
• Position: E-commerce Specialist
• Qualification/Skills
• Preparing for the Interview
• Possible Interview Questions
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