What is Network Infrastructure?
Network Infrastructure is the software and hardware resources of a total network that enable network connectivity, communication, operations and management of an organization/company/enterprise network.
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E-Commerce is used as a network infrastructure to transport the content/data used for business purposes.
Network Infrastructure for E-commerce
Network infrastructure is required for e-commerce to transport content. I-way is a high-capacity, interactive electronic pipeline used to transfer content in the case of e-commerce. I-way can transfer any type of context like text, graphics, audio, video. In other words, multimedia contents are easily transported through I-way.
Components of I-way: – Consumer access equipment. – Local on-ramps, and – Global information distribution networks.
Consumer access equipment
Consumer access equipment is devices used by consumers to access the multimedia interactive contents of e-commerce. In this segment, hardware and software vendors are also included.
Local or Access Road, or on-ramps
Local or access roads or on-ramps this segment of I-way simplify linkages between businesses, universities, and homes to the communications backbone. There are four different types of the provider of access ramps: – telecom-based – cable TV-based – wireless-based and – computer-based online information services. These providers link users and e-commerce application providers.
Global Information Distribution Network
This component deals with the infrastructure issues in different countries and continents. Today, it is a much larger ecosystem of networked information with advances in communication and software. Most of the infrastructure for these I-way elements over the decades is provided by cable companies and telephone departments.
Long Distance Network
This connectivity is made available via cable (coaxial or fibre) owned by long-distance carriers.
Satellite Networks
Countless communication satellites have been placed into earth‟s orbit and the technology being applied to them is forever growing. Fibre optics has changed the role of satellites in global communication industry by providing higher bandwidth and is immune to electromagnetic interference.
Network Infrastructure Access Equipment for for E-commerce
These network infrastructure access equipment for for e-commerce could be categorized into three parts. These are explained below:
Cable TV Set Top Box
It is a hardware device used for commercial transactions. Selected from a number of highly integrated chips to build standard digital cable TV set-top boxes for digital video broadcasting. Set top boxes have intelligence characteristics like CPU, a text menu and by selecting a number of options by remote; a user can enable particular option. Broadcom‟s silicon can also power high-end interactive set-top boxes that merge high speed internet access functionality with text and video etc.
Computer Based Telephony
It means using computer with telephone lines so that high shipment cost can be avoided. There is a need of devices that can combine voice, data, and video and able users to send, store and receive information. In this system, a user of personal computer can transfer data, video, images and voice messages through the telephone switches more efficiently.
Digital Switches, Routers and Hubs
Routers
It transfers or routes the data between networks. They are particularly used in controlling traffic flow by making intelligent routing decisions. It is used in the network layer of ISO model. It is used to connect networks that use different architectures and protocols; they can transfer information packets across multiple networks. It is used by the network as an intermediate destination. Routers Can:
- Direct signal traffic efficiently.
- Route messages between any two protocols.
- Route messages between linear bus, star and star-wired ring topologies.
- Route messages across fibre optic, coaxial, and twisted-pair cabling.
Switches
It is a device that selects a circuit for sending data through a network. A concentrator is a device that provides a central connection point for cables from workstations, servers and peripherals. A switch tends to be simpler, faster and less expensive than a router, lacks information about the network that a router may use in determining the best circuit or path to use to move data from one part of a network to another.
Hubs
It is used in the network but these are such type of network devices that transmits a data to all its connected devices. It does not control the traffic so they are less used in comparison to switches.
