What are the first steps when connecting to internet?

[Beno]

Hi Gang,

When I double click on the IE icon on my desktop, it brings up the connect screen and the modem starts dialling away to my ISP's POP number.

When I initially connect, where does my connection lie? Does it connect to the POP server and every request I make go from that server to the DNS server and so on..........or does something entirely different happen??

Anyone that can give me a brief and complete description about this process would be much appreciated.

One more question, does every request I make from my modem go through the telephone exchange and then to the ISP, or does my request bypass the telephone exchange and go directly to the ISP??

Thanks

Beno

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Have a nice day

[Ghost_Hacker]

Your modem ,using the telephone exchange,will connect to a modem provided by your ISP. The ISP's modem is one in a bank of modems that is called a POP (point of presence). Once connected to the ISP's modem you can then access DNS servers for name resolution if needed.


As you can see there is no way to bypass either the Phone exchange or the POP without lossing your connection.


Check out this site for more info:
http://www.howstuffworks.com/internet-infrastructure1.htm


Hope this helps http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Ghost_Hacker (edited 01-04-2002).]

[Beno]

This must mean that a popular ISP like my one here in Australia, must have heaps and heaps of modems. i mean they must have like 1000's.......is this right!!??

Or can one modem share between lots of users??

Beno

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Have a nice day

[Ghost_Hacker]

Well, first my post and the web page at howstuffworks show a very simply view of a POP. A POP is more than just a "bank of modems", though this is a good way to think of it.

The layout of a POP will depend on the ISP and the connection methods that the ISP supports but most will have routers,some type of management node, a WAN access switch and modem banks. Remember that these terms are very generalized because of the different products made for POPS by Cisco,Nortel,Ascend and others.

But to answer your question....You dial up your ISP's number (say 555-9090). A WAN switch will answer that call and roll you into another line (say 555-9091)where your call is answered by a modem. The thing to note here is an ISP's modem is not like the one you use. Your modem is connected to an analog line, their modem is connected to a digital line. Because of this their digital modem can support more than one call. (in the past they did use analog modems. Mabey AOL still does http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif )

This digital modem is one of several on a "modem" card and yes there may be dozens of cards in a modem bank.


Hope this helps http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif



[This message has been edited by Ghost_Hacker (edited 01-05-2002).]

[Vic 970]

Are modem cards available for let's set the smaller user. ie: there is a pc at work which (at present) 2 of us dial into on a single modem, if either of us is already on line then the other has to wait. In the next few months 6 of us will be dialing in which is going to cause probs. we are currently looking to get over the prob. should we connect six modems to the pc or is there a multi modem that will answer this?

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for every question there's an answer. Then a load more questions.
Definition of Upgrade "A means of introducing new bugs to a program to replace the ones that you have eventually found fixes for"

Regards..,
Vic.

[Ghost_Hacker]

Vic

Yes, you can get both digital, analog, and "hybrid" multi-modem cards. In your case you might what to look into a analog multi-modem card and combine it with a phone "hunt" group. For less that 4 users, I would just use serperate modems and a "hunt" group.

The biggest advantage to using an analog multi-modem card is that it only takes up one slot. A digital modem needs a ISDN phone line on both ends of the connection and a "hybrid" modem needs only an ISDN phone line at it's end of the connection. If you go with a digital or hybrid modem (sometimes refered to as an ISDN TA) make sure to check the specs carefully to see that the card works with both your office and remote phone lines.

Here's a link to an analog card:
http://www.multitech.com/DOCUMENTS/datasheets/3.asp

And here's a link to a page that has prices and some specs on all three types of multi-modem cards:
http://www.multitech.com/PRODUCTS/MultiModemISI/


Please note that I'm not recommending the Mulitech cards.(I've never used them) It just that links to them where easy to find and their web site seems to have good documentation. http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Good Luck http://www.PCGuide.com/ubb/smile.gif



[This message has been edited by Ghost_Hacker (edited 01-06-2002).]