The Internet protocol is the method through which the data is sent from one computer to other by the Net. In order to identify each computer, also called host or server, each one of them has a unique public IP assigned.
The data, be it e-mails or web pages, travels divided in packets or datagrams that contain the IP directions of the sender and the receiver.
These packets are enrooted through gateways or access doors that interconnect different networks. The packets reach their destination when they arrive to a gateway that recognizes that the receiver's Ip direction belongs to its domain, and then is when the data is directed to the computer indicated by the receiver. In the same way, the e-mail or web page petition receiver computer can send a response using the IP direction of the sender.

The IP protocol is in charge of distributing the packets, but each one of them is treated like an independent unit, so that these datagrams can travel trough different routes and arrive at the destiny in a different order than the one they were sent, so that another protocol is necessary for ordering the packet sequence: the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). It can be said, then, that the Internet communication are based in the TCP/IP standard, a group of protocols for the exchange of information between computers.

The most extended version of the actual IP protocol is the Ipv4, but a more evolved version is already been used. It is the Ipv6, that supports much longer IP directions, and consequently it allows the existence of much more users in Internet. It also contributes the capacity of authentication of the electronic commerce transactions and privacy in the communications, and support for new multimedia applications in real time.

The IP direction

The IP directions are numeric codes that identify the computers connected to the Internet. In the Ipv4 protocol an IP direction is a binary number of 32 bits, represented as a sequence of four numbers of eight bits, each one getting values from 0 to 255. The first part of the 32 bit number identifies the network, and the second is linked to a specific computer inside this network. While the data travels trough the Internet enrouted by the gateways, only the first part of the code is taken in count, but when the packets arrive to the destination network, it is the identification of the final computer what is looked. One of the characteristics of the Ipv6 protocol before mentioned is the capacity to expand the IP directions up to 128 bits.

Four types of IP directions exist, depending on the kind of network, and the ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) the entity which manages the IP directions' assignment.

To be part of the Internet, an organization needs an IP direction and the registration of a domain name that will identify the web in the Internet together with an IP address. In this case it is a fixed IP, but these directions can also be assigned dynamically. The Internet Access Providers have a certain amount of IP directions that are used by his users, so that normally the IP direction that is given to a user will be different in each Internet connection
If your operating system is Windows 98/98 SE/ME and you want to know what your IP direction is, go to:

Start menu > Run > winipcfg

If your operating system is Windows NT or 2000 and you want to know what your IP direction is, go to:

Start menu > Run > ipconfig /all

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What does the BANDWIDTH indicates?

Aplicated to Internet connections, the bandwidth term is used to designate the information transmission capacity of a network and a precise time unit, so that it determinates the speed of our internet connection.

The bandwidth is directly proportional to the quantity of data transmitted or received per time unit, but it also depends of the complexity of the data. So, a major bandwidth is needed for downloading a photograph in a time unit that for downloading a text page in the same time. The weightier files, like the sound files, the executable programs or the videos, require a much bigger bandwidth, and the virtual reality presentation, audio and video in 3D, require the maximum bandwidth.

How it is measured

In the digital systems, the data transmission speed is measured in bits per second and multiples of this unit. The unit used by the modems is the kbps or kilobits (thousands of bits) per second, but for higher speed others are used like the Mbps or megabits (millions of bits) per second.
There are notable differences in the bandwidth that different technologies offer:

The analogue modems work in the Basic Telephonic Network that allow up to 56 kbps. However, other network types reach superior download speeds. For example, IDSN (Integrated Digital Services Network) offers two 64kbps channels, that can be joined for up to 128kbps; the ADSL (Assimetric Digital Subscriber Line) standard (the one commercialised in Spain) allows 256 kbps of download and 128 of upload, and the fibre optics cable has a minimum of 128 kbps but can theoretically reach 1,5 Mbps, 11 times speedier than the IDSN.
However, the ADSL and the technologies that use cable as a physical support have capacities even bigger, and can reach transference speeds in the order of Mbps.

There are specific programs that measure the speed of your Internet connection, and there is also software that helps you optimize this connection. Among them there are CyberGauge, DNTools or NetTurbo, and all of them are available in the software section of the Internet user community.

There are also online services that measure the bandwidth of your connection. It is an interesting service, but it is only indicative, since these webs measure the access speed to their page, while the quality of the connection depends on various factors. The user's hardware, his access provider, the quality of the telephone line or the interconnection points with the providers also determine the speed of our connection, but these are aspects that these webs do not consider.

It is very important to highlight that in every communication the speed comes fixed by the slowest part of the total route of the data in the network, and that It is necessary to differentiate between the main Internet networks and the line that goes to the user's house. Moreover, one thing is the speed that the technologies (as the above mentioned) allow, and other is the real speed sustained by the transmission. The provider that gives us the bandwidth applies concentration ratios, what means that the user always shares the channel with other users. For example, the concentration ratio of the ADSL is 1/10, so that the 256/128 Kbps must be shared between 10 users. In the worst of the cases the speed that the user will achieve will be 25,6/12,8 Kbps.

How to test the speed of my connection

If you want to test your connection speed download a file with a known size form your server via FTP and time the time you spend downloading it. The size comes given in bytes (1 byte = 8 bits), so that you have to multiply the size by eight to obtain the size of the file in bytes and divide it by the number of seconds that you've spent downloading it. With this simple operation you will obtain the speed of your connection in bps.

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What is the Internet?

The Internet is a communications network born in 1969 in the USA and that communicates millions of persons, organisms and companies in the entire world, especially in the most developed countries, and whose big development is causing important social, economic and cultural effects, turning itself in this way in one of the most influential media in the Information Society, and in the "Information Highway". Internet (With a capital "I") can be technically defined as the biggest internet network, it has a three-level hierarchy formed by main networks, intermediate level networks and stub networks, and it is a multiprotocol network.

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What are the BIT, the Byte and the BAUD?

The Bit (b): Binary Digit, it is the minimum digital information unit that can be treated by a computer. It comes from the contraction of the binary digit expression. It is used for indicate the transmission of the information.

The Byte: It is the minimum information unit, and it is composed of eight bits.

The Baud (bps): It is the transmission speed unit. It indicates the number of bits that are transmitted in a second.

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What is FTP (FILE TRNSFER PROTOCOL)?

FTP is the acronym for File Transfer Protocol, and it refers to one of the most used Internet protocols. Its function is to allow the users to download information from the servers that are found on the internet. In them it stays the deposit of what needs to be transmitted, a difference in front of the e-mail, in which the information is directed directly to the receiver.

Besides web pages, in the Internet we can find file sites, special servers that allow the file extraction form a hard drive of one of the local computers which the users can access to form a remote machine like if they were in an internal network. In order to be able to make this operation it is necessary to know the IP direction (or the "name") of the machine to which we want to connect to make some type of transfer.
I is fundamental to make a distinction between local machine and remote machine:

LOCAL MACHINE: It is the one from which we connect to make the transference, which means, where we execute the FTP program.

REMOTE MACHINE: It is the one to which we connect to transfer information.

The file transference protocol allows the connection between both of them and it makes the remote computer to be able to be recognised and be able to communicate with security and speed with the local computer.

The WWW servers can also be used as workplaces, but the specialized sites offer a speedier, complete and secure service. This services are the one called FTP servers.

History

The kind of service was born in the prehistory of the Internet. In its beginnings, the network operated in a different way than now. The WAIS (Wide Area Information servers), a quick and retrofeeded service where information trough simple questions, was used. A first kind of applications, which survived for some time but which is already in disuse, called Archies, had the function of compile, list and distribute the information inside the internet in an automatic way. From the WAIS come the actual FTP servers, and in its strictest concept, the FTP servers. Concerning Archies, like we've seen, there were the predecessors of the actual searchers.

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What is the ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Networks)?

The ISDN, or Integrated Service Digital Network, is a communication technology that integrates the digital voice, video and data transmission through the same telephone line, be it cupper fibre optics, and that can supply with connection speeds up to 128 Kbps, almost three times more that the standard analogue modems.

Normally the telephony operators offer ISDN in the majority of the urban areas of Europe and USA. In order to enjoy these services, the users must realize a little home installation, since the ISDN needs adaptors in both ends of the transmission, so that the final user and the Internet Service Provider must have these adaptors. After this installation, for the user it is like he had, instead of one telephone line, two digital lines (also called B channels): one for voice calls and the other for the Internet connection. That is, the ISDN allows you to maintain a telephone conversation while you are surfing the web, but you can also use both channels for the network access and obtain a higher bandwidth.

Service levels

There exist two service levels that comprehend B channels, for the transmission of voice and data, and D channels, for control and signal information:

1. Basic access: pointed to domestic users and small companies, it is installed with the same analogue terminal. It offers 64 kbps B channels and one 16 kbps D channel. In this way, the user can arrive to have a bandwidth of 128kbps using also the voice channel for data transmissions.

2. Primary access: For big users. In Europe it lies in 30 B channels and one 64 kbps D channel, while in USA there are 23 B channels and one D channel.

Internal or External modem:

The user that wants to use ISDN as a connection mode has two options: to install an internal or an external modem.

1. In the first option, complementing the modem installation, the users receive a digital phone, prepared for the ISDN line, and in the assumption that there are various phone terminals in the home or office it can be installed another analogue phone. It is only needed to install TR1 card in the computer. The ISDN with internal modem allows both connections to be used for the internet connection in the moment you wish.

2. In the external modem option, this goes incorporated in the digital phone, to which it is possible to connect another analogue phone. This method is less expensive, but its inconvenience is that the voice channel and the data channel cannot be joined, so that the maximum bandwidth that can be achieved is 64 kbps.

To summarize, we can say that the basic Internet user can expect from the ISDN a substantial increase in the information transfer speed and the possibility to make and receive calls while you are connected to the Web, as well as a series of supplementary services like the pricing information, call redirection, wait calls or caller id.

Nowadays ISDN integrates the voice and data transmission in a medium originally designed for analogue transmission, but the broadband ISDN will allow the fibre optics use and wireless mediums for high speed transmissions up to 1,5 Mbps.

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What is the HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol)?

The HTTP is a protocol used for the transfer of WWW (World Wide Web) documents, a distributed information system, based on hypertext, created in the beginnings of the nineties by Tim Berners Lee, investigator in the CERN, Switzerland. The information can be of any format (text, image, audio, video) and it is easily accessible by the users thank to the web browsers.

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What are the B2B and the B2C?

The B2B (Business-to-Business) is an electronic commerce form in which the commercial operations are realized between companies (for example, a company and its providers) and not with final users.

The B2C (Business-to-Consumer) is an electronic commerce form in which the commercial operations are realized between a company and its final users.

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What is the BACKBONE?

The Backbone is the highest level in a hierarchic network. It is warranted that the stub networks and the transit networks connected to the same main axis are interconnected.

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What is BROADCAST?

Broadcast is a type of communication in which every possible receiver is reached by a unique transmission.

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What are UNICAST and MULTICAST?

In the unicast system the information transmission is pointed to only one point, a direction that can only be recognised by a host system.

In the multicast system the information transmission reaches multiple points at the same time. It is a live information diffusion mode that allows the connections to be received by multiple network nodes and, consequently, by multiple users.

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What is DNS (Domain Name System)?

The DNS is a data search server for general, distributed and multiplied use. Its principal utility is the search of hosts' IP directions basing in the name of them. The style of the hostnames that is currently used in the Internet is called "domain name". Some of the most important domains, that, however, are not very used outside of the USA are: .com (commercial-companies), .edu (education, teaching centres), .org (non-profit organization), .net (network provider), .gov (USA government), and .mil (USA army). Most of the countries have their own domain. For example, .us (USA), .es (Spain), .au (Australia).

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What are DOWNLOAD and UPLOAD?

Download in the Internet is the process of transferring information from an information server to the own personal computer.

Upload in the Internet is the process of transferring information from a personal computer to an information server.

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What is the E-MAIL?

The e-mail (electronic mail) is an application that makes a computer to be able to interchange messages with other computer users or groups of users through the Internet. The electronic mail is one of the most popular uses of the Internet.

The e-mail direction is a group of characters used for identifying an e-mail user and to be able to send him messages by this medium. It is composed by the username, a @ sign, and the adequate domains.

These messages are stored in mailboxes, which are areas of an e-mail server in which a user can leave or receive correspondence.

This message contains a group of elements that compose a e-mail sending. Apart from the user viewable elements ("Subject:", "From:", "To:", "Cc:", "Bcc" fields, message body, signature, attached files, etc.) an e-mail message also contains hidden elements that are necessary for their correct transmission to the receiver through the web.

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What is a FIREWALL?

It is a system that is placed between the local network and the internet. The basic rule is to make sure that all the communications between such network and the Internet are made according to the security policy of the organization that installs it. Moreover, these systems usually incorporate privacy and authenticity elements.

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What do we mean by FLAT RATE?

A Flat Rate is a billing modality of telephony services (not only internet), by which the user pays a fixed money quantity for the use of these services during a fixed time period, independently of the time that he has been using them. In Spain the demand of the flat rate for Infovía and Infovía Plus gave place to fired polemics, including, in 1998, various days of boycott to these networks.

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What is a GATEWAY?

Currently the router term is used in place of the original definition of gateway. A gateway is a communications program or device that transfers data between networks that have similar functions but different implantations. It should not be confused with a protocol converter.

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What is a HOST?

A host is a computer that, via the TCP/IP protocols use, allows the users to communicate with other host systems of a network. The users communicate using application programs, such as the e-mail, Telnet, WWW and FTP. The verbal term (host) describes the fact of storing some kind of information in an unconnected server.

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What is DVB?

Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) es una organización que promueve estándares aceptados internacionalmente de televisión digital, en especial para HDTV (High Definition Television, televisión de alta deficnición) y televisión vía satellite, así como para comunicaciones de datos vía satellite (unidireccionales, denominado sDVB-IP, y bidireccionales, llamados DVB-RCS).
The One-Way access is made combining the traditional Internet access (telephone, RTB/RDSI, ADSL, etc) plus the One-Way DVB satellite modem access DVB.

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What is a PROXY?

A proxy is a special server in charge of, among other things, centralize the traffic between the Internet and a private network, so that it avoids that each of the machines of the interior network has to have a direct net connection. At the same time it contains security mechanisms (Firewalls) that prevent the non authorized accesses for the exterior to the private network.

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What is the QoS (Quality of Service)?

The QoS is the features level of a server, based on parameters such as the traffic speed, delay level, performance, timetable, packet loss ratio, etc.

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What is the VPN (Virtual Private Network)?

A VPN is a network in which at least one of its components uses the Internet but is works like a private network, using for that encoding techniques.

It is the connection system that any SATNODE user utilizes to communicate with the server Host of SatNode.

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Is it possible to activate with SATCONXION satellite equipment that was previously used with other service providers?

It is possible to activate terminals used with another supplier as long as, if we use the same satellite, the MAC address of the equipment has been freed in the previous supplier, since the same MAC address cannot be registered twice. It happens frequently that for diverse reasons the operators do not release the MAC address of the equipment that is terminated, which causes that they are not possible to be used with that satellite.

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Can satellite television antennas be used with the services of Satconxion?

Yes, they can be used only with the One-Way systems as long as they are adapted.

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That it is a MAC address? Where can I find the MAC address of my equipment?

The MAC address is, in the case applied to satellite, a unique identifier of the DVB card or VSAT equipment. This identifier is usually found in labels stuck to the card or VSAT equipment. For DVB or USB PCI cards it is possible to confirm it once the hardware is installed with the command "ipconfig /all" for Windows XP/2000 or "winipcfg" for Windows 98.

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He is very hard to install the equipment? Can I make the installation?

The installation of the One-Way systems can be made by any installer of satellite TV systems, for the installation of DVB PCI or USB cards the user can do it even though having few knowledge of computing. The installation of the Two-Way systems is more complex and requires specific knowledge and tools. Depending on the legislation of each country, a license for this type of installations made by the respective authority can be necessary. In Spain this is given by the Ministry it of Telecommunications.
In Spain, Satconxion offers the necessary formation for this type of installations to installers with the necessary license.

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FAQ concerning WiFi

What does the new WiFi technology consists of?

Wi-FI (Wireless Fidelity) is a new communications form that allows the computer and peripheral interconnection without cables. This technology currently uses Satellite networks, LMDS or ADSL to connect to the Internet and redistribute the obtained access to a high data transmission speed and shared Internet access.

It allows the users to accede to the network at a speed of 11 millions of bits per second using the 802.11b standard and 54 millions of bits using the 802.11g, which means a much higher connection than normal.

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What advantages so we offer in front of other companies of the competition?

Satconxion offers to the Internet users an innovative technology exclusive in our country. While other companies require if a terrestrial connection system, via cable, we count with a sophisticated connection system via satellite, which allows the Internet access with a similar cost and with a higher speed without the need of connecting with a cable to a known network. In this way, our customers can also accede to the internet form the most hidden locations: rural zones, the sea, a desert, a lake, a mountain… definitively, from hard access places where it will not be possible to connect to the Internet through a terrestrial connection system, via cable, which is offered by our competition.

On the other hand, Satconxion offers hotspot connection with totally automatic access control and with automatic bandwidth control, for companies or ISP, including the billing system.

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Where does our WiFi arrives?

Satconxion operates with Wi-Fi in any geographical point that is inside of our satellite coverage. This new technology is already expanded in rural zones, cafes, airports, hotels, congress palaces, schools, town halls, private homes…, where the customer can make an Internet connection wirelessly, places called Hotspot.

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What do we need to connect through the Satconxion WiFi?

While most of the companies that offer this service need a telephone cable to accede to the broadband, Satconxion offers the same system wirelessly. We need the installation of a PCMCIA or USB device that will be used to the antenna connection (Hotspot) that gives coverage inside a zone. In this way and by means of the antennae radiocommunication, the signal will arrive to the server, that will be in charge of providing the requested information and, consequently, the connection in the speed that the customer has previously asked.

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How much time do we need to install the system?

The principal innovation and advantage in front of the competition, cable and ADSL operators, resides in the mobility and the easiness of the assembly and use by the customer. Consequently, the installation time is minimal.

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How much does the Satconxion WiFi costs?

Our connection offers vary depending of the interests and bandwidth needs of the customer, nevertheless, in any asked connection, our system is highly profitable. For the user that requires a particular access, a service line is offered that goes from 300 kbps, costing about 30 euros per month, up o 2Mbps, costing about 150 euros per month. On the other hand, if it is a small or medium company the one that asks for the server, it is offered from 300kbps of the basic package up to 4 Mbps with a price of 550 euros more or less. However, for the big customers we have available a service that goes up to 16 Mbps (consult price, this system is only offered through 802.11g coverage.

All the speed indications point the maximum Max values or maximum bandwidth.

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Which advantages does WiFi gives to companies?

As well as do not having to put cables through all the office to give Internet access, the cost savings of these installations is what, above all, are extendeing its use. On the other hand, the companies use to having at their disposal a coverage antenna and a number of preconfigured network cards for allowing the network access from anywhere and without having to configure each time the computers. Wi-Fi is also thought for those executives that work outside the office and travel frequently. There are already 100 access places in Spain thought for the businessmen, like, for example, the Prat or Barajas airports. All this means that the time spent travelling does not have to be "inactivity time".

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When does a generalized WiFi use is predicted?

It is estimated that till the year 2005 the companies will not male an extensive use of the Wi-Fi technology, but Satconxion pretends to go ahead and be already in 2004 a leader in wireless technology. By the 2007 25 millions of persons in the world will use this kind of internet acces. The utility of being able to connect to the Internet from anywhere gives the idea that Wi-Fi will be an authentic revolution in the near future, such as the internet and the personal computers were in their moment.

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It would be possible to use the WiFi system on the move?

Exactly, there already exist a reduced number of companies, Satconxion included, that have began to offer this service. So, for example, we could surf the Web on the high seas or travelling in train connected to the Internet with Wi-Fi technology, thanks to the connection via satellite. Satconxion has already had highly satisfactory experiences offering this service trough an antenna and thank to its satellite system. You can see the reference he in the page Mobile SatNode

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Will WiFi be a technology integrated on the mobile phones?

It is more than probable that Wi-Fi will convert in a technology more integrated in the mobile phone services. Wi-Fi in the mobile phones should suppose a great benefit for the data based applications, like the video downloads in real time, where the bandwidth that Wi-Fi offers could be better for a quality reproduction. Anyways, this question should be answered by the mobile net providers.

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What security does the new WiFi technology offers to us concerning the hacker and piracy menace?

It is true that one of the aspects that most concern to the Wi-Fi users is the security topic, however, nowadays, the new wireless networks under the 802,11g specification promise up to five times more security and speed than the actual specifications, since all the traffic travels encrypted.

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In which places can we count with WiFi trough Satconxion?

In anywhere where they can be found, directly offered by Satconxion or via roaming agreements. Moreover, there exist a high number of professionals that need a permanent connection. We are talking, among others, of hospital centers, shopping malls and big shops, manufacture and storage centers, ports and travel agencies, business and office environments, fairgrounds, conference rooms, airports, train stations... all these places and much more can count with Wi-Fi technology via satellite.

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That it is a MAC address? Where can I find the MAC address of my equipment?

More info