General Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
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| What is the Internet? |
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The Internet, always spelled with a capital "I" and sometimes referred to as "the Net", is
simply one large network of other networks. All of these devices communicate with the network
protocol called "TCP/IP". The Internet was built by the U.S. Military in 1969 and was first
called ARPANET. The most common reason for connecting all of these devices is to share
information typically using either the World Wide Web or Email.
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| What is a network? |
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A network, is any group of objects that can transfer information to one another. There are
many types of networks such as sales networks that connect business people, phone networks
that connect phones, and computer networks that connect computers. There is no limit on the
size of a network, it can range from two devices to trillions of devices (think of our phone
system).
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| What is a network protocol? |
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Technically, a network protocol is the transport protocol that interfaces with the NDIS drivers
of your network device and handles the movement of data through your device. In simpler terms,
it is the most common basic language that devices can use to talk with each other. There are a
number of these protocols in existence namely NetBeui, AppleTalk, IPX/SPX, and TCP/IP.
The protocol is responsible for taking data packets from one device and sending those packets
to other devices. It does not directly interface with the hardware so the same protocol, or
language, can be used on many different devices or different computers.
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| What is TCP/IP? |
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TCP/IP typically stands for a collection of five different protocols with two of those
protocols used as the name. The five protocols are: IP, TCP, UDP, ARP, and ICMP. All
of these protocols and languages assist in the transference of data across a very large
number of networks and devices.
The TCP/IP protocol is an addressable protocol that basically numbers every device on the
network with a unique number called an IP address. You can have 4,162,314,256 devices
connected all at once using this protocol which makes a very large network in itself.
The Internet, which uses this protocol suite as its sole protocol, can actually grow much
larger than this because it has developed procedures and practices that connect networks
rather than devices.
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| How do I get an IP address? |
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In order to connect your computer to the Internet you will need an IP address. Your computer
must first be able to handle the TCP/IP protocol and then you will need to connect to an
Internet Service Provider (ISP). An ISP can be your phone company, cable company, a WiFi
provider, satellite company, or some other third party like AOL or MSN. When your computer
connects to your ISP the ISP will then assign you an IP address which will allow you to connect
to any other device on the Internet.
ChamberGates does not provide IP addresses for general use however we do provide IP addresses
for your web sites that you host with us. Therefore, you do not need an ISP in order to have a
web site, you simply need our service. However, if you wish to connect to the Internet and
browse other web sites or check your email from your home then you will need an ISP.
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| What is the world wide web? |
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The World Wide Web ("The Web"), is a large collection of electronic documents and files that are
viewable using a special program called a "Web Browser". The term web is used because
many of these documents reference other documents and the relationships between these documents
forms a web of information with many different points.
A "web" document is often times called a "web page" and all of the documents provided by a
source is called a "web site". Web sources are typically domain names like
chambergates.com, coca-cola.com or whitehouse.gov. Many of these web
sites can also start with a "www".
ChamberGates provides the service of storing your documents and then letting the general public
view them upon request.
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| How do I perform a TRACERT? |
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Sometimes you may experience some slow downs in seeing your web site. Most of the time this
slow down is being caused by the network and not our systems. To determine where the problem
lies, network engineers use a tool called TRACERT to pinpoint which part of the network is
causing the problem. Follow the steps below to perform a TRACERT:
- Open a command prompt on your system
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At the prompt enter tracert www.yourdomain > C:\trace.txt,
where yourdomain is your domain name (i.e. chambergates.com or whitehouse.gov) and
then press the Enter button.
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Using notepad or some other editor open the file C:\trace.txt to view the traced
route or alternatively you can attach the file to an email and send to support.
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