DNS, IP Address, Web Hosting and the Cloud

Question 1

What does ‘ISP’ mean?

Answer 1

Internet Service Provider

Question 2

What is an ISP?

Answer 2

A company that provides access to the internet for business and individuals

Question 3

Give 3 examples of a ISP?

Answer 3

BT Infinity
Sky
Virgin Media

Question 4

What does URL stand for?

Answer 4

Uniform Resource Locator

Question 5

What is a URL?

Answer 5

Is the unique web address for every webpage on the internet

Question 6

Give 3 examples of a URL

Answer 6

www. youtube.com
www. amazon.com
www. bbc.co.uk

Question 7

What does IP stand for?

Answer 7

Internet Protocol

Question 8

What is an IP?

Answer 8

A set of rules that govern the activity for the internet and the WWW

Question 9

What is an IP address?

Answer 9

It is a unique address given to every single device connected to the internet

Question 10

Give an example of what an IP address would look like

Answer 10

76.215.67.190

Question 11

What is the difference between a static IP address and a dynamic IP address

Answer 11

A static IP address are permanent and never change, whereas the dynamic IP address are temporary and are assigned to the device every time it accesses the internet

Question 12

What are the 2 types of IP address?

Answer 12

Static

Dynamic

Question 13

Where are websites hosted?

Answer 13

On a server

Question 14

What does DNS stand for?

Answer 14

Domain Name System

Question 15

What job does the DNS do?

Answer 15

It translates a web address into the correct IP address for the server or service that you have requested

Question 16

What is a DNS server?

Answer 16

A database of IP addresses and they are constantly updated by other DNS servers

Question 17

What are the 2 advantages of DNS?

Answer 17

You do not need to remember any IP addresses of websites

So long as you are connected to a DNS server you can access any website for which there is a stored IP address

Question 18

How does a DNS work?

Answer 18

You type in the name of the website or web page that you wish to visit
Your browser makes contact with a DNS server. The server contains a database that matches the domain name up with its registered IP address
The DNS sends this information back to your computer
Your computer attaches the IP address to the data packet to be sent
The data packet travels over the internet to its destination
The server where the website is stored sends back the data which you requested

Question 19

What happens if the DNS can’t find the address?

Answer 19

It searches other DNS servers

Question 20

What is a web site made up of?

Answer 20

One or more web pages along with any images or other media such as video embedded within each web page

Question 21

What is a web site?

Answer 21

A set of files and folders

Question 22

What is needed for a web site to work correctly?

Answer 22

It needs to be ‘hosted’ on a web server

Question 23

What is local hosting?

Answer 23

When you host a web site on your home PC. To do this you would need to set up your PC as a web server and allow others to connect to it and access the web files that you store

Question 24

What is the main advantage with hosting locally?

Answer 24

It’s cheaper than external hosting

Question 25

What are 6 issues with local hosting?

Answer 25

``` Bandwidth Computer needs to be always on Need technical knowledge Firewall Payments Dynamic IP ```

Question 26

What is external hosting?

Answer 26

Is where you pay a web hosting company to host your website on one of their servers

Question 27

What do big companies do for external hosting your website?

Answer 27

Provide hard disk space on their server to host your site Ensure that your site remains running and available at all times Provide the bandwidth required to allow users to access your site Provide maintenance of the server Regular backups of your site and if necessary provide a rollback Provide security to protect your sites from malicious attack Provide technical help

Question 28

What are the 3 types of external hosting?

Answer 28

Shared web hosting Dedicated server Virtual server

Question 29

What is shared web hosting?

Answer 29

Where many sites are hosted on the same web server

Question 30

What are 2 disadvantages with shared web hosting?

Answer 30

All users share resources such as RAM, Bandwidth, CPU time | Have to accept advertising on your site

Question 31

What is dedicated server?

Answer 31

Where the website is hosted on its own server

Question 32

When are dedicated servers used?

Answer 32

Often used by companies who have a lot of website traffic

Question 33

What is a disadvantage with dedicated servers?

Answer 33

It is an expensive option as you cannot share the costs of renting the server with other users

Question 34

What is a virtual server?

Answer 34

A powerful server that runs specialist software allowing it to create many 'virtual servers' within itself. These are then rented out to customers to host their web site

Question 35

What is an advantage of virtual server hosting?

Answer 35

Everyone shares the cost of it and so prices are kept low

Question 36

What is the cloud?

Answer 36

A range of software and services that run on the internet rather than on your PC

Question 37

Give some examples of cloud services

Answer 37

Online hosting of web page data Online file and media storage (Dropbox) Streaming services of films and other media (Netflix) Email services

Question 38

What are some advantages of cloud services?

Answer 38

You can access your data from any device with an internet connection Documents and files can be worked on simultaneously by different people e.g. GoogleDocs You can store large files online and reduce the amount of storage space needed on your home device. You can access the latest versions of software - it won't ever become outdated Online applications e.g. Office 365 Your work is automatically backed up, you don't have to remember to save it

Question 39

What are some disadvantages of cloud services?

Answer 39

If you don't have an internet connection you can't access any of the services If you forget your login details you can't access the services Most of the services incur a cost, either a one-off payment or an ongoing monthly fee Your files and personal data might not be stored in the UK and so won't be subject to the UK data laws There is a risk of online hackers being able to access your private data and files