Exercise 3: From DNS and DHCP to Clouds and Grids

1. Explain DNS and DHCP. How does DNS differ from DCHP configuration?

The Domain Name System (DNS) is a hierarchical naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network.
The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is a computer networking protocol used by hosts (DHCP clients) to retrieve IP address assignments and other configuration information.
Different between DNS and DHCP
DNS is use to translate URL to IP address, and DHCP is use to assign IP address automatic

2. Why is it important for your online business application to use a static IP address rather than have it dynamically assigned?

A static IP address is a number (in the form of a dotted quad) that is assigned to a computer by an Internet service provider (ISP) to be its permanent address on the Internet. The company can set up a server and design a website with a static IP address. However, dynamically assigned IP address is more suitable for home user, because the IP will change when user access Internet each time.

3. What role can the following play in business-to-business e-commerce?
a. Virtual Private Network (VPN) or Grid computing services

Virtual Private Network (VPN)
A Virtual Private Network is a high-security network that is layered upon another network and typically uses encryption to encapsulate its data. VPNs allow authorised users to access secure areas over a public network such as the internet. This allows remote access of an organisation’s network by staff working offsite. In B2B commerce VPNs are used to provide a secure channel for businesses to share sensitive information and to access each other’s applications. By enabling businesses to securely transmit and receive data VPNs increase the speed of business processes and the accuracy of data.
Grid computing services
Grid computing is “the simultaneous application of multiple computers to a problem that typically requires access to significant amounts of data or a large number of computer processing cycles” (ServePath) Grids use middleware to control processing across multiple computers in a distributed fashion to create a virtual super computer. Wikipedia notes that grids are used “in commercial enterprises for such diverse applications as drug discovery, economic forecasting, seismic analysis, and back-office data processing in support of e-commerce and Web services.”

b. Next generation of wireless mesh networks

A wireless mesh network (WMN) is a communications network made up of radio nodes organized in a mesh topology. Wireless mesh networks often consist of mesh clients, mesh routers and gateways. The mesh clients are often laptops, cell phones and other wireless devices while the mesh routers forward traffic to and from the gateways which may but need not connect to the Internet. The coverage area of the radio nodes working as a single network is sometimes called a mesh cloud. Access to this mesh cloud is dependent on the radio nodes working in harmony with each other to create a radio network. A mesh network is reliable and offers redundancy. When one node can no longer operate, the rest of the nodes can still communicate with each other, directly or through one or more intermediate nodes. The animation below illustrates how wireless mesh networks can self form and self heal. Wireless mesh networks can be implemented with various wireless technology including 802.11, 802.16, cellular technologies or combinations of more than one type.
A wireless mesh network can be seen as a special type of wireless ad-hoc network. It is often assumed that all nodes in a wireless mesh network are immobile but this need not be so. The mesh routers may be highly mobile. Often the mesh routers are not limited in terms of resources compared to other nodes in the network and thus can be exploited to perform more resource intensive functions. In this way, the wireless mesh network differs from an ad-hoc network since all of these nodes are often constrained by resources.

c. Cloud or Social Cloud applications.

Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software and information are provided to computers and other devices on-demand, like a public utility.


4. If clouding computing is the 'black box', then grid computing is a component as the 'white box'.

Explain what you interpret about that statement.

Cloud computing is referred to as the black box as in programming terms which indicates that a user does not need to understand the programs structure to be able to utilize it. on the other hand, white box refers to a condition in which a user needs to understand the programs' structure in order to fully utilize it