Intranets - How they work ?

The working of Intranets
Intranet allows people to work together in a better possible way by allowing them to communicate easily between there own Intranet zones. Intranet is a local LAN within an Office or a company & mostly this Intranet zone is connected to the Internet ,separated by a Firewall which protects the Intranet from outside Intruder's or Hackers who try to gain unauthorized access to Local Intranets. Intranet is like a private network of an organization which works on similar Protocol as that of the Internet i.e.TCP/IP.

Processing of TCP/IP packets within Intranets
TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol which is a set of rules that govern the Internet as to how two computers or networks should communicate with each other. As these rules are universally accepted by every network on the Internet and also on the Intranets communication is better and faster , no matter what OS (Operating System) you use. It works well with all OS such as our favorite M$ Windoze., or Linux , Unix , NT etc.
These two protocols i.e. TCP & IP , both go hand in hand when we communicate on the Internet or Intranet. These protocols break the incoming or outgoing data in small , small Packets which are sent to the destination and then they get assembled when all packets reach the target. Intranet/Internet are commonly called as Packet switched networks & this is the reason why they are called so.This information is sent to the destination by dividing data or information into small packets & not only that but the data is sent through various routes which are available. Suppose if there is a data consisting of three elements ..viz. A B & C , this gets divided and A packet is sent via route 100 , B packet is sent over route 120 & C packet is sent over the route 90 & finally these packets get assembled at a common location may be a location called X. At this location all these packets get assembled to form a complete data. The different routes are selected as there can be huge traffic on certain routers, so TCP/IP takes care to reach the packet at the desired destination using the least time usage & using a close shortcut as possible.

TCP/IP is a very important aspect for Intranets if these networks would like to utilize the complete potential of Intranets.
As I had told before that TCP/IP protocols work hand in hand, they both have specific jobs to perform which consists of sending the data properly through the routes & recombining or assembling them back at the destination.The TCP breaks & decodes the data packets at the sending & receiving ends. While the IP takes care that the data is routed correctly & is sent to the correct and specified location.

The OSI model
OSI models stands for Open Systems Interconnect put forward by ISO.This is a module which is designed accordingly to organize general concepts or to provide guidelines for communication's. The OSI model contains 7 layers & each layer is independent of the other layer. The seven layers are,

1) Physical Layer
2) Data-Link Layer
3) Network Layer
4) Transport Layer
5) Session Layer
6) Presentation Layer
7) Application Layer

These layers have been designed with the following guidelines,

Each layer should perform a well defined function
The function of each layer should be in such a way which will help in standardized protocols
The layer boundaries are needed to minimize the information flow across the interface
Each layer should be manageable , small & should perform distinct functions

Actually layering is a technique that is used for structuring & designing the communication systems.

E-mailing within Intranets
E-mail is a another factor which can be delivered within Intranets. Even here the same principle in applicable & that is by using the TCP/IP protocol. TCP breaks your mail in blocks or packets & the IP sees to it that the e-mail reaches the appropriate destination & then the packets are re-assembled at the destination by TCP. An e-mail can be sent with binary file attachments & the binary files can be anything from a photographic image to a full motion video or sound.

So that's all folks in this Intranet zone.