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CLEP Information Systems study materials
CLEP Information Systems study resources

CLEP Information Systems: Internet and World Wide Web

CLEP Information Systems · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

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Internet and World Wide Web

Internet and World Wide Web tests the infrastructure behind web access: addressing, protocols, DNS, browsers, search, and cloud services. Expect definition-based questions that hinge on precise distinctions.

Core rules

  • The Internet is a global network of networks using TCP/IP. The World Wide Web is one service on it: linked documents requested with HTTP or HTTPS.
  • An IP address identifies a network interface. IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses; IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses. DNS translates domain names such as example.org into IP addresses.
  • DNS resolution: the resolver checks its cache, then queries a root server, the top-level domain server, and the authoritative name server for the domain. Caching reduces delay; TTL controls how long a record is cached.
  • A URL has a scheme (https), host (www.example.org), optional port, path (/help), query (?id=7), and fragment (#top). The domain is not the same as the full URL.
  • HTTP is stateless. Cookies let a site store session state in the browser. HTTPS adds TLS encryption and server authentication through certificates.
  • Protocol matching: SMTP sends mail; IMAP and POP retrieve it; FTP transfers files; VoIP carries voice. Routers forward packets between networks; an ISP provides access.
  • Search operators narrow results: quotation marks for an exact phrase, site: for a domain, minus to exclude, and filetype: for a format.

Worked example

A user types https://www.example.org/help?id=7. The browser resolves www.example.org through DNS to an IP address, opens a TCP connection, negotiates TLS, then sends an HTTP GET for /help?id=7. The server returns HTML; the browser requests linked CSS, JavaScript, and images. The query string ?id=7 is data sent to the server, not part of the domain name. If the padlock appears, TLS is protecting the connection, but it does not prove the site is honest.

Traps

  • Treating the Internet and the Web as synonyms.
  • Reading .org as a country code; it is a generic top-level domain.
  • Assuming HTTPS guarantees trustworthy content; it authenticates the server and encrypts traffic.
  • Confusing cookies with programs; they are small data records.
  • Thinking a URL's path identifies the server; DNS resolves the host.