Internet with a capital "I" refers to the entire Internet (meaning the biggest collection of networks on the planet) .
Internet with a lowercase "i" refers to any group of networks that are connected together.
Many networks exist in the world, often with different hardware and software. People connected to one network often want to communicate with people attached to a different one. This desire requires connecting together different, and frequently incompatible networks, sometimes by using machines called gateways to make the connection and provide the necessary translation, both in terms of hardware and software. A collection of interconnected networks is called an internetwork or just internet.
To avoid confusion, please note that the word "internet" will always be used in a generic sense. In contrast, the Internet(note uppercase I) means a specific worldwide internet that is widely used to connect universities, government offices, companies, and of late, private individuals. We will have much to say about both internets and the Internet later in this material.
Subnets, networks, and internetworks are often confused. Subnet makes the most sense in the context of a wide area network, where it refers to the collection of routers and communication lines owned by the network operator, for example, companies like AOL(America Online) and CompuServe. As an analogy, the telephone system consists of telephone switching offices connected to each other by high-speed lines, and to houses and businesses by low-speed lines. These lines and equipment, owned and managed by the telephone company, form the subnet of the telephone system. The telephones themselves (the hosts in this analogy) are not part of the subnet. The combination of a subnet and its hosts forms a network. In the case of a LAN, the cable and the hosts form the network. There really is no subnet.
An internetwork is formed when distinct networks are connected together. In our view, connecting a LAN and a WAN or connecting two LANs forms an internetwork, but there is little agreement in the industry over terminology in this area.
Internet with a lowercase "i" refers to any group of networks that are connected together.
Many networks exist in the world, often with different hardware and software. People connected to one network often want to communicate with people attached to a different one. This desire requires connecting together different, and frequently incompatible networks, sometimes by using machines called gateways to make the connection and provide the necessary translation, both in terms of hardware and software. A collection of interconnected networks is called an internetwork or just internet.
To avoid confusion, please note that the word "internet" will always be used in a generic sense. In contrast, the Internet(note uppercase I) means a specific worldwide internet that is widely used to connect universities, government offices, companies, and of late, private individuals. We will have much to say about both internets and the Internet later in this material.
Subnets, networks, and internetworks are often confused. Subnet makes the most sense in the context of a wide area network, where it refers to the collection of routers and communication lines owned by the network operator, for example, companies like AOL(America Online) and CompuServe. As an analogy, the telephone system consists of telephone switching offices connected to each other by high-speed lines, and to houses and businesses by low-speed lines. These lines and equipment, owned and managed by the telephone company, form the subnet of the telephone system. The telephones themselves (the hosts in this analogy) are not part of the subnet. The combination of a subnet and its hosts forms a network. In the case of a LAN, the cable and the hosts form the network. There really is no subnet.
An internetwork is formed when distinct networks are connected together. In our view, connecting a LAN and a WAN or connecting two LANs forms an internetwork, but there is little agreement in the industry over terminology in this area.
