Intranet Basics

Answers to Questions about...
interconnected computers
and networks within an organization.

12. How are Internet standards evolving to facilitate
business internetworking?

First off, let's appreciate that phrase: business internetworking. We like it because it brings intranets, extranets and Internet commerce under a technically valid umbrella.

That said, most of the original Internet standards are evolving to meet unprecedented business needs. A few active areas are highlighted in Intranet Journal's Emerging Standards series:

• XML [eXtensible Markup Language], enabler of the next generation of Internet applications
• LDAP [Lightweight Directory Access Protocol], a usable subset of the ponderous but universally accepter X.500 standard
• PPTP and IPsec, competing wire-level security protocols
• Fast Ethernet - not emergent so much as emerged
• IPv6, ostensibly the next generation Internet Protocol, stalled at the gates by vendor inertia and lack of demand
• ADSL [Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line], a high speed modem protocol put forth by the telephone companies to compete, rather unsuccessfully so far, with cable modems
• IMAP [Internet Message Access Protocol], an alternative to the reigning Post Office Protocol (POP) with advantages for mobile computing.

In addition to initiatives like these that address what we might call infrastructure issues, software engineering standards are evolving to facilitate development of distributed applications.Work of this type includes the maturing of Sun Microsystems' Java language; object technology standards such as CORBA from the OMG [Object Management Group] and UML from Rational Software; the XML protocol suite; Microsoft DNA [Distributed iNternet Architecture]; DEN [Directory-Enabled Networking] from Cisco and Microsoft; the Open Source movement, spearheaded by Linux and Perl; and many more.

Besides these industry-wide initiatives, there are a number of important vertical-industry standards in development. Salient among these is the ANX [Automotive Network eXchange], an extranet specification that enables the Big 3 automakers to collaborate. Industry-specific standards are also being built for Healthcare, Financial Services, Telecommunications, etc.; several are profiled in Intranet Journal's Vertical Focus series.