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290 Part Two Information Technology Infrastructure

The most common domain extensions currently available and officially
approved are shown in the following list. Countries also have domain names
such as .uk, .au, and .fr (United Kingdom, Australia, and France, respectively),
and there is a new class of “internationalized” top-level domains that use non-
English characters (ICANN, 2010). In the future, this list will expand to include
many more types of organizations and industries.
.com Commercial organizations/businesses
.edu Educational institutions
.gov U.S. government agencies
.mil U.S. military
.net Network computers
.org Nonprofit organizations and foundations
.biz Business firms
.info Information providers

Internet Architecture and Governance
Internet data traffic is carried over transcontinental high-speed backbone
networks that generally operate in the range of 45 Mbps to 2.5 Gbps (see
Figure 7.7). These trunk lines are typically owned by long-distance telephone
companies (called network service providers) or by national governments.

FIGURE 7.7 INTERNET NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

The Internet backbone connects to regional networks, which in turn provide access to Internet service
providers, large firms, and government institutions. Network access points (NAPs) and metropolitan
area exchanges (MAEs) are hubs where the backbone intersects regional and local networks and
where backbone owners connect with one another.

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