The Internet is a group of interconnected networks. When you create an Internet server, you are adding another network to the network of networks. The network you add to the Internet can be one computer, a small workgroup, or your entire corporation's local area network.
Network protocols are similar to language. Languages have different words, word patterns, and punctuation. A network protocol serves a similar role for computers attempting to communicate. The network protocol used on a network determines how packets (units of data) are configured and sent over the network cable. For more information about network protocols, see the Windows NT Server Networking Supplement and Windows NT Server Resource Kit Networking Guide.
The Internet primarily uses the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) network protocol. That means your computer must use the TCP/IP network protocol to participate. (TCP/IP is actually a suite of protocols. Internet Protocol is one of the protocols in the suite of protocols.) You can install TCP/IP during or after installation of Windows NT.
If you use TCP/IP on your internal network, as shown in Figure 2.1, your computer can act as a gateway to the Internet. By configuring Windows NT as a TCP/IP router you can pass packets of information in both directions— to the Internet from the intranet, and from the Internet into your intranet.
Figure 2.1 Windows NT–based computer connected to two networks
For more information about TCP/IP and the routing capabilities in Windows NT Server, see the Windows NT Server Networking Supplement, the Windows NT Server Networking Guide, and Chapter 3 in this book, "Server Security on the Internet."