Concepts of intranet and extranet. Extranet: what is it, why is it needed and how does it function? Concepts of intranet extranet and portal

Lecture 7. Intranet and Extranet networks. Corporate portal

Study questions:

1. The concept of Intranet and Extranet.

2. Extranet solutions.

These are information support systems for business processes created on the basis of Internet technologies. Intranet systems designed to support business processes within the corporation, A Extranet- to organize effective interaction with business partners.

Intranet or an intranet is an internal computer network of an organization operating using the TCP/IP Internet protocol. Intranet networks emerged due to the fact that Internet technologies have become widespread in the daily work of many companies and organizations. Since all company employees already know how to use browsers, search engines, and e-mail on the Internet, the idea arose to build internal company networks using Internet technologies. This idea had several advantages over previously used technologies:

No need to purchase new software. Employees can use the same programs to work both on the Internet and on the intranet;

There is no need to use special software to connect computers with different platforms and operating systems on the same network - Internet technologies are platform-independent;

It became possible to automate the updating of company documentation by publishing it on an internal intranet web server;

It is now possible to have feedback - it is easy to create statistics on visits to the web server by company employees to obtain new versions of documents;

It became possible to use the multimedia capabilities of a computer on the company network;

Access to company databases has been made easier. You don't need special software for this, just a browser;

It became possible for employees to access confidential company information via the Internet.

Employees on business trips can use, for example, company databases. Of course, to do this they must have an intranet password. The intranets of various companies are inaccessible to all Internet users; they simply cannot be discovered by conventional Internet means (search engines, etc.) and their existence is unknown to a wide audience.

And we also note that while on the company’s internal network - the intranet, the employee also has access to the Internet.

Intranet is another form of the Internet, except that an Intranet is usually available only to users within the company network. The word Intranet is of English origin ( Intra- from English internal, Net- from English network.) Companies can use it to quickly and efficiently provide access to information from various sources within the company to all or some employees who have physical access to computers and terminals located inside the company office. In the same way, you can access various reports and documents intended for general access by company personnel.

An intranet is an information environment based on a Web interface, the users of which are company employees. In principle, the Intranet can be considered as a complete information infrastructure of a company, including means for organizing document flow.

The intranet must have reliable mechanisms for protecting against unauthorized access and means of delineating access rights to information for different categories

users. An Intranet usually includes several different databases.

Extranet or extranet ( Extra- from English from outside, Net- from English network) is Union intranets of two or more companies to share internal information of those companies.

When creating an extranet, the interconnection of networks is usually not complete, i.e. Some of the information of each company remains closed to other companies participating in the extranet. This is understandable - even if companies are partners, they still have trade secrets. Therefore, when creating an extranet, the access rights of each company employee to certain information resources of another company are determined.

Extranets are created by companies that are in partnership, such as manufacturers and suppliers, universities and their affiliates. At the same time, companies not only share databases, but also organize paperless document flow. Electronic document management significantly reduces overhead costs and makes partner relationships “transparent.”

Placing technical information in the extranet system allows you to quickly make changes and notify partners about it.

Extranet(extranet) is distributed information environment, uniting all branches of the company, its partners and clients. An extranet can be thought of as an extension of an intranet, containing dedicated areas that external users are allowed to access. We can say that the extranet is a more open system than the intranet, and therefore requires a very reliable differentiated system for delimiting access rights.

The technologies and tools used to create Intranets and Extranets are, in principle, similar to those used to develop Web sites.

The extranet is accessible to anyone who has permission to access it using access names, passwords, and other security measures.

Extranets open up the capabilities of the Intranet to people or employees located outside the company (on business trips, dealers, clients, etc.). Access to information is strictly limited, constantly monitored and can be changed at any time.

For example, dealers and customers can view information about a company's products, but dealers can access technical documentation and error reports.

Let's take a typical example: a salesperson at ACME Ltd. visits his client - the dealer. By connecting to the network from the client’s computer, he can view the latest prices. At the same time, he can view the availability of goods in the warehouse and place a new order for his client. When placing an order, an invoice for payment is immediately prepared. And since the seller has access to information about warehouse balances and, possibly, information about upcoming deliveries, he can immediately inform the buyer when a new order will be delivered - all in one visit.

This practice has long been used in the Western market. Next, the client himself can track all stages of processing his order via the Internet, knowing his order number or counter number, if he has been granted access to this information. Today, the possibilities of the modern Extranet as a method of attracting new customers are endless.

For most traditional business companies, the transition to electronic business begins with the implementation of this kind of solutions, in which the emphasis is on supporting a system for managing contacts, contracts, personnel, regional networks, etc. Therefore, when creating and implementing Intranets, and especially Extranet systems, it is necessary to resolve issues of their close integration with existing ones in companies document management systems(EDMS) and document flow(workflow).

2. Extranet solutions

Extranet solutions are collaboration and information access systems for employees of the organization itself and partners of the organization

The extranet system allows you to implement following functions:

1. Purchase of goods, raw materials and components

2. Sale of finished products

3. Marketing support

4. Technical support

5. Electronic document management with partners

Usage automated document flow processes allows you to increase the speed of processing consumer requests and focus on complex and non-standard tasks, thereby improving the quality of customer service and thereby increasing the competitiveness of your enterprise or organization.

Service support for partners- this is the organization of the process of access to technical literature and the dissemination of technical information among partners, plus the organization of warranty service and equipment repair processes.

Creating a source of technical information is a very, very useful tool for supporting partners. Especially if this source has authority and competence. Such a tool can significantly increase the competitiveness of your organization or your enterprise.

In Intranet-Extranet networks, which allows connecting all employees, including employees of regional offices, to the Internet, organizing access to databases, systems

electronic accounting, warehouse accounting, e-mail, file exchange, the enterprise itself can register the required number of independent users with the right of internal

administration, will be able to have its own representative and internal website, as well as build systems for working with partners, suppliers and clients. All this significantly increases

efficiency of the enterprise.

extranet) - a corporate network protected from unauthorized access, using Internet technologies for internal corporate purposes, as well as for providing some corporate information and corporate applications to the company’s business partners.

Security issues on the Extranet are much more serious than on the Intranet. For an Extranet network, authentication of the user (who may not be an employee of the company) and, especially, protection against unauthorized access are especially important, while for Intranet applications they play a much less significant role, since access to this network is limited to the physical boundaries of the company.

Corporate use Extranets are closed corporate portals that host closed corporate materials and provide authorized company employees with access to teamwork applications, automated company management systems, as well as access to a limited number of materials to the company’s partners and regular customers. In addition, it is possible to use other Internet services on the Extranet: email, FTP, etc.

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Excerpt describing the Extranet

“I’m very glad to see you, go to where they gathered and wait for me.” - The Emperor went into the office. Prince Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky, Baron Stein, followed him, and the doors closed behind them. Prince Andrei, using the permission of the sovereign, went with Paulucci, whom he knew back in Turkey, into the living room where the council was meeting.
Prince Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky held the position of chief of staff of the sovereign. Volkonsky left the office and, bringing cards into the living room and laying them out on the table, conveyed the questions on which he wanted to hear the opinions of the assembled gentlemen. The fact was that during the night news was received (later turned out to be false) about the movement of the French around the Drissa camp.

Initially, the Internet appeared - a global network that unites more than 10,000 ordinary networks using the IP protocol. As mentioned above, the Internet also includes some non-IP networks. For using the Internet, no one centrally collects fees from all the networks that are part of it or pays for its support. Each network pays its own share and collects money from its consumers. The end consumer pays for his connection to a regional network, which, in turn, pays for a connection to a higher-ranking network.

Internet is a worldwide public open network that provides its users with a range of services, from WWW and e-mail to remote use of the resources of various computers.

The wide dissemination of Internet technologies, primarily the WWW, did not bypass closed corporate applications, which, for their part, provided strong financial support for the further development of technologies. This is how the Intranet was born.

Intranet(Intranet) or intranet is an intracorporate local or geographically distributed network, protected from unauthorized access, based on Internet technologies. An intranet can use both local area networks and leased lines (physically closed network), and various combinations of local and territorial networks, including the Internet. We can say that the Intranet is the Internet in miniature. The network is built on the use of TCP/IP protocols for the exchange and sharing of some information within the organization - this could be lists of employees, phone numbers of partners and customers. Most often, this term refers to only the visible part of the Intranet - the internal website of the organization. Based on the basic HTTP and HTTPS protocols and organized on a client-server principle, the intranet site is accessible from any computer via a browser. Thus, an Intranet is a “private” Internet, limited to the virtual space of a single organization. The intranet allows the use of public communication channels included in the Internet (VPN), but at the same time the protection of transmitted data and measures to prevent external penetration of corporate nodes are ensured.

Applications on the Intranet are also based on the use of Internet technologies and in particular web technologies: hypertext in .html format, Hypertext Transfer Protocol HTTP and CGI server application interface. The components of the Intranet are web servers for static or dynamic publication of information and browsers for viewing and interpreting hypertext. Intranets often use Internet technologies to provide modern interfaces to the functions of information systems that host corporate information resources that are accessible only to the relevant user population.

A company intranet does not necessarily have to provide Internet access. When such access does occur, it is usually through a network gateway with a firewall, protecting the Intranet from unauthorized external access. The network gateway often also provides user authentication, data encryption, and virtual private network (VPN) connectivity for off-site employees to access company information, computing resources, and internal contacts.

The obvious benefits of using an Intranet are:

high productivity when working together on some common projects;
easy simultaneous access of personnel to certain data (in this case, access restriction rules apply to all employees);
flexible level of interaction: you can change business interaction schemes both vertically and horizontally;
instant publication of data on Intranet resources, allowing you to always keep specific corporate knowledge up to date, easily obtain and use it using network and hypermedia technologies (office instructions, internal rules, standards, newsletter services and even on-the-job training, etc.) ;
the possibility of implementing a common corporate culture, as well as using the flexibility and versatility of modern information technologies to solve production and management problems.

Another type of network is Extranet(Extranet), which is an extended version of the intranet. An extranet is a corporate network that uses Internet technologies both for corporate purposes and to provide some of the proprietary information to clients, partners and other persons outside the company. It is sometimes understood only as part of the corporate network that is accessible to authorized users outside the company. While access to the Intranet is restricted to employees of the organization, the Extranet can be accessed by customers, suppliers, or other management-approved individuals. In extranet technology, in addition to a private network, users have access to Internet resources, but special measures are taken for secure access, authorization and authentication.

In intranet or extranet systems, the priority tasks are security and delimitation of access rights to information and services. At the same time, the company has the opportunity to place proprietary corporate materials in the system and provide users with access to services directly related to the life of the company.

The Internet, Intranet and Extranet differ from a corporate application point of view:

The Internet means public corporate websites and open e-mail;
Intranet - closed corporate portals operating within the company’s local network, on which closed corporate materials are posted and authorized users are given access to the company’s automated management system, as well as closed e-mail;
Extranet - closed corporate portals operating within the Internet, on which closed corporate materials are posted, authorized users are given access to the company's automated management system, and partners and regular customers of the company are given access to a number of materials. Private email services are also provided.

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Excerpt describing the Extranet

All this terrible time, I mentally communicated with my beloved, exhausted father, who, unfortunately, could not tell me anything reassuring, except for one positive news - Anna was still in Florence, and at least for now there was nothing to fear for her .
But my unfortunate husband, my poor Girolamo, returned to Venice with the desire to help me, and only there did he learn that it was too late - that I had been taken to Rome... His despair knew no bounds!.. He wrote long letters to the Pope. I sent notes of protest to the “powers that be,” whom I once helped. Nothing worked. Caraffa was deaf to any requests and pleas...
“Couldn’t you just disappear?!” Or “fly away” for that matter?.. Why didn’t you use something?!!! – Unable to bear it any further, Stella exclaimed, upset by the story. – You must always fight to the end!.. That’s what my grandmother taught me.
I was very happy - Stella was coming to life. Her fighting spirit took over again as soon as there was an urgent need for it.
“If only everything were so simple!” Isidora answered sadly, shaking her head. – It wasn’t just me. I was completely unaware of Caraffa's plans for my family. And I was very frightened by the fact that no matter how much I tried, I could not see anything. This was the first time in my life when no “vision”, none of my “witch talents” helped... I could view any person or any event a thousand years in advance! I could even predict future incarnations with absolute accuracy, which no Vidun on Earth could do, but my Gift was silent when it came to Caraffa, and I could not understand it. Any of my attempts to look at him were easily “sprayed”, bumping into a very dense golden-red defense that constantly “curled” around his physical body, and I could not break through it. It was new and incomprehensible, something I had never encountered before...

Internet

The Internet was born first. The Internet is not just a network, it is a global network that unites more than 10,000 “regular” networks using the IP protocol. The Internet also includes some non-IP networks. The Internet is not a company or a group of companies. This is ISOC (Internet Society) - a voluntary membership society. It is governed by the Internet IAB (Internet Architecture Board), which is responsible for the technical policy, support, and governance of the Internet.

For using the Internet, no one centrally collects fees from all networks included in the Internet, and no one centrally pays for Internet support. Each network pays its own share and collects money from its consumers. The end consumer pays for his connection to the regional network, which in turn pays for connection to a higher-ranking network.

The Internet is a worldwide public open network that provides its users with a range of services, from WWW and e-mail to remote use of computer resources.

The widespread dissemination of Internet technologies, primarily the WWW, did not bypass closed corporate applications, which, for their part, provided serious financial support for the further development of Internet technologies. This is how the Intranet was born.

Intranet (Intranet, Intranet)

Intranet is an internal corporate local or geographically distributed network, protected from unauthorized access, based on Internet technologies. Intranet can use both local area networks and leased lines (physically closed network), and various combinations of local and territorial networks including the Internet.

Extranet (Extranet, Extranet, Extended Intranet)

Extranet is a corporate network that uses Internet technologies both for corporate purposes and to provide some of the proprietary information to clients, partners and other persons outside the company. It is sometimes understood only as part of the corporate network that is accessible to authorized users outside the company.

When creating Intranet/Extranet systems, the priority tasks are security and delimitation of access rights to information and services. At the same time, the company has the opportunity to place proprietary corporate materials in the system and provide users with access to services directly related to the life of the company.

Enterprise Application Internet These are public corporate sites and open email.

Enterprise Application Intranet These are closed corporate portals operating within the company’s local network, on which closed corporate materials are posted, and authorized users are given access to the company’s automated management system, as well as closed e-mail.

Enterprise Application Extranet These are closed corporate portals operating on the Internet, which host closed corporate materials and provide authorized users with access to the company’s automated management system, as well as access to a number of materials to the company’s partners and regular customers, as well as closed e-mail.