Page 98 - DCAP309_INFORMATION_SECURITY_AND_PRIVACY

Information Security and Privacy

Notes

Task Make distinction between internet and intranet.

7.2.7 Extranet

Extranet can be defined as a ‘business-to-business-intranet’ that allows limited, controlled, secure
access between a company’s intranet and designated, authenticated users from remote locations
or in other words, an intranet that allows controlled access by authenticated parties. The term
intranet and extranet are roughly web-based analogs of LAN (Local Area Network) and WAN
(Wide Area Network).

7.2.8 Comparisons

Comparison of different networks on various parameters is shown in the following table:

Parameters LAN WAN
Bandwidth High low
Scope building or campus city to global
Protocols diverse diverse
Security very high high

Parameters Intranet Extranet
Bandwidth high low
Scope building or campus city to global
Protocols internet internet
Security moderate to high low to moderate

Differences appear with regard to protocol and security. The weaker security of Internet
communications relative to leased lines is the reason that terms like controlled and authenticated
figure prominently in the definition of extranet.
The relation between intranets, extranets and e-commerce has three parts. First, intranets,
extranets and e-commerce have in common the use of Internet protocols to connect business
users. Second, intranets are more localized and can therefore move data faster than more
distributed extranets. The bandwidth limitations also apply to e-commerce. Third, the amount
of control that network managers can exert over users is different for the three technologies.

On an Intranet, administrators can narrowly prescribe access and policy for a fixed group of
users.

Example: A company can specify Red Hat Linux as its standard desktop operating system,
and Netscape Communicator 5 as its standard browser and mail client. The company can then
write intranet workflow applications that leverage the uniform computing environment, over
which it exercises strong control.

On a business-to-business extranet, system architects at each of the participating companies
must collaborate to ensure a common interface and consistent semantics (data meanings). Since
one company cannot reasonably enforce standards on its trading partners, extranet application
developers must take into account a wider range of technologies than is the case for intranets.

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