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Intranets

An intranet is a private network that uses Internet protocols to securely share any part of an organization's information or operational systems within that organization. The term is used in contrast to internet - a network between organizations - and instead refers to a network within an organization. Sometimes the term refers only to the organization's internal website, but may be a more extensive part of the organization's information technology infrastructure.
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Characteristics
An intranet is built from the same concepts and technologies used for the Internet, such as client-server computing and the Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP). Any of the well known Internet protocols may be found in an intranet, such as HTTP (web services), SMTP (e-mail), and FTP (file transfer). Internet technologies are often deployed to provide modern interfaces to legacy information systems hosting corporate data.
An intranet can be understood as a private version of the Internet, or as a private extension of the Internet confined to an organization by a firewall. The first intranet websites and home pages began to appear in organizations in 1990 - 1991. Although not officially noted, the term intranet first became common-place with early adopters, such as universities and technology corporations, in 1992.
Intranets are also contrasted with extranets; the former are generally restricted to employees of the organization, while the latter may also be accessed by customers, suppliers, or other approved parties.[1] Extranets extend a private network onto the Internet with special provisions for access, authorization, and authentication.
An organization's intranet does not necessarily have to provide access to the Internet. When such access is provided it is usually through a network gateway with a firewall, shielding the intranet from unauthorized external access. The gateway often also implements user authentication, encryption of messages, and often virtual private network (VPN)...