I wonder how a c video travels from a server to your smartphone in seconds or how Millions can watch a live sports event online simultaneously Das to internet a global system of interconnected networks it's changed our world but how does it actually work from protocols to packets let's dive into the inner workings of the internet the evolution of the internet is a fascinating Journey spanning several decades it started with the opet in the late 1960s a project funded by the US Department of Defense this was followed by the development of tcpip in the 1970s which
laid the foundation for modern internet the birth of the worldwide web in 1989 revolutionized how we access and share information the 2000 saw the rise of social media and mobile internet transforming how we connect with each other today we're witnessing the expansion of the internet of things and 5G networks pushing the boundaries of what's possible in an interconnected world now let's break down the key components of the internet we'll start with the network Edge the network Edge consists of end systems also called hosts these are the devices connected to the internet they include desktop computers
servers mobile devices and an increasing number of iot devices like smart home appliances hosts are some sometimes divided into two categories client and servers clients are typically personal devices like PC and smartphones servers are usually more powerful machines that store and distribute web pages stream video relay email and provide similar services today most of the servers providing search results email web pages and videos reside in large data centers these data centers can house thousands of interconnected servers forming the backbone of many internet services we use daily next let's look at access networks these physically connect
end systems to the first router on a path to other distance and systems there are three main types of access networks first we have home access networks these enable connectivities within a residential environment they typically use technology like GSL cable internet or Fiber Optic connections to link homes to the broader internet then there are institutional access networks used by organizations and businesses these are designed to handle the specific needs and requirements of large scale operations they often use high-speed fiber optic connections and complex Network architectures to support many users and data intensive applications finally we
have mobile access networks which enable our smartphones to connect to the internet these are cellular Technologies like 5G to provide wireless internet access the evolutions of mobile networks has dramatically changed how we access and use the internet making it possible to stay connected almost anywhere now let's dive into the network core this is the mesh of packet routers and links that interconnect the internets and systems at the heart of the network course a routers specialized devices that direct packets from one network to another these routers handle the task of packet forwarding which ensures data reaches
its intended destination efficiently the network course operates based on the principle of packet switching but what exactly does that mean let's break it down when you send an email or lower web page the data doesn't travel as a single continuous stream instead it's broken down into smaller chunks called packets each packet contains a portion of the data along the information about its source and destination these packets are then sent independently through the network they may take different routes and arrive at different times once all the packets reach the destination they reassemble into the original message
this method has several advantages it allows the network to handle multiple Communications simultaneously making efficient use of the available bandwidth it also provide resilience if one route is congested or fails packets can be rerouted through different paths there are two key functions performed inside the network core forwarding and routing forwarding is the local action of moving an arriving packet from a router's input link to the appropriate router output link it's controlled by a forwarding table inside each router when a packet arrives the router examines the packet destination address and uses his forwarding table to determine
which output links to send the packet to routing on the other hand is the global process of determining the full paths packets take from source to destination internet routing algorithms compute the shortest and most efficient paths between any two points on the global Network these algorithms take into accounts factors that neck topology traffic conditions and Link capacity to make routing decisions one of the most important routing protocols on the Internet is bgp bgp is used to exchange writing informations between different autonomous systems large networks or groups of networks typically managed by isps or large organizations
in essence bgp allows each as to announce which IP address ranges it can reach and this information propagates across the internet bgp routers uses data to make routing decisions choosing the best path for data to travel across multiple autonomous systems the routing process is dynamic and adaptive if a link fails or become congested routing algorithms can quickly recalculate paths to ensure data continues to flow efficiently across the network all activity on the internet involving Communications between network devices is governed by protocols Protocols are standard rules that Define message formats ordering of message exchanges and expected
responses they are like the language and grammar of the internet to ensure that different devices and systems can understand each other some common protocols include TCP UDP IP and HTTP each serve a specific purpose within the network for example TCP ensures reliable order delivery of data between applications it handles things like breaking data into packets acknowledging received packets and retransmitting lost packets IP on the other hand is responsible for addressing and routing packets across the internet every device connected to the internet has an IP address which acts like a postal address for data packets HTTP
is the protocol that powers the worldwide web defining how messages are formatted and transmitted between web browsers and servers when you type a URL into your browser you're essentually sending an HTTP request to a web server these protocols and many others work together to enable the complex interactions that occur every time you send an email stream a video or browse a website now let's talk about the Internet Protocol stack also known as a tcpip stack is a conceptual framework that standardize the protocols used for communication over the Internet the tcpip stack typically consists of four
layers at the top we have the application layer this layer is closest to the end user and interacts directly with software applications protocols in this layer include HTTP for web browsing SMTP for email and FTP for file transfers below that is the transport layer it ensures reliable data transfers between applications the two main protocols in this layer are TCP and UDP TCP provides reliable order delivery of data while UDP offers faster but less reliable transmission next comes the network layer also known as the IP layer this handle the addressing and routing of data packets across
different networks the main protocols here are ipv4 and IPv6 which Define how data should be packetized addressed transmitted routed and received at the bottom we have the link layer it manages the physical connection between devices on the same network segment this layer deals with the hardware aspects of network communication including network interface cards and device drivers these layers work together to enable communication across Network when you send data it starts at the application layer and moves down through each layer each layer adds its own information to the data a process called encapsulation when the data
reaches its destination it moves up through the layers with each layer stripping off its information a process called decapsulation this layered approach make the internet incredibly flexible and robust it allows different Technologies to be used at different layers without affecting the others for example you can switch from a wire to wireless connection which is a change at the link layer without affecting how your web browser works at the application layer that's a crash course in networking from packets to protocols we've just zoomed through the basics of how the internet works if you enjoy enjoy our
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