The Internet is an increasingly important part of everyday life for people around the world. Even right now the article that you are reading right now is presented to you over the internet. If the internet is so important we should understand what is The Internet and How It Works?
What Is Internet?
The internet is the worldwide network of billions of computers connected to each other and sharing information.
Internet is a network of networks - when two or more devices are connected to each other they form a network. Through the Internet, people can share information and communicate with others from anywhere with an Internet connection.
The Internet provides communication and access to data resources through a vast collection of private, public, business, academic, and government networks. It is governed by agencies like the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (or IANA) which establishes universal protocols.
Here one thing should be cleared the terms internet and World Wide Web are often used interchangeably, but they are not exactly the same. The internet refers to the global communication system, including hardware and infrastructure, while the web is one of the services provided over the internet.
History
The Internet was first established by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of The United States government in 1969 and was first known as ARPANET. It was originally created to provide communication between one university to another so that they can share important information without physically sending a person with the information to that place. A side benefit of ARPANET was its design, it could route or reroute the messages in more than one direction. The network would continue to function even if parts of it were destroyed in any event of a military attack or other disasters.
Who invented the Internet?
The Internet consists of technologies developed by different individuals and organizations. Important figures include Robert W. Taylor, who led the development of the ARPANET (an early prototype of the Internet), and Vinton Cerf and Robert Kahn, who developed the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) technologies.
How the Internet Works?
Physical Infrastructure:
A lot of different kinds of hardware and infrastructure are used into making the Internet work for everyone. Some of the most important types of hardware include the following:
- Submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. Subsequent generations of cables carried telephone traffic, then data communications traffic. Modern cables use optical fiber technology to carry digital data, which includes telephone, Internet, fiber, and private data traffic.
- Routers forward packets(data in pieces) to different computer networks based on their destination. Routers are like the traffic guides of the Internet, making sure that Internet traffic goes to the right networks
- Switches connect devices that share a single network. They use packet switching to forward packets to the correct devices. They also receive outbound packets from those devices and pass them along to the right destination.
- Web servers are specialized high-powered computers that store and serve content (webpages, images, videos) to users, in addition to hosting applications and databases. Servers also respond to DNS(Domain Name Server) queries and perform other important tasks to keep the Internet up and running. Most servers are kept in large data centers, which are located throughout the world.
There are two main concepts that are fundamental to the way the Internet functions: packets and protocols.
Packets
In networking, a packet is a small segment of a larger message. Each packet contains both data and information about that data. When data gets sent over the Internet, it is first broken up into smaller packets, which are then translated into bits. The packets get routed to their destination by various networking devices such as routers and switches. When the packets arrive at their destination, the receiving device reassembles the packets in order and can then use or display the data.
Protocols
Connecting two computers, both of which may use different hardware and run different software, is one of the main challenges that the creators of the Internet had to solve. It requires the use of communications techniques that are understandable by all connected computers, just as two people who grew up in different parts of the world may need to speak a common language to understand each other.
This problem is solved with standardized protocols. In networking, a protocol is a standardized way of doing certain actions and formatting data so that two or more devices are able to communicate with and understand each other.
There are protocols for sending packets between devices on the same network (Ethernet), for sending packets from network to network (IP), for ensuring those packets successfully arrive in order (TCP), and for formatting data for websites and applications (HTTP). In addition to these foundational protocols, there are also protocols for routing, testing, and encryption. And there are alternatives to the protocols listed above for different types of content — for instance, streaming video often uses UDP instead of TCP.
The internet is a worldwide computer network that transmits a variety of data and media across interconnected devices. It works by using a packet routing network that follows Internet Protocol (IP) and Transport Control Protocol (TCP).
TCP and IP work together to ensure that data transmission across the internet is consistent and reliable, no matter which device you’re using or where you’re using it.
When you type in a web address into your web browser
Step 1: Your PC or device is connected to the web through a modem or router. Together, these devices allow you to connect to other networks around the globe.
Your router enables multiple computers to join the same network while a modem connects to your ISP (Internet Service Provider) which provides you with either cable or DSL internet.
Step 2: Type in a web address, known as a URL (Uniform Resource Locator). Each website has its own unique URL that signals to your ISP where you want to go.
Step 3: Your query is pushed to your ISP which connects to several servers that store and send data like a NAP Server (Network Access Protection) and a DNS (Domain Name Server).
Next, your browser looks up the IP address for the domain name you typed into your search engine through DNS. DNS then translates the text-based domain name you type into the browser into the number-based IP address.
Example: Google.com becomes 64.233.191.255
Step 4: Your browser sends a Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) request to the target server to send a copy of the website to the client using TCP/IP.
Step 5: The server then approves the request and sends a “200 OK” message to your computer. Then, the server sends website files to the browser in the form of data packets.
Step 6: As your browser reassembles the data packets, the website loads allowing you to learn, shop, browse, and engage.
Step 7: Enjoy your search results!
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Frequently Asked Question: Internet
Question: What is the Internet?
Answer: The Internet is a vast network that connects computers all over the world. Through the Internet, people can share information and communicate from anywhere with an Internet connection.
Question: Is the Internet dangerous?
Answer: The advent of the Internet has brought into existence new forms of exploitation, such as spam e-mail and malware, and harmful social behavior, such as cyberbullying and doxxing(publishing private or identifying information about (a particular individual) on the internet). Many companies collect extensive information from users, which some deem a violation of privacy.
Question: What is Dark Web?
Answer: The Dark Web refers to a series of Web sites that require special decryption and configuration tools to access. It is most commonly used for purposes that require strict anonymity, including illegal sales (e.g., of weapons and drugs), political dissent in countries with heavy censorship, and whistleblowing.
Question: Who controls The Internet?
Answer: While the Internet is theoretically decentralized and thus controlled by no single entity, many argue that tech companies such as Amazon, Facebook, and Google represent a small concentration of organizations that have unprecedented influence over the information and money on the Internet. In some countries, certain parts of the Internet are blocked via censorship.
Question: How is the Internet made?
Answer: A lot of different kinds of hardware and infrastructure are used into making the Internet work for everyone. Some of the most important types of hardware include submarine cables, modems, routers, switches, web servers etc.