In this video, we are going to dive deep into how precisely does the Internet work. Because here’s the thing that we use every single day and we simply take it for granted. So before we begin developing impressive websites and web applications for others to reach through the Internet, we must know the fundamentals of how the Internet operates.
So what exactly is the Internet?
Well, a lot of people believe it as a cloud. Something that is hanging around in the air. It is super complicated and very tricky to understand. However, that is not the case. The Internet is straightforward. All it is just a long piece of cable. Also, the cable connects various machines.
So you might have one computer that is in one country and another computer in another one. Also, they can communicate with each other and transfer data through this large cable.
Now some of these computers connected to the internet have a very unique job. They have to be online 24/7, ready to assist you all of the data and the records that you are asking when you try to access websites. So the machines that are doing that job, we call it a server. The machines that any user would use to access the internet is called a client.
How Does The Internet Work?
Now you can presume a web server as a large library that is accessible 24/7. So you can go in there at any time of the day and request “I want to see Google’s home page” or “I want to see the latest video on YouTube.” Also, it would be up to help you with all of the files and data that you would want to be able to see whatever website it is that you requested.
Now you can assume if there is a library that is large enough to house all of these websites. then it is going to be challenging to instantly find the thing that you need out of this large library, right?
So how is this problem resolved on the Internet?
Well, let’s say that you are relaxing at home on your computer and you type in google.com, as you need to go over to the main Google home page. What follows behind the view is that your browser will send a message to your Internet service provider or ISP. These are the people you pay to be able to access the Internet.
Now the information that you’re sending the ISP is “I want to see google.com.” They will then send that message to something called a DNS server or a domain name system server. A DNS server is basically a kind of like a phone book. What follows when you perform that request through your browser is the DNS server will look up in its database as to what is the specific IP address of that website that you’re attempting to access. Every single machine that’s attached to the internet has a unique IP address, which is like a postal address of your machine. So that when someone needs to transfer or accept files on the Internet, each machine can be found by their unique IP address. Once that DNS server obtains the IP address, it transfers that back to your browser.
If you go to the website submarinecablemap.com, you can see all of the submarine cables that power the Internet. Also, the Internet is composed of these large sprawling pieces of wires, linking all of the world’s Internet users. As you can presume it is a pretty complicated world out there. Now suppose you are sitting in your home and you need to view a website that is hosted in the United States or any other country different from yours, then your browser would have to perform a call that goes within one of these cables to reach that country.
Moreover, once those machines receive your request, they will send back all of the related data. Again, through these large cables. To navigate all of these underwater or above water wires, all you have is an IP address. It is like as if you are sending a letter midway across the world and the only hope for the letter to reach your friend is that postal address on the front of the envelope.
So, once you have the IP address of the website that you want to reach, then your browser transfers another message through the Internet service provider through these cables to the server that is located at that location 216.58.210.46. Moreover, the machine that’s resided at that address is, of course, the Google server. And on this server. The server then transfers all of the files back to you through you get to see the Google home page in your browser. All of these happens in a matter of milliseconds. Moreover, just to think the journey that your data has gone on, travelling through the world thousands of times every day.
So, as now you know the specific address where you can locate the Google home page, why don’t you give it a go? Open your browser and type in 216.58.210.46, then hit enter to see the Google home page is served up to you through the Internet.
Well, that was all for the internet! Do check out some amazing information on how does Alexa work and let us know if you found these helpful in the comments section below!
