Internet: A Simple Overview

The internet has become a major part of everybody's life and has revolutionized the world of communication and data sharing. From simple time passes to running major industries, the internet has its fair share of users. Even right now billions of people are using the internet for their own interests. But have you ever wondered what the internet is and how it works?

What is the Internet?

In simple terms, the internet is a net/web of interconnected smaller networks. The smaller networks comprise the very smartphones and the computers you use to browse through the internet, the home router, and other networking devices.

Now, imagine several other similar networks consisting of such networking bodies and all of them being interconnected, basically forming a web of networks. This web of networks extends over the globe connecting various parts of the world and making our daily internet-based tasks possible.

How does it work?

Before discussing about how the internet works, first, let’s understand a few terminologies explained in simple words:

IP Address - Internet Protocol Address is a number assigned to a device connected to a network.

ISP or Internet Service Provider - A company that provides us with internet-related services.

Server - A computer system or program that provides services to other users' devices.

Client - A user-based device that uses services provided by the server.

Packets - Small segments of data that are transferred in the network.

Protocols - A set of standardized rules that are followed to accomplish a certain task.

Now, let us shed light on how the internet functions.

The internet is simply a client-server-based network, where we; who use the internet are the clients, and the various internet servers are our providers. For example; when we use the search engine to open Facebook, our device sends a request packet with our IP address attached as Sender IP via the interconnected networks all the way to the Facebook servers.

This is us basically requesting service. When the request is received by the server following various protocols, a reply is sent back, hence opening our Facebook front page. Just keep in mind that the server can be anywhere in the world but still the pages load in a few seconds. Amazing, right?

Now, let’s know where the packets move from.

All this travelling of packets might make you wonder about where the packets travel from. Is it via Satellite or some wireless technology? NO, because the wavelength of the satellite is too big for this and the scale of the internet is HUGE for all this to be completely working wirelessly.

The networks are connected wirelessly but that is just up to some extent. It could be said that it’s partially wireless but it wouldn’t be fair to say it’s completely dependent on it. The internet actually depends on undersea cables which are also called the backbone of the internet. As it sounds, the cables are under the sea and make all the communication and data sharing possible.

When a request is sent from a device, it first passes through a gateway, also known as a router. From the router, the packet first goes to an ISP that is connected to other ISPs. The ISPs are also connected to servers of different services that we use via undersea internet cables.

After that, a response is sent back to our device which is also received in the form of packets. When all the packets assemble in our device, the services become available. Also remember that the packets do not follow a dedicated path, meaning it travels from different routes according to the network traffic.