How the internet works

What is internet

The internet in a lay man terms can be perceive as a network of cables that runs through out the world and this cables are the means in which computers from different locations can communicate with each other, the computers can be any form of device from a server to a laptop or even smartphones, at a very basic level, computers can communicate with each other by connecting via cables.

The solution in the picture above can be optimised with the use of a router (routers are computers that ensure a message sent from one computer find it way to the target computer). Instead of connecting each computer to one another via a cable, they are all connected to the router and when a computer sends a message out to another computer it goes through the router which will figure out the computer the message is meant for and deliver it.

How does this local network communicate with other network outside

Internet Service Provider (ISP is a company that manages some special routers that are all linked together and can also access other ISPs’ routers) helps connect our local network via a modem through the ISP router to get to our destination network.

Finding a computer

Each computer can be identified by an internet protocol address (IP address) which is how a message sent from one computer can travel through the cables and find the right computer the message is meant for. The IP address is an address made of a series of four numbers separated by dots, for example: 192.0.2.172 but because the IP address are not easy to remember for humans, each IP address is given a domain name that is easily readable and can be remembered easily. Take a user for example on a laptop trying to access the google server, the google server IP address 142.250.190.78 (this can change in the future) can be type in a browser the google server will respond with the google search page.

If this article is helpful, consider liking, sharing, and following me; connect with me on Twitter and Linkedin.
Happy coding.