What is the Internet? The Internet, a packet switching system architecture that has revolutionized global communication and monetary systems by enabling various computer networks throughout the world to connect. Very often referred to as an intranet, the Internet actually emerged from the United States’ research and development efforts during the early 1990s but didn’t become accessible to the public until the late 1990s. Today, millions of people access the Internet from their personal computers and mobile phones.
The backbone of the Internet, which is the worldwide network of computer networks, is known as the World Wide Web (WWW). WWW consists of billions of files and websites and contains the records of all websites as well as user profiles, user software and settings, ports used by servers, and much more. Accessing the internet through any device, such as personal computers and smart phones, requires the user to be able to send and receive requests to these nodes. These nodes are called “routers” because they connect PCs and other devices to the WWW using their unique IP address.
In order for an IP packet to reach its destination, these nodes first receive and examine the IP packets, before forwarding them on to other computers and devices. The IP packets are then decoded and transformed into HTTP requests, which are sent to web servers. The web server maps the request for a particular page and sends it to internet nodes. The nodes then reply with a response back to the client.
The Internet provides the means for people to exchange information and perform business without physical barriers. However, in order for this to work, it is imperative that every device on the network has an Internet connection. This is achieved using what is known as “entry points”. An IP address identifies each computer on a given network, and each entry point creates a path for the packets of data that enter and exit a computer system.
One of the purposes of these entry points is to allow different computers on one network to communicate with each other. Every computer can use the router to discover other computers and their IP addresses. Once this is discovered, the packets of data are transmitted over this virtual network. The internet works on a “packet switching” model. Each device on the network exchanges packets of data with each other in order to establish connections.
Some of the functions that are performed by these entry points include sending, receiving, and routing data packets between various computers. Networking speeds between computers on the same network is dependent on how fast the internet itself is. Connection speed plays a vital role in determining the efficiency of many internet services.
Many factors affect how well a computer network functions. Two major factors that have an impact are latency and bandwidth. Latency refers to the time required for a data packet to be received by a destination. This is also affected by how busy the internet connection is. Bandwidth is the amount of data that is allowed to be sent per second and determines how quickly information can be sent and received.
There are many ways in which internet providers manage the transmission and reception of packets. Most networks work on the Layer 2 network technology. Layer 2 technology offers greater protection against spam attacks and has a faster upload speed. The majority of broadband internet connections work on the Layer 1 technology which is also known as Fiber Optics. The different types of packet transmission methods include cable, DSL, and telephone networks. This article briefly covers how the internet works.