The advancement of technology requires continuous access to a significant size of data and information. This increase in data transmission needs a reliable and secure pathway, i.e., known as the internet. Internet is still under development but covers over all the major and most of the minor world locations for data exchange.
In this tutorial on 'how does the internet work,' you will look into the various features that work behind the internet and allow us to access data of any type from anywhere.
What Is the Internet?
The internet as we know it is known as the connection of interconnected computers and network devices, either over small or large distances. The working of the internet is not as simple as we know it, as it connects various network models and devices to provide you with a secure and reliable connection for data exchange.
The videos and data that you access are transmitted over thousands of miles through the internet to your devices; these large-sized data and files are stored in Data Centers.
Connection Channels for Internet
The mode through which the internet is connected and shares data can be wired or wireless channels, the wired connection mode is done using fiber optic cables, which are specifically designed cables to connect over large distances and offer high-speed data transmission. These cables are connected under the oceans and reach the connection point on the mainland.
The wireless settings for the internet use satellites in space to provide data transmission, this technology is relatively new and used for pinpoint data transfer.
On the basis of communication distance, you can differentiate the internet connection into three primary types:
- LAN (Local Area Network) - In this connection, the distance covered is at most within a building, for example, a company sets up an internet connection for their employees in the company headquarters.
- MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) - This connection is an upgraded version of LAN, and covers the connection of a city at a minimum.
- WAN (Wide Area Network) - The network connection in this mode is not restricted to a single mainland but connects major landmarks such as connections between countries.
In the next section, you will know where the data shared over the internet is stored and how it is sent from that location to the devices.
Storage and Sharing of Data
Now that you understand the transmission channels for data over the internet, it’s time to know from where you get your data. This storage task is performed at locations known as Data Centers, which are installed with multiple storage units, that act as a storage server, for the client device that requests the data.
When the data to send is decided by the server, the next step is to share it with the client device, and this task of sending and receiving data is done by applying a network concept known as the IP Address.
The IP address is a unique identification method, that allows your system to get access to various network devices and to transmit data and information along with the network, to the correct client system.
Now, move on to the next part in working of the internet, i.e, the naming system used in network models.
Naming Pattern in the Network
The naming structure of the internet is handled by the Domain Name Server (DNS). DNS assigns a domain name to an IP address and then stores it in a directory format for easy access in time of requirement.
The work of DNS is to provide assistance in case the user does not know the domain name to an IP address and then allows you to access the website directly using the IP address.
Illustration
Through the parts of the internet mentioned above, you understood the work of each individual part in the functioning of the internet, now combine all the network attributes to design a simple working example of the internet.
In this image, you can see that the user is trying to access a website using its IP address, but the server requires the name assigned to this IP address for accessing the data required by the user, so it will use the DNS server to share the domain name of the requested website corresponding to the shared IP address.
After this step is completed, the server will send the request for the required data to the data center and then share the result with the user.
Conclusion
In this tutorial on ‘How Does the Internet Work?’, you looked into the ways the internet works from the very beginning to be able to use the internet to access an innumerable amount of information and data of any format from any location.
If you want to learn more about the topic and further enhance your knowledge about various aspects of working on the internet, you can refer to Simplilearn's Caltech Cybersecurity Bootcamp. This expert course will equip you with more than enough knowledge for working on the internet.
Do you have any questions related to this tutorial on ‘How Does Internet Work?’ If yes, feel free to mention them in the comment section at the bottom of this page. Our team will help you solve your queries ASAP.
