Exploring the Digital World: A Beginner's Guide
Navigating the Digital World: Key Areas You Need to Know
Have you ever wondered how I can send a message to my friend who is in another city? or make a video call to a relative who may be in another country? The Internet is the underlying technology that makes all these things work.
Understanding how the Internet works is essential in this digital world. In this article, let’s try to understand how the Internet works and why it matters: how your data travels across the Internet, what the World Wide Web is and how it powers your digital life, and lastly, understand the backbone of the Internet.
The Internet: how it works and why it matters
What is the Internet?
The Internet is a global network of interconnected devices (computers, servers, mobiles, etc.) that communicate with each other using standard protocols, such as the Internet Protocol (IP) and Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). It allows communication, resource sharing, social media use, streaming, gaming, and more.
The Internet allows the world to be more interconnected with each other.
You can think of the network as an airport. The airport represents a server or database, airplanes are data packets, paths are network connections, air traffic control is like routers and switches, passengers are users and devices, and baggage handling is data processing.
How does the Internet work?
Isn't it fascinating that simply typing a website name can provide you with the information you need? To make the Internet work, we need five main things, such as:
Physical Infrastructure
Cables: Fiber-optic, undersea, and local cables transmit data.
Routers and Switches: Direct data packets to their destinations.
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
ISPs connect users to the internet and provide access to the global network infrastructure.
They act as the gateway between individual users and the broader internet.
Network Infrastructure
Routers: direct data between networks.
Switches: Connect devices within a local network.
Servers and Data Centers
Servers: Store and deliver data (e.g., websites, files, applications).
Data Centers: Facilities that house servers and other critical infrastructure.
Protocols and Standards
- Standardized protocols like TCP/IP, HTTP, and DNS enable devices and networks to communicate and exchange data seamlessly.
Let's understand how the Internet works through an example where a user requests google.com,
The user enters www.google.com in their browser, and the browser will create an HTTPS request and then contact DNS to translate www.google.com into an IP address.
Once the browser gets the IP address, it will initiate a TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) connection to the server using the obtained IP address. At this point, an actual HTTPS request is sent to the server, specifying the desired resource. It will travel through multiple routes to ensure that the request will reach the server where the webpage is hosted.
Once the server receives the request, it processes it, locates the files, and sends them back to the browser that made the request.
Why does the Internet matter?
This is very straightforward. This is like asking, Why do you work out or eat food? The Internet is as essential as food and workouts in the digital world. Let's list a few of the points that will make it clear why it matters.
Access to Information
Communication
Global Connectivity
Entertainment
Social Impact
From browsers to servers: The journey of your data
What do you think? Does your friend's message reach you by magic? There are technologies that enable communication between people. Let's explore how data travels from the browser to the server and back to the browser.
There are mainly four things that need to be considered:
The browser sends the request to the server
The server receives the request and processes the request
The server sends the response back to the browser
The browser receives the response and Renders the response
The browser sends the request to the server
The user enters the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) in the address bar and presses enter. Once the user presses enter, the browser creates an HTTP/HTTPS request and contacts DNS (Domain Name System) to get IP (Internet Protocol).
Once the browser gets the IP address, it will initiate a TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) connection to the server using the obtained IP address. At this point, an actual HTTPS request is sent to the server, specifying the desired resource.
HTTP/HTTPS requests include
URL: Address of the resource.
Headers: Metadata like authentication tokens, content type, etc.
Method (e.g., GET, POST, PUT, DELETE).
Body (optional, e.g., form data, JSON payload).
The request is sent over the internet using protocols like TCP/IP. HTTPS encrypts the request using TLS/SSL for security.
The server receives the request and processes the request
Once the server receives the request, it will route the request to the appropriate backend or data store. Mainly two things happen at this point. Request process and response preparation.
Request Process
Executes business logic, Retrieves or stores data in a database and Validates input.
Response preparation
The server prepares a response in the form status code, e.g., 200 OK, 404 Not Found, Headers: Metadata (e.g., content type, cache control), and Body: The data requested (e.g., HTML, JSON, XML).
The server sends the response back to the browser
The server will send back the prepared response to the requested browser. Like the request, the response travels using TCP/IP and is decrypted if using HTTPS.
The browser receives the response and Renders the response
The browser parses the response and renders the content (e.g., displays a webpage, updates the DOM and triggers JavaScript events, etc.).
Caching: Browsers and servers may use caching mechanisms to store frequently accessed resources, reducing the need for repeat requests.
Conclusion
Understanding the Internet and its workings is crucial in today's digital age. The Internet is vital for global communication and connectivity.
By grasping how data travels from browsers to servers and back, we gain insight into the technology that powers our digital interactions.
Happy Learning...! ✌️✌️✌️
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