How does internet work

This basic interaction is how the internet works. One computer asks another computer for information. Information requested; information delivered. The two computers talk back and forth. It is still very much like conversation. Some conversations are one-way. Some conversations are two-way. Some conversations are more complex and involve many participants.

Some conversations build on one another, refer to prior events, and take on a life of their own. It begins with the simple idea of a message. The internet as we know it is a complex, interwoven series of these messages; sending and receiving thousands of times per minute, all across the globe. The internet works like a conversation. This conversation has many participants, translators, and multiple messages going back and forth all the time.

Over time, it has become very complicated. For the average user, there are many layers between their devices and the actual computers that are providing the desired information. In the process, there are many layers of communication added to your internet experience. Thus, a single access to a website already begins with multiple messages between computers, servers, and devices.

Add to this the browser you use, and there are at least five messages sent, received, and responded to--just from your initial request. Your Internet Service Provider adds several steps to the process.

These steps make it easier for you to get the information you want from the internet. Next, your Internet Service Provider begins the complicated work of translating your requests and routing them to the correct locations.

Then, you type an address into your browser. Your ISP translates your words and makes it easier for you to find and view the website. When you browse the internet, all of the above steps are combined with the basic process that governs how computers send and receive messages. The request and response will take place using the basic Internet Protocol and Transfer Control Protocol that we examined earlier:.

This process has become very complicated. So complicated that we have trouble explaining how the internet works. But keep in mind, the internet works by creating connections between computers so that they can send and receive information.

The complicated web of interactions that we now experience as users is really just a number of layers added to the interactions. These layers are designed to make it easier for ordinary people to access and understand.

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This modem turns the information from our network into information manageable by the telephone infrastructure and vice versa. So we are connected to the telephone infrastructure. The next step is to send the messages from our network to the network we want to reach.

An ISP is a company that manages some special routers that are all linked together and can also access other ISPs' routers. So the message from our network is carried through the network of ISP networks to the destination network. The Internet consists of this whole infrastructure of networks. If you want to send a message to a computer, you have to specify which one.

Thus any computer linked to a network has a unique address that identifies it, called an "IP address" where IP stands for Internet Protocol. It's an address made of a series of four numbers separated by dots, for example: That's perfectly fine for computers, but we human beings have a hard time remembering that sort of address.

To make things easier, we can alias an IP address with a human readable name called a domain name. For example at the time of writing; IP addresses can change google. So using the domain name is the easiest way for us to reach a computer over the Internet. As you might notice, when we browse the Web with a Web browser, we usually use the domain name to reach a website.

Does that mean the Internet and the Web are the same thing? It's not that simple. As we saw, the Internet is a technical infrastructure which allows billions of computers to be connected all together. Among those computers, some computers called Web servers can send messages intelligible to web browsers.

The Internet is an infrastructure, whereas the Web is a service built on top of the infrastructure. It is worth noting there are several other services built on top of the Internet, such as email and IRC.

Intranets are private networks that are restricted to members of a particular organization. They are commonly used to provide a portal for members to securely access shared resources, collaborate and communicate. For example, an organization's intranet might host web pages for sharing department or team information, shared drives for managing key documents and files, portals for performing business administration tasks, and collaboration tools like wikis, discussion boards, and messaging systems.

Extranets are very similar to Intranets, except they open all or part of a private network to allow sharing and collaboration with other organizations. They are typically used to safely and securely share information with clients and stakeholders who work closely with a business. Often their functions are similar to those provided by an intranet: information and file sharing, collaboration tools, discussion boards, etc. Both intranets and extranets run on the same kind of infrastructure as the Internet, and use the same protocols.

They can therefore be accessed by authorised members from different physical locations. Skip to main content Skip to search Skip to select language Learn web development Common questions How does the Internet work? Change language. This article discusses what the Internet is and how it works. Prerequisites: None, but we encourage you to read the Article on setting project goals first Objective: You will learn the basics of the technical infrastructure of the Web and the difference between Internet and the Web.

How the internet Works in 5 minutes : A 5 minute video to understand the very basics of Internet by Aaron Titus. How does the Internet work?