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How the Internet Works in 5 Minutes
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How the Internet Works in 5 Minutes

How Does the Internet Work?

In this video, Aaron Titus explains how the internet works. He starts by comparing it to electricity and then goes on to explain that the internet is simply a wire buried in the ground. He also talks about servers, IP addresses, routers, and packets.

The Internet is a Wire

  • The internet is a wire buried in the ground.
  • It might be fiber optics, copper or occasionally beam to satellites or through cell phone networks.

Servers and IP Addresses

  • A server is a special computer connected directly to the internet.
  • Web pages or files are stored on that server's hard drive.
  • Every server has a unique Internet Protocol address (IP address).
  • IP addresses help computers find each other.
  • We give them names like google.com facebook.com or security catalyst.com.

Clients and ISPs

  • Computers you and I use every day are called clients because they're connected indirectly to the internet through an internet service provider (ISP).

Sending Emails

  • When sending an email picture or web page travels across the internet computers break the information into smaller pieces called packets.
  • When information reaches its destination, packets are reassembled in their original order to make a picture email web page or tweet.

Routers

  • Everything connected directly or indirectly to the internet has an IP address.
  • Everything includes your computer servers cell phones and all of the equipment in between anywhere two or more parts of the internet intersect there's a piece of equipment called a router.
  • Routers direct your packets around the internet helping each packet get one step closer to its destination.

Wrapping Packets

  • Imagine each packet as a piece of candy wrapped in several layers.
  • The first layer is your computer's IP address.
  • Each time the packet reaches a new router another layer is added until it reaches the server.
  • When the server sends back information, it creates packets with an identical wrapping as the packet makes its way over the internet back to your computer.

Conclusion

  • Understanding how the internet works can be challenging but it's not impossible.
  • By knowing some basic concepts like servers, IP addresses, routers, and packets you can easily understand how data travels across the internet.
Video description

Check out my new book, How to Prepare for Everything: www.howtoprepare.com! The internet is not a fuzzy cloud. The internet is a wire, actually buried in the ground. Computers connected directly to the internet are called "Servers," while the computers you and I use are "clients," because they are not connected directly to the internet, but through an Internet Service Provider. Routers shuttle packets of information across the internet, and transmit e-mail, pictures, and web pages.