The fundamentals of internet operation

How does the internet actually work?

The working of a website address

When you enter a website address into your browser, the browser first searches the DNS to determine the IP address of the requested website before retrieving it. In order to send HTTP messages to the correct location, the browser has to know which server the website is hosted on.

Let's breakdown this:

DNS - The DNS system on the Internet controls the mapping between names and numbers, much like a phone book. Your device utilises DNS to search up the domain name and determine the IP address that goes with it.?

IP address - Internet protocol address is referred to as IP address. In principle, it is a number that is allocated to any device and is used for that device's identification and location.

Web server - The web server's primary goal is to store, process, and distribute web pages/websites to users. Further, The webpage is a single document on the web using a unique URL, while a website is a collection of multiple webpages in which information on a related topic or another subject is linked together under the same domain address.

So who regulates this??

ICANN is the acronym for Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. It is a non-profit organization responsible for supervising the Domain Name System and assigning IP addresses.

ICANN was formed in 1998. It is a partnership of people from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. ICANN doesn't control content on the Internet.

How are websites presented in easily understood language?

HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language. HTML is the standard markup language for creating Web pages and tells the browser how to display the content. The language that is used to create attractive web pages with the help of styling that appears in a nice format on a web browser.

Where is all of this stored?

Each server has a processor, storage space and memory, similar to a personal computer but with more power. A data center is a building, a dedicated space within a building, or a group of buildings used to house computer systems and associated components.

Who is the client and who is the server?

A server is simply a computer that provides the network resources and provides service to other computers when they request it. A client is the computer running a program that requests the service from a server. Local area network (LAN) is based on client server network relationship.

How does a server and client work together?

Clients, taking the form of laptops, desktops, tablets, or smartphones, request a file or application from the remote server. The server hears the request, verifies credentials, and if everything checks out, serves the client the requested file. The first step in this communication process is your browser splits the request which is in the form of a URL into three parts — a protocol, server name or the IP address.

A network protocol - an established set of rules that determine how data is transmitted between different devices in the same network. Essentially, it allows connected devices to communicate with each other, regardless of any differences in their internal processes, structure or design. Two popular protocols used and supported are HTTP and HTTPs.

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) is the set of rules for transferring files -- such as text, images, sound, video and other multimedia files -- over the web. As soon as a user opens their web browser, they are indirectly using HTTP.

HTTPs(Hypertext Transfer Protocol secure) is similar to HTTP but works on an encrypted level, so that only the client and server understand each other's messages, but anyone snooping around in the network sees only gibberish.

Web browser - takes you anywhere on the internet. It retrieves information from other parts of the web and displays it on your desktop or mobile device. This is what is known as computer architecture.?

Computer Architecture -

All computers, no matter their size, are based around a set of rules stating how software and hardware join together and interact to make them work

A detailed read on categories of computer architecture - https://bit.ly/computer-architecture.