Computer Science SS1 Third Term
Week 1
Topic: HOW THE INTERNET WORKS
HOW THE INTERNET WORKS
On the internet, data and information are transferred world wide through the servers and clients (which are computers) connected to the internet.
The computers which are responsible for management of resources i.e program and data on a network, by providing a centralized storage area, is called a SERVER. The computer which has an access to the contents of the storage area on the server is CLIENT. On the internet, a client which can access file and services on a number of servers called a Host computer. Your computer is a Host computer.
The inner structure of the internet resembles a transportation system. In the transportation system, the maximum load of traffic is concentrated on the highways, which are linked to the major cities. Similarly, on the internet, there are certain main communication lines which carry the maximum load of traffic. These lines are collectively called the INTERNET BACKBONE.
The internet is a packet oriented network. It means that the data you transfer is divided into packets.
So what happens when you transfer data across the internet various networks?
The networks are linked by special computer, called ROUTERS. A router checks where your packet data goes and decides in which direction to send it. Of course, not every router is linked with every other router, they just decide on the direction your data takes. The internet knows where your data is going, as every destination has an address called an Internet Protocol (IP) address. The data transferred with IP is divided into packets. This is handled by another protocol, the transmission control protocol (TCP).
The internet is an addressing system used to send data and information to a fixed or specific destination, just like the postal system. An IP address i.e. internet protocol address has it own unique identification attached to a computer or a device connected to the internet. The IP address has a group of number and is separated by a period (.). The number varies between 0 and 255. For instance the number 153, 25. 15,10 are an IP address. Generally, the first part of the IP address identifies the network and the last portion identifies a specific computer.
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