Hello again from CyberSpace!
In this, the second blog of a six part series, we will discuss Internet Infrastructure.
The best way for me to describe the structure of the Internet is through a video. Feel free to watch below, but it isn't as short as the awesome graphics imply.
In case you don't have 13 minutes to watch, I'll summarize the video. Whenever you make a request on the Internet, you send data to your router. The router manages lost data, decides the paths to follow between servers, manages protocols, and other important tasks required to move to your requested location. Simplifying it down to this level is about the same as saying "Oh, you're just hauling rocks in that wheelbarrow", but that is essentially how the process works. The simplicity is not intended to downplay the importance of the router. Without it, we wouldn't have the Internet as we know it.
Packets and Routers have been around since the beginning of the Internet. The scale has certainly increased, and continues to increase thanks to the number of Internet connected devices. The increase is so rapid, in fact, that we have assigned all available IPv4 addresses. Imagine trying to active a phone for the first time, only to find out that we are out of phone numbers. Same idea, but with the your new Desktop instead. In response, IPv6 is now available, which should handle many more devices than its predecessor.
Once you fire up the ol' browser (a Client Application), get an IP address, and hook up with a router, you can be surfing the 'net in no time flat. Next blog we will examine the final destination of those browsers and packets - Web Servers!
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