We are using website everyday and when we open it.
It loads in a fraction of second.
There is :
No sound.
No wires.
No visible signal.
And still in this tiny moment your request have travelled thousands of kilometers it have dives in oceans, bounces between machines, and comes back to you for exactly what you have asked for.
So… how actually this internet work?
🌐 It all starts with a simple question
Whenever we type a website name or click on a link then your device ask first basic question:
“Where Address of this website is located?”
Computers don’t understand any names like we humans do.
They only work with numbers.
So first internet needs to translate this website name into a numerical address.
And this job is handled by DNS which is internet’s phonebook who have numerical address of each website.
📍 Finding right place
After finding address now our device know where it have to send this request.
But instead of sending one big message it breaks this request into many small pieces called data packets.
Why?
Because small pieces travel faster, smarter, and can take different routes if required.
📦 Data packet race
Each packet starts with its own journey.
Some will go through your Wi-Fi router.
Some by city networks.
Some through massive cables which are running underground and under the ocean floor.
Yes you heard right most of internet is travelling through giant underwater fiber-optic cables not by satellites.
Data is moving as light pulses by glass fibers and almost at speed of light.
🏢 Servers do the heavy thinking
These packets then reach at powerful computers called servers which store websites and data.
These servers read your request then prepares particular page for you and then again splits it into packets and sends everything back to you.
Now your device collects all these packets and arranges them in order and suddenly…
✨ Website appears.
Everything usually happens in less than a second.
🤯 A surprising fact
If one internet route fails from where your data is travelling then your data automatically finds another route.
This is how internet keeps working even a cable is damaged or have outages.
It is designed for surviving failure.
🌍 Why understanding this matters
well knowing how internet actually working helps you to understand:
- Why sometimes internet speed drops
- Why cables are more important than satellites
- Why internet feels invisible but is very very real
Internet isn’t magic but if before 1990 if you say some you can access everything or told about this whole internet capable of doing then it will be magic for him.
It is a system which is carefully organized for moving information across the planet with incredible speed.
And every click you make is to sets it all in motion even while you are seeing this post.
