The Internet Decoded for everyone

This article is the first part of my series “Make It Easy,” aiming to explain the online world of the internet as simply as possible for everyone, including those interested in starting to learn web development. This module provides an overview of fundamental concepts, explaining the workings of the web in descending order; it means every point has a relation with the next upcoming point.

What is the Internet?

The internet stands for international network. It is often referred to as the World Wide Web. Imagine it like a giant spider web connecting everything and everyone around the world!

As a spider web looks like points connecting each other, similar to that, in the internet or world wide web, countries are connected with each other with the help of submarine cables. See the reference image below:

Submarine Cable Map

Now, what is Network?

When two or more than two devices connect to each other and transfer some information or data, that connection is called a network. As simple as it sounds. Just like humans connect with each other with a language, devices connect with each other through a Protocol. Don’t worry about this new term “protocol” the upcoming point will cover this.

There are many types of networks available, but let’s see the three most commonly used network types:

1. LAN: Local Area Network; this term is used to refer to the establishment of a network across buildings, office premises, schools, etc.
2. WAN: Wide Area Network; this term is used to refer to the establishment of a network across a wide area like large residency colonies, villages, cities, etc.
3. Internet: International Network; this term is used to refer to the establishment of a network overseas and connecting multiple countries or land masses.

Remember that we are using the word “devices,” which means not only computers but also various electronic devices such as televisions, phones, IoT devices, wifi routers, etc.

What is Protocol?

A protocol is a set of rules, much like human communication languages. Just as humans need languages like English, Hindi, Tamil, etc. to communicate with each other, electronic devices need protocols to communicate and share data, information, commands, etc.

Various human communication languages have different guidelines, such as consonants, vowels, grammar, etc. Similarly, different protocols also have different sets of rules.

Example:

1. TV and remote connect with each other with the help of Infrared Protocol.
2. Computers connect with each other with the help of TCP Protocol.
3. Bluetooth devices connect with the Bluetooth protocol.
4. Wifi devices connect with the wifi protocol.
5. Every device connects to the Internet with Internet Protocol (IP).
6. Web browser devices connect to the server with HTTP protocol.

A single protocol is not always sufficient for transferring data, so our devices use multiple protocols for a single process.

Protocols solves communication problems for devices now there is another problem.

Problem of identifying device.

Problem in Identifying Devices:

When devices connect to the network via Internet Protocol along with WiFi Protocol or Ethernet Protocol, there is a problem in identifying a single device when multiple devices connect to a single hotspot or Wi-Fi network.

Now, one might think that we can identify different devices with their names, but the names could also be the same for two identical model laptops or mobile phones.

To overcome this problem, a new term called IP Address comes into play.

IP Address:

An IP Address, short for Internet Protocol address, is the unique identifier assigned to any device connected to the Internet via any type of source and protocol.

Currently, there are two types of IP addresses in use: IPv4 and IPv6.

IPv4 addresses are presented in a 12-digit format with 4 blocks separated by dots (.), where each block can have a maximum of 3 digits and a minimum of 1 digit, for example, 192.168.22.1.

IPv6 addresses come in an alphanumeric and hexadecimal format. They are introduced due to the limited number of IPv4 addresses. IPv4 addresses have a maximum limit of 4.3 billion possible addresses, and with the increasing number of devices, this limit is becoming insufficient. An example of an IPv6 address is 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334.

IP addresses are provided by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like BSNL, JIO, Airtel, etc. When we take an internet connection from an ISP, they assign IP addresses within a range.

For example, if we are using BSNL Wi-Fi at home and they provide us with a range of 5 addresses, the IP address assigned to the connected laptop might be 192.168.92.1, and for a phone or any other device, it could be 192.168.92.2, and so on within the given IP range.

It’s possible that if we disconnect one device and connect another device to the Wi-Fi, the new device might receive the same IP address as the previous one. To solve this problem, every device comes with a unique physical address called a MAC address. This makes it easy to identify devices with their physical/MAC address, ensuring that each device on the network has a distinct identifier.

So much complex thing, right?.🙄 But no problem what we need to understand that IP address help us to identify and connect to any device in network. This is crucial because relying on device names alone can lead to confusion, as multiple devices can share the same name. IP addresses provide a unique identifier for each device, facilitating effective communication and connectivity within networks.

TCP/IP

TCP IP is a combination of two protocols: TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) and IP (Internet Protocol).

Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) facilitates the transfer of data between two devices. It manages and controls the data transfer, requiring the assistance of another protocol to serve as the medium for transferring data.

Internet Protocol (IP) is responsible for connecting devices to the internet. Similar to TCP, this protocol also requires the assistance of another protocol. For example, it works alongside protocols such as Wi-Fi and Ethernet to facilitate connectivity.

For easy understanding, let’s consider transferring data or a file to another device via our local area network or LAN cable. In this case, TCP would be used alongside Internet Protocol (IP) and Ethernet Protocol because connecting to a local area network can be achieved through the Ethernet Protocol and Internet Protocol.

Similarly, if we want to transfer data using Wi-Fi, TCP/IP and the Wi-Fi protocol will work together because we can connect to another hotspot or Wi-Fi network via the Wi-Fi protocol.

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End of the first article in the series. In the next part, we will understand servers, domain names, and HTTP. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to stay ahead of the curve and make web understanding easy with me. Follow and subscribe to receive updates on the forthcoming part!