The latest articles on DEV Community by Abdulbasit Yusuf (@jideotetic). https://dev.to/jideotetic https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F1116994%2Fc907ac2b-e25f-4dc1-9e8c-4a13a30faad1.jpeg https://dev.to/jideotetic en Abdulbasit Yusuf Sat, 13 Jul 2024 18:28:43 +0000 https://dev.to/jideotetic/how-the-internet-works-4ocd https://dev.to/jideotetic/how-the-internet-works-4ocd <h2> What is internet </h2> <p>The internet in a lay man terms can be perceive as a network of cables that runs through out the world and this cables are the means in which computers from different locations can communicate with each other, the computers can be any form of device from a server to a laptop or even smartphones, at a very basic level, computers can communicate with each other by connecting via cables.</p> <p><a href="https://media.dev.to/cdn-cgi/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F77bkq2s8bjygwetb5rfk.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media.dev.to/cdn-cgi/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2F77bkq2s8bjygwetb5rfk.png" alt="Two computers linked together" width="600" height="576"></a></p> <p>The solution in the picture above can be optimised with the use of a router (routers are computers that ensure a message sent from one computer find it way to the target computer). Instead of connecting each computer to one another via a cable, they are all connected to the router and when a computer sends a message out to another computer it goes through the router which will figure out the computer the message is meant for and deliver it.</p> <p><a href="https://media.dev.to/cdn-cgi/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fuvuxtpnpshdwigz913mj.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media.dev.to/cdn-cgi/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fuvuxtpnpshdwigz913mj.png" alt="Ten computers with a router" width="600" height="576"></a></p> <h3> How does this local network communicate with other network outside </h3> <p>Internet Service Provider (ISP is a company that manages some special routers that are all linked together and can also access other ISPs' routers) helps connect our local network via a modem through the ISP router to get to our destination network.</p> <p><a href="https://media.dev.to/cdn-cgi/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fa3wude5fj1rbcq6q5acc.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media.dev.to/cdn-cgi/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fa3wude5fj1rbcq6q5acc.png" alt="Full internet stack" width="340" height="1293"></a></p> <h3> Finding a computer </h3> <p>Each computer can be identified by an internet protocol address (IP address) which is how a message sent from one computer can travel through the cables and find the right computer the message is meant for. The IP address is an address made of a series of four numbers separated by dots, for example: <code>192.0.2.172</code> but because the IP address are not easy to remember for humans, each IP address is given a domain name that is easily readable and can be remembered easily. Take a user for example on a laptop trying to access the google server, the google server IP address <code>142.250.190.78</code> (this can change in the future) can be type in a browser the google server will respond with the google search page.</p> <p>If this article is helpful, consider liking, sharing, and following me; connect with me on <a href="https://x.com/Jideotetic" rel="noopener noreferrer">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jideotetic" rel="noopener noreferrer">Linkedin</a>.<br> Happy coding.</p> internet