The Internet, often dubbed "the Net," is a global network of computer networks - a network of networks in which users may receive information from another computer provided they have permission (and sometimes talk directly to users at other computers). It was designed by the U.S. Government's Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in 1969 and was initially known as the ARPANET. The initial goal was to establish a network that would enable researchers at one institution to "speak" to other universities' computers. As a side advantage of ARPANET's architecture, the network could continue to operate even if portions of it were destroyed in case of military assault or another catastrophe since communications could be redirected or re-routed in more than one way.


Nowadays, the Internet is a public, cooperative and self-supporting infrastructure that hundreds of millions of people worldwide have access to. Many utilize it as the primary source of information consumption and encourage the establishment and development of their social ecosystem via social media and content sharing. In addition, e-commerce or online shopping has become one of the Internet's most significant applications.

 

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How the Internet Functions


A fraction of the total resources of the existing public telecommunications networks are physically used by the Internet. Technically, the usage of a set of protocols called the transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP) differentiates the Internet. The TCP/IP Protocol is also used by two newer adaptations of internet technology, the Intranet and the extranet.



The Internet has two main components: network protocols and hardware. Protocols, such as the TCP/IP suite, include rules to be followed by devices for completing duties. Machines would not be able to communicate without this shared set of rules.



The protocols are also responsible for translating the alphabetical message text into electrical signals, which may be sent across the Internet and returned to readable, alphabetical text.


Hardware, the second-largest Internet component, comprises everything from your computer or smartphone to cables that transport information from one device to another to access the Internet. Satellites, radios, mobile phone towers, routers and servers are other gear.


These several hardware kinds are network connectors. Devices like PCs, cellphones and laptops are endpoints or customers, while servers are the devices that hold information. The data exchange links may be wireless satellite signals, 4G and mobile phone towers, or physical cables and fibre optics.


The process of data transmission from one device to another depends on packet switching. An IP address that enables the device to be identified is issued to every computer connected to the Internet. When one device tries to transmit a message to another device, the data is delivered in manageable packets across the Internet. A port number will be given to each packet to link it to its destination.


A packet with both its IP and Port Number may be converted into electrical signals from the alphabetic text by travelling through the levels of the OSI model from the top to the bottom of the physical layer. The message will then be transmitted across the Internet, where the ISP router receives it. The router will check the destination address for each packet and decide where to deliver it.


Finally, the packet reaches the client and goes back to the top application layer from the lower physical layer of the OSI model. During this phase, the routing data — port number and IP address — will be removed from the packet, enabling data to be converted back into alphabetical text and complete the transfer process.

 

 

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