Basic Internet Knowledge and Protocols
What is the Internet?
We always associate the internet with the web. But essentially the internet is just a massive networking infrastructure that connects millions of users and devices from across the world.
It connects more than 190 countries of the world allowing is a free exchange of data and information at lightning fast speeds.
Now comes the question of how does this information flow on the internet? The basic function of the internet is to move computerized data from one place to another.
This happens as the internet is decentralized, i.e. not under any control. Every computer or device is an independent host and the information just moves from one host to another via the internet.
Learn more about Input and Output Devices here in detail
Let us learn some important terms related to the internet
- WWW: World Wide Web. This is what we call the web. It is a group of , data, videos, pictures, transmission etc on the net. It is all linked together through the world wide web.
- URL: It stands for Universal Resource Locator. This is the link that connects the user to the remote locator on the world wide web. It is basically a link to a website, which opens when you click on the URL.
- Host: Any computer or device that is used to transfer the data
- IP Address: IP Address is a unique code for each computer or device that connects to the internet. It is four numbers between 0 and 255 separated by a dot. Example 23.187.09.65
The internet is a massive networking infrastructure. So there have to be some rules that regulate such a network. So internet protocols are a set of regulations and protocols that define and govern the format of the data that is sent via the internet. It is the method by which the data is sent over from one host to another.
When you send data over the internet this data is divided into smaller packets. Each packet contains the senders and the receivers IP address.
These packs first go to the gateway computer which reads the destination address and forwards it to the adjacent gateway. The next gateway will also do the same until the packet ultimately reaches its destination address.
Let us take a look at some of the important types of internet protocols:
- TCP: Transmission Control Protocol. This is the protocol for communicating over a network. The data is broken down into smaller packets, identifiable by their IP address.
- FTP: File Transfer Protocol. Used for transferring files over the internet. This includes text and multimedia files as well. It is faster than the other methods.
- HTTP: Hypertext Transfer Protocol. It follows the client and server model. It facilitates the connection between web client and web server.
