The Internet is called the "Network of all Networks" because the Internet backbone connects all the networks together. Connecting different networks together is a very difficult task requiring a cross platform solution
Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) is a common set of protocols (rules) that allow computers to communicate together even though they use different operating systems.
TCP/IP breaks the data into small packets (packages) for transporting over the Internet. Each packet contains information about the sender, destination, quality control data with error correction, the packet's sequence number and up to 64 bytes of data. The sequence number is used to reassemble the packets when the data is over 64 bytes long. The packets are sent (routed) along the fastest pathway available to the network at the time. The packets sometimes follow different routes to the destination because of traffic on the network.
TCP/IP is able to break the data into chunks of 64 bytes. This may not mean much now but a single letter or a number from 0 to 9 is equal to one byte. A byte is broken down into 8 smaller parts called bits. Bits are represented by either a 1 or 0 that the computer interprets as the state of on or off. The computer manipulates the 1s and 0s by using the rules of binary math.
Example:
Each computer with a direct connection has its own unique Internet Protocol (IP) address. (An example of the configuration of TCP/IP is shown below). An IP address is similar to the zip code used for mail except each computer has a distinct address. The problem with IP addresses as with zip codes are that they are hard to remember and they don't help identify or distinguish the site or computer that uses them. To make addresses easier to remember a convention of words called domain names were created.
Domain Names are words separated by periods that replace the IP address. In other words, www.asu.edu could be used to replace IP address 129.219.22.88 (in real life it doesn't!), if we setup the domain name to go to that address. The Internet still deals with IP addresses so we have to convert the address before we send the message.
Converting a domain name to an IP address is a simple process that requires a very large data base and a dedicated computer called a Domain Name Server (DNS). The DNS's data base matches the domain name (www.asu.edu for example) to the IP address (129.219.22.88 for this example only) . Once the IP address is found, the message will go to the correct computer connected on the Internet.
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