Understanding Behind The Scenes of the Internet : IP Addresses, Domain Names, and Routing

The internet is often described as a "web" of interconnected systems, but have you ever wondered what makes this vast network function so seamlessly? Behind every website you visit or email you send lies a sophisticated infrastructure of IP addresses, domain names, and routing systems. Let’s break it down step by step.

1. The Internet: A Network of Networks

Imagine the internet as a global postal system. In this analogy:

Your device is the sender.
The data packets are the letters or packages.
IP addresses are the unique home addresses or exact coordinates where the letters need to be delivered.
Routing systems are the postal routes ensuring the packages reach their destination efficiently.

2. What Are IP Addresses?

IP Address

IP Addresses Explained

An IP address (Internet Protocol address) is a unique numerical label assigned to every device connected to the internet. Think of it as the address that identifies your device on the internet, just like the location coordinates of your home.

There are two types of IP addresses:

IPv4: The original standard (e.g., 192.168.0.1). Limited to about 4.3 billion unique addresses.
IPv6: The newer version (e.g., 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334) with a much larger address space.

How IP Addresses Work

When you type a website's name (e.g., google.com), your browser doesn’t understand the text. It needs the corresponding IP address to locate the server hosting the website.

3. What Are Domain Names?

The Role of Domain Names

While IP addresses are essential, they’re not user-friendly. Memorising numbers like 142.250.182.206 for Google would be a nightmare. So we have domain names, the human-readable labels like google.com or chaicode.com.

How Domain Names Work with DNS

The Domain Name System (DNS) is the internet’s phonebook. When you type a domain name, DNS translates it into the corresponding IP address. This process is called a DNS lookup.

For Example:

You enter chaicode.com in your browser.
DNS resolves it to the IP address 172.67.213.172 or 104.21.16.156 (Yes, a website can have multiple IP addresses).
Your browser uses this IP to connect to the server.

Once your browser knows the destination’s IP address, the data packets begin their journey. But how do they travel across the world? This is where routing comes in.

How Routing Works

Routing is the process of finding the best path for data to travel between devices. Routers are the devices responsible for this job. They act like traffic managers, ensuring data takes the quickest and most efficient route.

Key Concepts in Routing:

- Hops:
  
  * As data travels, it moves from one router to the next, like making stops at different checkpoints along a journey.
  
  * Each stop is called a "hop." The fewer the hops, the faster the data usually reaches its destination.
  
  Example: If you're sending a message to a friend in another city, it may pass through several routers (hops) before reaching their computer.
  - Routing Tables:
    - Every router has a list, like a GPS or a map, that tells it the best routes to reach various destinations. This list is called a routing table.
    - When a data packet arrives, the router checks its table to decide where to send the packet next.

Example: Imagine a post office looking at a list of routes to determine where to forward a letter next.

Protocols (Rules for Routing):
- Routers follow specific rules, called protocols, to share information and figure out the best routes.
- One common protocol is BGP (Border Gateway Protocol), which helps routers communicate and decide paths between networks.

Example: Think of protocols as traffic rules that guide how vehicles (or data packets) should move on roads (networks).

5. The Journey of a Web Request

Here’s what happens step-by-step when you visit a website:

Domain Name Entry: You type chaicode.com in your browser.
DNS Lookup: The DNS system translates the domain name into an IP address, i.e 172.67.213.172 for chaicode.com.
Routing: The data packets are sent from your device to the IP address via a series of routers.
Server Response: The server hosting the website processes your request and sends the data back to your device.
Rendering: Your browser displays the content you requested.

6. Visualising the Process

Here’s a flowchart summarising the whole journey:

7. Final Thoughts

The internet’s backbone might seem technical, but its principles are straightforward when broken down. Every time you browse, stream, or email, a symphony of IP addresses, domain names, and routing systems work behind the scenes to make it possible.

Understanding this process is not just fascinating—it’s essential for anyone curious about how the digital world operates.
Next time you visit a website , you would definitely know the behind the scenes.