Right now, you are using the internet to read a blog post that I wrote. If I asked you to define the internet, what would you say? Perhaps you'll say it is a signal, or a router, or Wi-Fi, or an intangible thing. Perhaps you'd be stumped.
A simple definition
The Internet refers to a bunch of computers and routers all connected to each other across the whole world. There are protocols, or rules, that all the computers and routers follow so that computers everywhere will communicate in the same way.
Networks
The Internet is made of a lot of networks from around the world all connected together. This raises the question: what is a network?
A network is some number of computers connected together, who can send and receive information to one another. Homes and businesses have private networks made up of the devices in those buildings. Each network is in its own little bubble of connectivity. To connect to the Internet, they can use an Internet Service Provider, or ISP. These companies have large networks that span continents. Small networks connect to these larger networks, and that is what makes up the internet.
Wi-Fi is not the Internet
One common misconception is to use the words Wi-Fi and Internet interchangeably. Here is the difference: Wi-Fi is just a type of signal that follows a certain set of rules to connect to devices. It connects to the Internet, but it is not the Internet. Imagine a fridge magnet. You can connect a magnet to a fridge, but the magnet does not become a fridge. Wi-fi is the magnet in this analogy, and the Internet is the fridge.
There are also other ways to connect to the Internet. One common way is through physical cables, like ethernet cables. You may have seen these at your office. They plug straight from your router to your computer, or maybe from your router, into the wall, and then to your computer.
Routers: how they relate to Internet
Another misunderstood technology is a router. These devices are mostly known for letting you connect to Wi-Fi, but there is more to it than that. Routers are the devices that make the internet work. A router is a type of computer that directs internet traffic and chooses where it needs to be sent in order to reach the destination.
Routers are also the points of connection between different smaller networks. Your home router is connected to a larger network owned by your Internet Service Provider (ISP), and your ISP has routers that connect to other ISPs around the world. This collaboration and interconnection makes the internet we enjoy today possible.
Now you know!
The Internet can seem like an ambiguous and complicated idea, but you don't need to be a computer scientist to understand the basics. It is a large network made of smaller networks that are all connected by routers. Routers direct internet traffic and connect multiple networks together. Now you know what the internet is and have a broad sense of how it works.
Comments
Post a Comment