Introduction to the net!

Hey all--

Ok, this is my first tutorial so please bear with me on this. I will be talking about the basic concepts of what happens on an internet packets journey from the normal user, to the server destination, and back.

*** Note that this model I am using may NOT match your home system ***

Sound interesting?
It is, I think you'll be surprised by what you learn out of this one. So here we go, enjoy!

So what do you think happened when you clickced the link to get to this thread?

What you just did is started a flow of information into something called a 'packet.' Packets are the pioneers of the net and are used in many types of protocols, the most popular of them being...
TCP/IP- Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol
UDP- User Datagram Protocol.
(There are many other types, but I won't make you bored with acronyms.)

Ok, so now what? We got the web request information dumped in a packet that we want because we clicked the link to this sweet tutorial I wrote heh heh. Well, now the Internet Protocol (IP) packages it into the packet and then decides how to divide the information that you are sending to the web server. Then it gets sent on through and labeled. The label is very important for the following key reasons...
It provides the packet with...
-The sender address
-The type of packet it is (UDP,TCP/IP,etc..)
-The reciever address
-and because our packets going on the internet, it also get a special address for the proxy server, which has a special function I will explain later.

Then our packet is launched onto the LAN (Local Area Network- connects all computers onto a network so they may share information.) Now the router reads the address on our packet given by the IP and 'routes' us on to another network. Now we're headin' for the router switch at the end of our path and it 'switches' us to another path towards the Network Interface. The Network Interface puts our packet on the next level, which in this case is, the proxy server. The proxy server is used in order to lessen the connection load and for certain security measures. Now we've arrived at the proxy and our packet is checked for the URL (Uniform Resource Locator). Ours is www.antionline.com/showthread.php?...etc, so we will be accepted. However, say we wanted a URL that our proxy did not accept. Such as, www.sex.com, then our packet would be destroyed.

But thats not the case so lets keep moving, thorugh the corprate firewall (protects against unwanted packets). Another router picks us up and then puts us on a narrow path called a bandwidth.

Now we're on the internet, it's a huge mass of servers, paths, and infomation linked over telephone lines, via satelite, and other wireless connections. It's very loosely regulated. Due to this, the internet has been able to flourish and grow with the sky as the limit. On the contraire, there are some users that take advantage of this privlage and thats why we have 'internet securty' which is why your here... Ok, lets move...

We've arrived, thorugh all that mess, thanks to the IP, at the boarder of our destination, antionline.com. Right in front of us is the firewall in which we must pass through. Are you nervous??? I hope not, this is a webserver we're at that has port 80 open. Port 80 is the web port where packets go to retrive the website layout. Luckilly, we made it through the firewall. The whole firewall process is kinda like going through security at the airport. Inside the firewall we're screened more throughly and are given the go ahead to the webserver. Finally, through all that, we made it. Now our information is extracted and our request is sent to the web server application. We're then recycled and sent with the requested info all the way back to where we came from to supply your computer, with the information you requested, which is the tutorial you just finished reading!

Such is the life of a packet heh, heh. I hope that this tutorial has been helpful to you in learning a bit more about the internet. Realize that this process is extremly broken down and simplified. The real process happens so fast that it could circle the globe a few times at the lift of a finger. It is also far more complex, and now that you have a good understanding I recommend some further reading as well. There are plenty of resources right here just do a...
-search for TCP/IP or UDP
-or do it on google
-and pick up a good book as well on it.

Never give up on your pursuit of knowledge, do something positive with it too, like tell a girl-friend all about it durring a date... heh heh :rolleyes: .

Well, I'm out... my hands are tired...
--Peace :cool: