Do You Know How the Internet Actually Works?
A brief discussion on the internet, Client/Server Model, and web-servers
We usually think that the internet works in clouds and we send and transfer information through the cloud or say that in the air. But the reality is something different, For a clear understanding of how the web server works. Firstly it is important to have an idea of how the Internet actually works.
What is the Internet?
When two or more computers connect they make a network.
And when many of these networks connect they make a network on a global level that we call the "network of networks" as the internet.
How the Internet Works
As we know that our devices have connections with routers in our houses or the tower near us. These routers and towers are connected through wires, creating different networks like
LAN:" Local Area Networks" connecting our houses, offices, etc. Or we can say that a network in our building.
MAN: "Metropolitan Area Networks" connecting Cities and states.
WAN: "Wide Area Networks" connecting the countries.
Client/Server Model
When we browse something on the internet it does not work as simple as we see in seconds. Behind the scene, there is a huge story. Let's explore this.
When we request something internet works on the client(the entity who is requesting something) server model. our browser sends the request to servers.
A web server is a software that responds to these requests through HTTP(Hypertext Transfer Protocols) and some other protocols.
Every device has its Address just like the address of our houses, which we called an IP Address. when the browser sends a request it goes to DNS which sends it back with the IP address of the targeting device then the browser sends this Request to ISP(Local Internet Service Provider) if it has the targeting IP address in its domain it processes the request or otherwise this request goes to regional level and the other levels so on.
How Web-Servers Works
A user can access the web server through a browser. browser Sends requests through HTTP and the software part of the server which consists of the HTTP server and other servers. These servers read the request, understand URLs and make sure to process the correct and complete request with proper content and send it back to the client. The hardware side is again a computer that stores server software and other data i.e. data centers.
Famous Webservers
Apache HTTP Server
Nginx
Microsoft IIS