How-to · Step-by-step
How does the internet work?
The internet is a global network of networks that moves information by breaking it into small packets, routing them across many connections and reassembling them at the destination.
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Step by step
How to do it
1.Information is split into packets
When you send anything over the internet — an email, a photo, a web page request — the data is divided into small chunks called packets. Each packet carries a piece of the content plus addressing information.
2.Each packet is addressed
Every device on the internet has a unique IP (Internet Protocol) address. Each packet is labelled with the destination IP address and the sender’s address, like an envelope with a “to” and “from”.
3.A domain name is looked up
You type a readable name such as example.com, and the Domain Name System (DNS) translates it into the numerical IP address of the server, acting like the internet’s phone book.
4.Routers forward the packets
Specialised devices called routers read each packet’s destination and pass it on toward its goal, hop by hop. Packets from the same message may take different paths across the network.
5.Protocols guarantee delivery
The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) checks that every packet arrives, requests any that are missing, and confirms receipt, while IP handles the addressing and routing. Together they are known as TCP/IP.
6.Packets are reassembled
At the destination, the packets — which may have arrived out of order — are put back into the correct sequence and combined to recreate the original email, image or web page exactly.
A network of networks
The internet is not a single machine but a vast collection of independent networks — run by homes, businesses, universities and internet service providers — all linked together and agreeing to exchange data using common rules. Information travels as light pulses through fibre-optic cables, as electrical signals through copper, and as radio waves to wireless devices, including undersea cables that carry traffic between continents. No one owns the whole internet; it works because everyone follows the same shared protocols, allowing any connected device to reach any other.
Common questions
FAQ
What is the difference between the internet and the World Wide Web?+
They are not the same. The internet is the global network of connected computers and the infrastructure that links them. The World Wide Web is one service that runs on top of the internet — the system of web pages and links you browse with a browser. Email, video calls and app traffic also use the internet but are not part of the web.
What is an IP address?+
An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a unique numerical label given to every device connected to the internet, so that data can be sent to and from the right place. It works like a postal address for your device, letting packets find their destination among billions of connected machines.
Why is data sent in packets instead of all at once?+
Splitting data into packets makes the network efficient and resilient. Packets can travel by different routes, share the same connections with other people’s traffic, and be re-sent individually if one is lost — all without resending the whole message. This is far more robust than sending one large, unbroken stream.
Going deeper
