Understanding The Internet

Internet is a massive network, which connects all computers globally. The network allows them to communicate with any computers as long they're online (connect to Internet). Computers are hooked into the Internet, send and receive information with IP/TCP (stand for Internet Protocol/ Transmission Control Protocol). If you look at a picture of node garden, it will show you how the network is connected. There are so many nodes, which are like lighted dots inside the node garden, connected by wire-like substance. 

In the past, people have basic internet, which people can't really communicate well and the network is slow, because of the routes, if some routes are cut, then they don't have another route to pass information through. For telephones, there's a old lady which control everything, when one person talks to another, she make the connection pressing some buttons. Some people can even listen through using some equipments and get information of what the two people who are communicating using the telephone say. But now, it is better because there are different routes which lets the information to pass through easily, if one is broken or stuck, it can use another route to pass through.

In class, we created a role play something like LAN (local area network), which presented a small area of node garden, to show how the Internet works. That includes the connections of Youtube, Google, ICHK (our school), Facebook and others (nodes). We made an example of how packet switching goes through connections, using a computer. When the computer send a picture, it is made out of millions of packet switches, and it will go through the connections to Facebook. They all must past through a broadband network, for example, Singtel, PCCW to connect through the webs. So the packet switches have to go through differents routes, but if one route is broken, they have to take another route by hop, this is called a connection switching. The packet switches then goes to the final place Facebook. If one packet is lost, Facebook will send information to the computer and it will reply back, then it will find the way back to facebook. The transfer is complete.

I think this role play game really made me understand how it work, as the whole thing is already placed in front of you, so you'll get a better understanding of how it look like by using models. This is a very good experience, I understand how packet switches change their connections, and how packet switches can use different routes to get pass to the final place. I think what we have to improve was to understand better to where we are going, so it runs smoothly, but of course, some packets can be lost, so it is fine to be struggle of how to get to the final place. If we're doing this next time, I think we can make a wider connection, because everyone won't bump onto each other. It also make a larger difference of the speed in how each packet switches goes.