How does the Internet work?

BY JONATHAN STRICKLAND

Even though the Internet is still a young technology, it's hard to imagine life without it now. Every year,
engineers create more devices to integrate with the Internet. This network of networks crisscrosses the globe
and even extends into space. But what makes it work?

To understand the Internet, it helps to look at it as a system with two main components. The first of those
components is hardware. That includes everything from the cables that carry terabits of information every
second to the computer sitting in front of you.

Other types of hardware that support the Internet include routers, servers, cell phone towers, satellites, radios,
smartphones and other devices. All these devices together create the network of networks. The Internet is a
malleable system -- it changes in little ways as elements join and leave networks around the world. Some of
those elements may stay fairly static and make up the backbone of the Internet. Others are more peripheral.

These elements are connections. Some are end points -- the computer, smartphone or other device you're
using to read this may count as one. We call those end points clients. Machines that store the information we
seek on the Internet are servers. Other elements are nodes which serve as a connecting point along a route of
traffic. And then there are the transmission lines which can be physical, as in the case of cables and fiber
optics, or they can be wireless signals from satellites, cell phone or 4G towers, or radios.

All of this hardware wouldn't create a network without the second component of the Internet: the protocols.
Protocols are sets of rules that machines follow to complete tasks. Without a common set of protocols that all
machines connected to the Internet must follow, communication between devices couldn't happen. The various
machines would be unable to understand one another or even send information in a meaningful way. The
protocols provide both the method and a common language for machines to use to transmit data.
A Matter of Protocols

You've probably heard of several protocols on the Internet. For example, hypertext transfer protocol is what we
use to view Web sites through a browser -- that's what the http at the front of any Web address stands for. If
you've ever used an FTP server, you relied on the file transfer protocol. Protocols like these and dozens more
create the framework within which all devices must operate to be part of the Internet.

Two of the most important protocols are the transmission control protocol (TCP) and the Internet protocol (IP).
We often group the two together -- in most discussions about Internet protocols you'll see them listed as
TCP/IP.

What do these protocols do? At their most basic level, these protocols establish the rules for how information
passes through the Internet. Without these rules, you would need direct connections to other computers to
access the information they hold. You'd also need both your computer and the target computer to understand a
common language.

HOW DOES THE INTERNET WORK THROUGH TELEPHONE WIRES

When you connect to the Internet, you might connect through a regular modem, through a local-area network
connection in your office, through a cable modem or through a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection. DSL is
a very high-speed connection that uses the same wires as a regular telephone line.

Here are some advantages of DSL:

 You can leave your Internet connection open and still use the phone line for voice calls.
 The speed is much higher than a regular modem
 DSL doesn't necessarily require new wiring; it can use the phone line you already have.
 The company that offers DSL will usually provide the modem as part of the installation.
But there are disadvantages:
  A DSL connection works better when you are closer to the provider's central office. The farther away
you get from the central office, the weaker the signal becomes.
 The connection is faster for receiving data than it is for sending data over the Internet.
 The service is not available everywhere.
 In this article, we explain how a DSL connection manages to squeeze more information through a
standard phone line -- and lets you make regular telephone calls even when you're online.

Telephone Lines
If you have read How Telephones Work, then you know that a standard telephone installation in the United
States consists of a pair of copper wires that the phone company installs in your home. The copper wires have
lots of room for carrying more than your phone conversations -- they are capable of handling a much greater
bandwidth, or range of frequencies, than that demanded for voice. DSL exploits this "extra capacity" to carry
information on the wire without disturbing the line's ability to carry conversations. The entire plan is based on
matching particular frequencies to specific tasks.

To understand DSL, you first need to know a couple of things about a normal telephone line -- the kind that
telephone professionals call POTS, for Plain Old Telephone Service. One of the ways that POTS makes the
most of the telephone company's wires and equipment is by limiting the frequencies that the switches,
telephones and other equipment will carry. Human voices, speaking in normal conversational tones, can be
carried in a frequency range of 0 to 3,400 Hertz (cycles per second -- see How Telephones Work for a great
demonstration of this). This range of frequencies is tiny. For example, compare this to the range of most stereo
speakers, which cover from roughly 20 Hertz to 20,000 Hertz. And the wires themselves have the potential to
handle frequencies up to several million Hertz in most cases.

the use of such a small portion of the wire's total bandwidth is historical -- remember that the telephone
system has been in place, using a pair of copper wires to each home, for about a century. By limiting the
frequencies carried over the lines, the telephone system can pack lots of wires into a very small space without
worrying about interference between lines. Modern equipment that sends digital rather than analog data can
safely use much more of the telephone line's capacity. DSL does just that.

A DSL internet connection is one of many effective communication tools for keeping employees in touch with
the office.

Asymmetric DSL
Most homes and small business users are connected to an asymmetric DSL (ADSL) line. ADSL divides up the
available frequencies in a line on the assumption that most Internet users look at, or download, much more
information than they send, or upload. Under this assumption, if the connection speed from the Internet to the
user is three to four times faster than the connection from the user back to the Internet, then the user will see
the most benefit most of the time.

Precisely how much benefit you see from ADSL will greatly depend on how far you are from the central office
of the company providing the ADSL service. ADSL is a distance-sensitive technology: As the connection's
length increases, the signal quality decreases and the connection speed goes down. The limit for ADSL
service is 18,000 feet (5,460 meters), though for speed and quality of service reasons many ADSL providers
place a lower limit on the distances for the service. At the extremes of the distance limits, ADSL customers
may see speeds far below the promised maximums, while customers nearer the central office have faster
connections and may see extremely high speeds in the future. ADSL technology can provide maximum
downstream (Internet to customer) speeds of up to 8 megabits per second (Mbps) at a distance of about 6,000
feet (1,820 meters), and upstream speeds of up to 640 kilobits per second (Kbps). In practice, the best speeds
widely offered today are 1.5 Mbps downstream, with upstream speeds varying between 64 and 640 Kbps.
Some vast improvements to ADSL are available in some areas through services called ASDL2 and ASDL2+.
ASDL2 increases downstream to 12 Mbps and upstream to 1 Mbps, and ASDL2+ is even better -- it improves
downstream to as much as 24 Mbps and upstream to 3 Mbps.

You might wonder -- if distance is a limitation for DSL, why is it not also a limitation for voice telephone calls?
The answer lies in small amplifiers called loading coils that the telephone company uses to boost voice signals.
Unfortunately, these loading coils are incompatible with ADSL signals, so a voice coil in the loop between your
telephone and the telephone company's central office will disqualify you from receiving ADSL. Other factors
that might disqualify you from receiving ADSL include:

 Bridge taps - These are extensions, between you and the central office, that extend service to other
customers. While you wouldn't notice these bridge taps in normal phone service, they may take the
total length of the circuit beyond the distance limits of the service provider.
  Fiber-optic cables - ADSL signals can't pass through the conversion from analog to digital and back to
analog that occurs if a portion of your telephone circuit comes through fiber-optic cables.
 Distance - Even if you know where your central office is (don't be surprised if you don't -- the telephone
companies don't advertise their locations), looking at a map is no indication of the distance a signal
must travel between your house and the office.

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Satellite Internet 101: How does it Work?

By Katie Nielsen April 06, 2015  

Satellite internet has long lagged behind its other broadband counterparts, with its slower speeds, higher
latency and sometimes, steeper costs.

Satellite internet has long lagged behind its other broadband counterparts, with its slower speeds, higher
latency and sometimes, steeper costs. For millions of people living in rural America, satellite broadband is the
only type of high-speed internet available. Despite its inherent drawbacks, it constitutes a vast improvement
over a conventional dial-up connection.
In the past few years, however, new satellite technology and more competing services have yielded better and
more reliable satellite internet. In fact, many providers now offer service packages with speeds that compete
with those offered through cable and DSL. If satellite internet is your only option for high-speed internet, here's
everything you need to know about how it works.

What Do I Need?
Satellite internet equipment is made up of three main components: a geostationary satellite in space, a satellite
dish mounted on your home and a modem that transmits internet signals from the dish to your computer.
You obtain satellite internet through a satellite broadband provider. There are only a handful of these providers
on the market, and they vary in terms of pricing, connection speeds and the service packages they offer. When
you sign up for service, you'll receive the satellite dish and required modem. Some services cover the cost of
this equipment and its installation by a service professional when you sign up for a two-year contract, while
others charge an extra activation and installation fee.

In addition to the necessary equipment, you must have a clear view of the southern sky. This is because the
satellite dish requires a clear line of sight to the geostationary satellite. In rare instances, extreme weather may
affect your signal.

It may not be the fastest internet connection in the world, but with speeds approximately ten times faster than
dial-up, satellite internet is connecting the most rural parts of the country to the World Wide Web.
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