How Does The Internet Work?
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Hello everyone. I've been trying understand how the internet works but the more I read, the more confused I get. I've read that today, everything is connected by wires. That's basically how we're interconnected. My question, if it is in fact all wires, then why does the internet not work when it rains? I'm referring to wired connections here and not wireless. If the connection is achieved through fibre optics, DSL cables, coaxial cables, then why does it fail during rain? I would like to learn how the internet truly works and some resources would be helpful. I've tried looking for books on this topic but I can't find anything.
| My question, if it is in fact all wires, then why does the internet not work when it rains? |
Plus, even if all Internet routers and nodes were connected with each other wirelessly, Internet outages caused by water would still be possible, since those computers would still run on electricity.
What do you mean by "how does the Internet work"? The Internet is a large a complex system, but in broad strokes:
Definition 1: Two separate computers able to pass messages (regardless of the nature of those messages of the medium used to deliver them) between each other are connected by a network segment. A network segment could be for example a person carrying a USB drive back and forth, or it could be a carrier pigeon delivering pieces of paper between distant nodes (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_over_Avian_Carriers ).
Definition 2: If computer A has one or more network segments between itself and computers B and C, then A, B, and C form a network.
Definition 3: Routing is a mechanism that allows delivery of a message from one computer to another when those computers are not directly connected by a network segment.
The Internet is simply a specific large network. All services typically associated with the Internet (WWW, email, IRC, etc.) are build on top of this basic infrastructure, but there's nothing inherently special about it, other than its size.
@Helios - I would like to learn all about the internet, inclusive of backend infrastructure, that is what I mean when I ask "how does the internet work?".
Electrical system can be disrupted by water but if it's surrounded by a safe enclosure, that should not be a problem. Satellite networks may get disturbed during rain but the same wouldn't be applicable to wired connections which act somewhat as a direct connection. I may not good at analogies but someone wearing a raincoat or with an umbrella would be comfortable walking in rain whereas a person without anything to protect him from the rain will seek shelter.
Electrical system can be disrupted by water but if it's surrounded by a safe enclosure, that should not be a problem. Satellite networks may get disturbed during rain but the same wouldn't be applicable to wired connections which act somewhat as a direct connection. I may not good at analogies but someone wearing a raincoat or with an umbrella would be comfortable walking in rain whereas a person without anything to protect him from the rain will seek shelter.
| Electrical system can be disrupted by water but if it's surrounded by a safe enclosure, that should not be a problem. |
Only lengths of cable can get fairly good insulation, because cables don't require maintenance or modification. As soon as you need to plug that cable into something, you have to have a connector, and connectors are necessarily electrically conductive, and thus they can be shorted out by water.
| I would like to learn all about the internet, inclusive of backend infrastructure |
Then you should be well on your way to completely understanding how the Internet works, all the way down to the copper.
The internet is what we call a connection between computers. This connection allows for wired/wireless data transfer.
To have the internet be the internet as we know it now, all computers that want access to the internet have to be connected with each other. What internet companies will do is host servers which allow data transfer from computers. No computer is DIRECTLY connected to other computers anymore, obviously. Instead, now companies, like Google, will have their own servers (not for internet but for handling high traffic and data loads) that are connected with the internet. Google's search engine is hosted on their server which is connected to the internet servers. What is accessible on the internet are the things you normally would use, like youtube or other websites and such. You could try to connect with a computer, but the operating system likely would stop you! The main use for internet is to connect to websites or send data. The internet, as it is now, is a band of computers coming together to be able to access data found on other servers (websites) through internet servers.
When data is sent through the internet, it is sent from your computer to your internet providers server, then to the destination. However, if you use COX, you can still talk with a computer that uses Century Link. This is because all these companies have their servers connected with each other, or at least I'm pretty sure that's why.
NOW - about your rain concern. Rain wouldn't disrupt this normally, whether wired or wireless. Understand, that something may happen with the servers in such conditions, who knows - perhaps the servers are in run down shacks. But, the rain itself falling from the clouds is not something that would disrupt this process.
If I gave wrong information, sorry in advanced, feel free to correct me - its been a while since I've read about this stuff.
To have the internet be the internet as we know it now, all computers that want access to the internet have to be connected with each other. What internet companies will do is host servers which allow data transfer from computers. No computer is DIRECTLY connected to other computers anymore, obviously. Instead, now companies, like Google, will have their own servers (not for internet but for handling high traffic and data loads) that are connected with the internet. Google's search engine is hosted on their server which is connected to the internet servers. What is accessible on the internet are the things you normally would use, like youtube or other websites and such. You could try to connect with a computer, but the operating system likely would stop you! The main use for internet is to connect to websites or send data. The internet, as it is now, is a band of computers coming together to be able to access data found on other servers (websites) through internet servers.
When data is sent through the internet, it is sent from your computer to your internet providers server, then to the destination. However, if you use COX, you can still talk with a computer that uses Century Link. This is because all these companies have their servers connected with each other, or at least I'm pretty sure that's why.
NOW - about your rain concern. Rain wouldn't disrupt this normally, whether wired or wireless. Understand, that something may happen with the servers in such conditions, who knows - perhaps the servers are in run down shacks. But, the rain itself falling from the clouds is not something that would disrupt this process.
If I gave wrong information, sorry in advanced, feel free to correct me - its been a while since I've read about this stuff.
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| To have the internet be the internet [...] through internet servers. |
| When data is sent through the internet, it is sent from your computer to your internet providers server |
| then to the destination. |
| However, if you use COX, you can still talk with a computer that uses Century Link. |
What some ISPs do however, and this is possible regardless of the physical protocol, is put their customers behind a NAT router, which is itself connected to the Internet. What this means is that while these customers are able to access websites and open client connections to the outside, they can't listen for incoming connections from the Internet, because the ISP's NAT will not forward incoming request to customers. I a way, it could be said that those customers are not really connected to the Internet.
@ OP: Start from the ground, the most basic abstract concept of the internet, and really any telco system, is best illustrated with the OSI model: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OSI_model . Everything from the World wide web, to an inter-office network to your home network can be scaled to this model. Don't worry about specifics just yet, those only matter in direct practical application.
In practice, PC's don't talk directly to each other anymore. It's more accurate to say that modems talk to each other on behalf of the devices on their network. Routers direct traffic based on the addressing or "routing information" contained in the individual packets.
As for why it cuts our when it rains? The last contractor I talked to was telling me that Spectrum Cable (thank god they are getting kicked out) paid him about $40 to drive from Buffalo NY to one of my satellite offices Pittsford NY to trench and install a coaxial cable and provision the modem. So that probably has something to do with it.
In practice, PC's don't talk directly to each other anymore. It's more accurate to say that modems talk to each other on behalf of the devices on their network. Routers direct traffic based on the addressing or "routing information" contained in the individual packets.
As for why it cuts our when it rains? The last contractor I talked to was telling me that Spectrum Cable (thank god they are getting kicked out) paid him about $40 to drive from Buffalo NY to one of my satellite offices Pittsford NY to trench and install a coaxial cable and provision the modem. So that probably has something to do with it.
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@helios - Thanks for correcting me. I don't even know what I was typing - it was 3am, I must have been completely out of it.
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Thank you everyone for your input.
@COmputergeek01 Thank you for the link, it's very helpful to learn about the basic means of operation.
@Helios - The internet does stop working when it rain. I'm not referring to when it drizzles. I spoke to my ISP and he said that during heavy rain and stormy weather, they intentionally cut the connection to prevent any shorts from happening. But the speed plummets down to a quarter even during medium rainfall. Speed reduction is what I mean when I say that the internet stops to work. If you'd do a search, you'll find many people complaining about the same issue, to their respective service provider.
Regardless of whether it happens to others or not, I'll still stipulate to that it happens with me. It's not limited to my wired connection but also my wireless mobile service.
True but if the wires were to short, they'd have to replace the whole thing but such is not the case as the rain slows down, I get the speed back. And I know that it stops working because my PlayStation prompts me of it and disconnects me. It certainly is annoying at times and since it's monsoon, it's a very frequent occurrence.
My point was not to start a debate but to learn why it happens and perhaps learn how the internet we know today, came to be.
@COmputergeek01 Thank you for the link, it's very helpful to learn about the basic means of operation.
@Helios - The internet does stop working when it rain. I'm not referring to when it drizzles. I spoke to my ISP and he said that during heavy rain and stormy weather, they intentionally cut the connection to prevent any shorts from happening. But the speed plummets down to a quarter even during medium rainfall. Speed reduction is what I mean when I say that the internet stops to work. If you'd do a search, you'll find many people complaining about the same issue, to their respective service provider.
Regardless of whether it happens to others or not, I'll still stipulate to that it happens with me. It's not limited to my wired connection but also my wireless mobile service.
| Only lengths of cable can get fairly good insulation, because cables don't require maintenance or modification. As soon as you need to plug that cable into something, you have to have a connector, and connectors are necessarily electrically conductive, and thus they can be shorted out by water. |
True but if the wires were to short, they'd have to replace the whole thing but such is not the case as the rain slows down, I get the speed back. And I know that it stops working because my PlayStation prompts me of it and disconnects me. It certainly is annoying at times and since it's monsoon, it's a very frequent occurrence.
My point was not to start a debate but to learn why it happens and perhaps learn how the internet we know today, came to be.
closed account (E0p9LyTq)
| The internet does stop working when it rain. |
That is the fault of your ISP, not the internet.
Rain or shine my internet works where I live.
| @Helios - The internet does stop working when it rain. |
| True but if the wires were to short, they'd have to replace the whole thing but such is not the case as the rain slows down, I get the speed back. |
Whether it's wired or wireless makes no difference, because the Internet as a whole runs primarily on wires (some are fiber optic, some are copper), so even a wireless connection depends on wired stations to work.
| My point was not to start a debate but to learn why it happens |
| Whether it's wired or wireless makes no difference, because the Internet as a whole runs primarily on wires (some are fiber optic, some are copper), so even a wireless connection depends on wired stations to work. |
I'm only separating the two because I'm considering that heavy rain or lots of water might make it harder for the waves to travel. I'm basing it on what I know about refraction but I yet have to learn a lot about communication systems.
| You already know why it happens, though. Your ISP told you. They cut the connection to prevent water from damaging their systems. Do you not believe this answer? |
I do believe him but like aforementioned, I don't understand why the significant drop in mobile connections happen. My broadband (the mere ambiguity of this term may cause confusion but I'm referring to my wired, fibre-optic connection) service provider is not as rich as the corporates that lease line to him, they are probably among the top-tier ISPs. Mobile services are provided by such service providers, take AT&T for example. If they don't, then they should have better infrastructure.
While doing my own research several days ago, I came across a post where someone was facing the same issue as me despite having a Fios connection, almost 1 Gbps.
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Radio waves are not affected by atmospheric water. If they were, they would be unusable for long-range communication inside the atmosphere, since two participants would require good weather not just at their respective locations, but also along a straight line between them.
@Helios - It is affected by weather - https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7321587/ - paid.
Alternatively - http://www.tpub.com/neets/book10/40j.htm - this is not a scientific published paper but sheds some light on affect of weather on radio waves.
Alternatively - http://www.tpub.com/neets/book10/40j.htm - this is not a scientific published paper but sheds some light on affect of weather on radio waves.
closed account (E0p9LyTq)
| My point was not to start a debate but to learn why it happens |
Yet when someone tries to help you learn you argue they are wrong.
| Yet when someone tries to help you learn you argue they are wrong. |
No, when they are wrong, they are wrong, which is not decided by me but the support of evidences. And the very foundation of accuracy is to go through a labyrinth of discussion before landing on a conclusion or acceptance of a norm. And just because you've never seen it rain living things doesn't mean that it never happens. Similarly, just because your internet doesn't slow down during rainfall it doesn't mean that it's untrue. And your contributions to this thread is truly worthless.
And as far as it goes for the understanding of internet, I don't think any single individual today understands how exactly the internet works. Even the professionally written articles don't ever mention ICANN and what they do despite their designation is of high priority.
It sounds like you already know more than all of us, therefore you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by going away.
closed account (E0p9LyTq)
Such arrogance and stupidity from you, RCPP.
You think you know so much. Time to go elsewhere then.
You think you know so much. Time to go elsewhere then.
| Radio waves are not affected by atmospheric water |
RCPP, your bad service in the rain is probably because your server is using satellite or microwave technology to transmit the data at some point. There was a time when microwave was VERY common for telecom. The signal gets attenuated by the rain.
A great introduction to the internet at a low level is TCP/IP Illustrated Volume 1:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0201633469/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1
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