What is the Internet?
Computer Science: OCR A Level, topic 3.3.6
What is the Internet?
The Internet is a worldwide collection of computer networks (a network of networks).
Internet Protocol (IP)
- The Internet Protocol (IP) is a set of rules that make sure that devices can work together on the Internet.
- Every computer is assigned an IP address that is used to send and receive data from other devices.
Packet switching
- Packet switching is the process by which data is transmitted on the Internet.
- Data is split into small 'packets' which are then sent out across the network.
- Routers are essential to the internet because they pass the data packets between the interconnected networks.
Internet traffic
- There are a lot of different types of traffic on the Internet.
- Each type of traffic corresponds to a different type of application. For example:
- World Wide Web (WWW) traffic.
- Email traffic.
- Multiplayer game traffic.
- Video streaming traffic.
Test yourself on What is the Internet?
What is the Internet Protocol (IP)?
What types of traffic are sent over the Internet?