Internet Architecture- Lecture 2

Internet Architecture
Lecture 2:How Computer Networks Send Data Across the Internet

Introduction
When you send information across the Internet, the Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) (the language computers use when communicating over the Internet) first breaks the information up into packets, smaller blocks of information that also contain a variety of data that helps the packets travel across the Internet.

The packets travel through many of networks, computers, and communication lines before they reach their final destinations.
A variety of hardware processes those packets and routes them to their proper destinations.
Five of the most important pieces of hardware are (hubs/ switch), gateways, bridges, repeaters, and routers.

Hubs, Switches, Bridges
Hubs/ Switches are important because they link groups of computers to one another and let computers communicate with each other.
Bridges link local area networks (LANs) with one another. They enable data destined for another LAN to be sent there, while keeping local data inside its own network.

Repeaters
When data travels across the Internet, it often crosses great distances, which can be a problem because the signal sending the data can weaken over the distance. To solve the problem, repeaters amplify the data at intervals so the signal doesn t weaken.