Assalamu Alaikum!
Welcome back!
Today, my topic is about IP address, transmitting data and packets in computing.
But at first, check my other blogs (yes, I call them blogs, if you don't, IDC):
https://samaraislamsaarah.blogspot.com/2024/11/cellular-network-comparing-different.html
https://samaraislamsaarah.blogspot.com/2024/11/network-hardware.html
https://samaraislamsaarah.blogspot.com/2024/11/the-world-of-technology.html
(If they don't work, just copy paste them in the search bar)
So, let's start!
Let's begin with IP address.
We already know that we can use the internet to send data between devices of the whole world, right? But then how does a device know which device to send data to? It might send it to any device!!!
The answer of this problem is IP (Internet Protocol) address system.
An IP address is a set of numbers. These numbers tell the computer the destination the destination to go to and get data from or send data to. These addresses are usually generated by a program on a computer automatically.
Think of posting letters to different houses. You have to write the address of the person who you want to send the letter to on the envelope, right?! That is how IP address works. Now did you get it? Hope you did!
Fun fact! There are 2 types of IP addresses. IP4 is the older version - it started running out of addresses! So, a new one called IP6 was created. This one has almost unlimited addresses.
Now, let's come to transmitting data and packets.
When we send data across the Internet, it can use different routes to get the same destination. Some will them are quick, short routes while the others might be long, far routes.
But what is the way to do it???
Before data is sent to the device, it is split into packets. These packets are the topic which we are going to discuss about now.
Packets are small chunks of data that are usually all the same size.
Let's take an example.
Imagine you want to give a message to your friend, whose name is Layla.
When you send the message, it's split into packets.
In this example, the message is divided into three parts, with each packet having 9 characters. The number of characters may be different everywhere.
THIS IS A - 1 packet
MESSAGE - 1 packet
FOR LAYLA - 1 packet
Each packet has the IP address of the sender and the receiver. So, if the packets get lost, the device knows where to request for the missing packet. It goes like this:
Sent from: (Y/N), Sent to: Layla, Packet data: THIS IS A
Sent from: (Y/N), Sent to: Layla, Packet data: MESSAGE
Sent from: (Y/N), Sent to: Layla, Packet data: FOR LAYLA
When packets arrive at their destination, they might be in the wrong order. Because each packet might take different routes so they will arrive at different times.
But to easily solve the problem, the packets contain info about the order in which they should assemble themselves in front of you. They use this to arrange themselves properly when the message is formed. When all the packets are assembled, the receiver can see the data.
As well as the data being sent, the packets contain info like the IP address of the sender, the receiver and the number of packets that's being sent.
Now, let's talk about the advantages and disadvantages of packets.
Advantages:
✅ Smaller packets are less likely to get delayed by the network.
✅ Packets do not take much bandwidth, so they can be sent along a greater variety of connections.
✅ If a packet is lost, a device only needs to send a small bit of data.
Disadvantages:
❌ Extra info in packets means you are using more data in total to send something.
❌ You need all the packets to arrive before reading the data.
❌ The system might be complex as the packets use different routes.
Now, let's talk about a thing that might be very common in sending data by packets:
WHAT SHOULD WE DO IF A PACKET IS LOST AND CAN'T FIND THEIR WAY TO THE RECEIVING DEVICE???
You don't have to sweat your forehead about that. The receiving device will send a message for the lost packet or packets. Then, all you have to do is to send the packet again.
Now, let's do a sneak peek at accessing websites...
A website is stored in a web server. Web servers store all of the pages for a website and the IP addresses of the websites.
To access a web server using the Internet, you type a web address into your web browser. (Another name for web address is URL, or Uniform Resource Locator). Then your web browser connects with the web server using the Internet. The URL is converted to an IP address. The address tells the web browser where the website is stored. The web server confirms that the web page is there and then, all is done.
So, that's all for today! Hope this was useful in any way. If you have any queries or questions, feel free to comment and I will try my best to answer!
Assalamu Alaikum!
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