How the Internet Really Works (Updated)

• This class provides an overview of the organizations and technologies that make the Internet work.
• The primary technologies covered in this class are DNS, routing, and physical transport.
• The primary organizations covered in this class are transit providers, access providers, exchanges, registrars, name and numbering authorities, and standards bodies.
• This class covers the primary financial motivators for each organization.

From technologists to business leaders, few have a “big picture” understanding of how the Internet is put together. Often this is because the Internet is composed of so many different systems, each of which is deeply complex, so it is easy to specialize in “one part of the Internet,” and it is hard to learn about the other parts without diving into many details. This class de-mystifies the overall structure and “moving parts” of the global Internet. The class begins with a user connecting to a web site, and the process of translating the name of the service the user is seeking to a logical location (a server) where the service is actually located. From there, the path of the packets between the user and the server is traced, exposing each of the different kinds of providers that carry the packet along the way.

Finally, the standards organizations and authorities that hold the “shared dictionary” of how this should all work are considered. Attendees will be provided with a set of optional after class exercises that help deepen their understanding of and navigate the various systems discussed in the class.