But First…

On By John GrubbIn Email, Internet, Training
Close up of modern server room with many cables

Recently, I had an inquiry regarding delayed emails. I want to address the issue in depth. But first, I want to give everyone a simple but thorough explanation of the hardware components that make up the Internet.

Here is a fairly complete “parts list” of the Internet hardware:

  • Cable (wire)
  • Fiber Optic Cable
  • Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexers (Fiber Optic related)
  • Coaxial Cable
  • Relays
  • Switches
  • DNS Servers
  • Mail Servers
  • Authentication Servers
  • Web Servers
  • Modems
  • Routers
  • Terminals (Connectors)
  • Satellite
  • Microwave
Note #1 – On the Internet, the spot where servers, relays, switches, modems, or routers connect up is called a “node.”
Note #2 – Servers are actually computers. These devices have the same components as the computer you use: hard drives, RAM, processors, and more. How a server is configured may differ from your computer but the basic operational theory is pretty much the same
Note #3 – Servers often have one purpose. For instance, authentication servers usually just accept or deny your log-in information (user name, password) and then pass you on to a different server once you enter the correct credentials.
Note #4 – The server which changes a URL address into the IP address of a webpage is the DNS (Domain Name Server).

All the hardware components are connected together to form the Internet. How they are connected into paths and how information is sent along those paths is a whole different subject which we won’t be addressing here.

See the next post for our answer regarding delayed emails. Questions or comments? Feel free to use the comment section below.