Every explanation, in one place.
A library of short networking explanations, each one built around a single question. Start with a topic, or work down from the newest.
-
What Happens When You Play a Game Online? (It Throws Your Data Away)
For live traffic, late is worse than missing. UDP is built entirely around that idea.
-
What Happens When Your Whole House Is Online at Once? (The Internet Only Sees One of You)
Every device in the house has an address. The internet only ever sees one of them.
-
What Happens When You Hit Print? (The Box In The Cupboard Taught Itself)
The box in the cupboard was switched on knowing nothing about the room. It learned the lot by eavesdropping.
-
How Does the Internet Find Its Way With No Map? (hint: There Is No Internet)
There is no single network called the internet, and no map of it anywhere. BGP is how the pieces agree on where things are.
-
What Does 255.255.255.0 Actually Do? (It’s Been Hiding in Plain Sight for Years)
The number sitting in every device’s settings that nobody looks at, and the single decision it makes.
-
Why Won’t These Two Computers Talk? (For Once, It’s Not DNS)
Same switch, same room, no connection — and nothing is broken. One switch pretending to be several.
-
What Happens When You Hit Send? (Your Download Is Faking It)
The network loses things, duplicates them and delivers them out of order. TCP is what makes it look like a clean pipe.
-
What Happens When You Hit Enter? (It’s Always DNS)
Your computer has no idea where a website is. DNS is the system that finds out, in the gap between your keystroke and the page.
Stick Figure Internet 