Mission Tech · Interactive Course · No terminal

Signal Path I: Browser to Server

Follow the path from browser to server. DNS, TCP, NAT, routing, Ethernet. Six regions, one mission at a time.

The interactive edition of How Networks Work, Acts 1 and 2. Same material, played instead of read.

Before the path

One request. Four layers.

Every stop ahead works at one of these layers of the network stack. The stack is how the internet is organized: lower layers move bits, higher layers give them meaning.

  • L7 · ApplicationWhat the bytes mean. DNS and HTTP both live here.
  • L4 · TransportTCP keeps bytes in order between two endpoints.
  • L3 · NetworkIP addresses and routing between networks. Routing and NAT live here.
  • L2 · LinkMAC addresses on your local network. ARP lives here.
Relics
Path
Field Log
Relic Unlocked