Behind the Scene of Google.com
Have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes when you type google.com on your browser and press enter? If you have and never found out I am here to offer an explanation
When you type google.com into your browser and press enter, your browser sends a request to a DNS server to check what is the IP address of google.com. The DNS server in turn responds by sending the IP address of the server that hosts google.com’s website. The browser then goes on to establish a TCP connection with the server whose IP address has been sent by the DNS server. TCP allows for the establishment of a reliable connection between the server and the client while IP allows for the routing of data. The TCP connection passes through a firewall which is a security system in the network that keeps an eye on incoming and outgoing network traffic based on preset security rules.
The Google website likely uses a HTTPS protocol which tends to be more secure than its predecessor HTTP as it encrypts the data that is transmitted. The use of HTTPS protocol requires a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)handshake to happen between the server and the browser. This is crucial in the verification of the legitimacy of the website while also allowing for encryption of the connection between the browser and the server.
The incoming traffic request is passed through a load balancer. The load balancer is responsible for distributing incoming network traffic across multiple servers, preventing a single server from being overwhelmed by requests. This further allows for greater reliability, availability, and scalability.
Once the SSL handshake has taken place, the browser sends a HTTP request to the web server requesting the content of the webpage. The web server is responsible for responding to HTTP requests, with a HTTP response that displays the content of the page including the HTML, CSS, assets, and Javascript of the webpage. In the case of google.com, this is minimal considering the sparse nature of Google’s home page.
Requests are passed on to an application server, which is crucial in running code and generating the contents of the web page requested. This is also where a database plays a role as information for the webpage may be retrieved or stored in it.
This all ends with the requested URL “google.com” being displayed on your web browser.
While this process takes a fraction of a second, a lot definitely goes on behind the scenes.