0.1 Seconds Under the Sea
Contents › Chapter 4 A Data Center in the US
The server answers
The computer that got the request splits the video into small boxes and sends them
View in 3DOne blinking server
Among the many computers, the light on one of them blinks. This is the server, the computer that stores and sends the video. It takes the beginning of the video and splits it into thousands of small boxes. Then it puts a number and the delivery address (your phone) on each box.
Why?Imagine mailing a thick book one page at a time. If the pages are numbered, the person who gets them can put them back in order. And if one page goes missing, they only need to ask for that page again.
Learn moreOne box holds only about 1,500 letters of data. These boxes are called "packets." A video is not kept on just one server. It is copied onto several servers, so if one breaks, another one sends it instead.
- Time
- 53 ms → 56 ms
Simplified route · light in glass at about 200,000 km per second
View this scene in 3D →Read more
Wikipedia: Network packet · Wikipedia: Maximum transmission unit
More in the series
Times are simplified values, calculated from a simplified route (Busan → south of Japan → Pacific → Oregon, about 9,200 km) and the speed of light in glass (about 200,000 km per second). Real times vary with the carrier, the route and traffic.