how does the internat span continents?
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how does the internat span continents?
OK, I understand how the internet works and I know how data gets from the east coast to me on the west coast... but how the hell does it make it from other continents here? satellite? I've always wondered this. 
fiber... overseas...
eg: http://spectral.mscs.mu.edu/NetworksCla ... ccable.htm.
The problem with satellite is the high latency... (takes 'ages' to reach that geostationary satellite and then travel back to it's destination... )
eg: http://spectral.mscs.mu.edu/NetworksCla ... ccable.htm.
The problem with satellite is the high latency... (takes 'ages' to reach that geostationary satellite and then travel back to it's destination... )
Last edited by timvw on Wed Dec 27, 2006 4:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
- RobertGonzalez
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- jayshields
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I wouldn't say I always wondered the same, but I presumed it was satellite and thought nothing of it. You're serious with the ships/cables Everah?
What happens in years time when the cables need to be upgraded?!
What happens if suddenly the cable stops working? They gotta find a cut in the cable that spans the entire ocean? Or just put a new one down?!
What happens in years time when the cables need to be upgraded?!
What happens if suddenly the cable stops working? They gotta find a cut in the cable that spans the entire ocean? Or just put a new one down?!
- feyd
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The cable they use is extremely thick. In comparison the thickness (and quantity) of the fibers inside the cable used for transmissions is extremely small. In the 70's there was, if memory serves, three filament strands of fiber in a four to five inch diameter cable. The filaments each had a diameter of less than a millimeter. The existing cables carry more strands and are thicker today. The ships running the cables are in operation 24 hours a day, every single day of the year laying new wire.
The actual chance of the wire breaking is fairly minimal. Even if it does, there are redundancies in place now that will shift traffic to alternate routes, so the real effect would be some lost packets and slightly longer lag between, but not much else. The cables they are laying now may be the foundational stuff for Internet2 however. I can't remember when they planned the pushes to expand it.
The actual chance of the wire breaking is fairly minimal. Even if it does, there are redundancies in place now that will shift traffic to alternate routes, so the real effect would be some lost packets and slightly longer lag between, but not much else. The cables they are laying now may be the foundational stuff for Internet2 however. I can't remember when they planned the pushes to expand it.
- Chris Corbyn
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Or if there is an earth quake, severing the underwater cables - as happened in Taiwan, disconnecting 98% of the internet capable population from the rest of the globe:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/27 ... ke_taiwan/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/27 ... ke_taiwan/
- RobertGonzalez
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As can be gleaned from the posts between yours and this one, yes, I was serious. I remember seeing images of it. It was amazing, and at the same time totally logic to me.jayshields wrote:I wouldn't say I always wondered the same, but I presumed it was satellite and thought nothing of it. You're serious with the ships/cables Everah?
Well this is fascinating. I want to see some images of this... off to google land! 
found this... http://www.cybergeography.org/atlas/alcatel_large.gif
found this... http://www.cybergeography.org/atlas/alcatel_large.gif