This session will introduce three topics about how the Internet works, and the governance of the technical and operational layer of the Internet.

Topics and speakers:

• Introduction to the Internet, origins and a little history (Adam Peake, ICANN)
• Routing, IP address and how traffic flows across the Internet (Marco Hogewoning, RIPE NCC)
• The Domain Name System (DNS), how it works (Peter Van Roste, CENTR)

Adam Peake will begin the session by taking a look at the origins of the Internet, its fundamental principles and how hundreds of thousands of autonomous networks around the world come together to form the global Internet. 

Marco Hogewoning will take you through what exactly is an IP address, what does it mean, and how do your data packets find their way to their destination?

Peter Van Roste will tell the final part of this story taking us to the layer that we are all familiar with: the domain name system. Domain names help us to remember websites and email addresses. But how does it work? Who controls it? And why would you care about this? We’ll take you on a journey that explain this vital part of the internet ecosystem and illustrate its importance with examples of fundamental policy issues.

And we will keep time for your questions and comments.

Looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday, November 3, 2020!