What happens when you type google.com in your browser and press Enter

My comprehensive guide on what happens when you type "**google.com**" into your browser. The guide covers a range of technical aspects including DNS requests, TCP/IP, firewalls, HTTPS/SSL, load-balancers, web servers, application servers, and databases. I believe this guide will be a valuable addition to the "What Happens When" project, and I am excited to contribute to the community.

The link to my contribution can be found below:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-happens-when-you-type-googlecom-your-browser-press-natan-abera/

When you type https://www.google.com/ in your browser and hit enter, a lot of things happen in the background before you see the Google homepage. In this blog post, we will explain the process in simple terms so that even newbies can understand it.

> **DNS Request**

The first thing that happens is a DNS request. DNS stands for Domain Name System, which translates human-readable domain names like google.com into IP addresses, which computers can understand. Your computer sends a request to the DNS server to resolve the IP address of [www.google.com](http://www.google.com/).

> **TCP/IP**

Once the IP address is resolved, your computer initiates a TCP/IP connection to the server at that IP address. TCP stands for Transmission Control Protocol, and IP stands for Internet Protocol. Together, they form the backbone of the Internet and are responsible for delivering data between computers.

> **Firewall**

Before the connection is established, the server's firewall checks to ensure that the request is legitimate and not harmful. The firewall is a security measure that protects the server from unauthorized access and attacks.

> **HTTPS/SSL**

Assuming the request passes through the firewall, the connection is secured using HTTPS/SSL. HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, and SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer. It ensures that the data exchanged between your computer and the server is encrypted and cannot be intercepted by anyone else.

> **Load-Balancer**

The request is then passed to a load-balancer, which is responsible for distributing incoming traffic across multiple servers. This helps to ensure that no single server is overwhelmed and that the website remains available to users.

> **Web Server**

The request is then passed to a web server, which is responsible for serving the web pages. The web server retrieves the necessary files from the server's storage and generates an HTML page that is sent back to your browser.

> **Application Server**

The HTML page may contain dynamic content that needs to be generated on the fly. In such cases, the request is passed to an application server, which is responsible for processing the request and generating the content.

> **Database**

If the application server needs to retrieve data from a database, it sends a request to the database server. The database server retrieves the data and sends it back to the application server, which generates the necessary content.
Finally, the content is sent back to the web server, which sends it back to your browser, and you see the Google homepage!

In conclusion, typing https://www.google.com/ in your browser and hitting enter may seem like a simple task, but it involves a complex series of steps that happen in the background. Understanding how these steps work can help you troubleshoot issues when things go wrong and appreciate the magic of the Internet.