From address to page
- Find the address. DNS resolves the hostname to network information the browser can use to reach the service.
- Send the request. The browser uses HTTP or HTTPS to request a resource such as
index.html. - Load the page. The browser receives the HTML and requests the referenced CSS, JavaScript and other assets.
A simple analogy
DNS is like a directory that helps you find an address. The network carries your message. The web server or hosting platform sends the requested page back.
Latency and bandwidth
Latency is delay: how long communication takes. Bandwidth is capacity: how much data a connection can carry per unit of time. A connection can have high bandwidth and still have noticeable delay.
What do CDNs and load balancers do?
A content delivery network (CDN) can cache content at locations closer to visitors, reducing the distance some requests travel.
A load balancer distributes requests across available backends. It helps multiple application servers share the work.
Check your understanding: does more bandwidth always mean less latency?
No. Increasing capacity helps transfer more data, but propagation distance, routing and other delays still affect latency.