Data packets in layman’s terms
Introduction
Packets are the basic units of communication over a TCP/IP network. The data sent over the TCP connection is broken up into small groups that are termed packets. Each packet contains a small amount of data and other important information, such as the packet’s destination. The packets then travel through the network and reach their final destination. Only bits, Os and 1s, travel over media (If you are unaware about bits and bytes, here is a good resource).
Let’s break the above process down into very simple terms. Imagine a packet as a wallet that has money. The money becomes the data, and the wallet becomes the packet. When you keep your wallet in your cupboard, the cupboard becomes the final destination, and the initial destination is where you kept the wallet previously (might be your pockets). In this case, your hand becomes the network through which the wallet (packet) is transferred from your pocket (initial destination) to the cupboard (final destination).
Now imagine you have 20 notes of $100, and you are going to the bank to deposit that money. That won’t be fitting into one wallet; hence you require two of them. In this case, you have two packets (two wallets). When you reach the bank, you take out both the wallets (packets) from your pocket (initial destination) and remove the money (data) to deposit in the bank (final destination). This is how packets work. When a request is sent, the body of the request is divided into different packets. These packets are then sent over the network and soon are received by the server.
Additional information
The process of grouping this data and sending it over to a server through a network is called Packet Switching. Through this process, data transfer becomes efficient. Now there are types of packet switching, but I won’t be discussing it in this article, since this article was all about data packets!
Note: The packets can reach the final destination via different routes.
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