Mapping the Internet

Go back to the diagram of the Internet in the Peter Packet Game and take a good look at it. You can get there quickly by heading to Tech World and selecting "How the Internet Works."

Then check out the Internet diagram on "How Stuff Works".

Take a blank piece of 8.5" * 11" paper and think of it as the entire Internet. Put about 4 symbols on your paper indicating servers. Space them separately so that there is room between each server. Make each of these four servers a different color.

Think of some servers you visit for your homework or just for fun. Label your servers with these names. You might, for example, put in the Smithsonian server, the National Geographic server, the National Football League server, the Peter Packet server; and so on.

Now imagine what computers and servers (you know that servers are simply computers anyway) might be connected to each of these servers. For example, the main Smithsonian server may be connected to the Air & Space Museum servers and computers as well as to all of the other Smithsonian Museums and their computers. Think of what team servers would be connected to the National Football League server. Then imagine what other servers or individual computers might be connected to each team. You don't have to get this detailed on your paper, for it can all get very complicated. But you get the idea.

Now on your paper arrange some computers/servers around each of your 4 original servers with lines connecting them to the original server. Make the connected computers/servers the same color as the server they are connected to. For example, if one of your original servers was the National Football League and you made it blue, then computers/servers from the Washington Redskins, the Oakland Raiders, the Baltimore Ravens, the Dallas Cowboys, and any other teams you included would be blue and would be connected by a line to the National Football League server.

Give your diagram a title and be sure to label the servers and computers on your paper. Connect the servers on your paper to each other.

That's it. You've created your own Internet.

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