How the Internet Works in the World
How the Internet Works in the World
Intro — The internet is a network of networks.
At a global scale the Internet is made of physical cables, routers, data centers, and agreements between providers (ISPs, backbone operators, IXPs). Traffic flows across fiber (including submarine cables under the oceans), is switched and routed in data centers and exchange points, and is moved according to routing protocols like BGP. The Hurricane Electric 3D Network Map shows many of these elements visually on a globe — data centers, backbone circuits, and submarine cables — which makes it a perfect explorer for anyone wanting to see how the physical Internet is laid out. he.net
What you can explore on the HE 3D Map
When you open the HE 3D map you’ll find interactive toggles and layers including:
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HE On-net data centers — places Hurricane Electric has presence (points on the globe). he.net
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Other data centers — third-party facilities where networks colocate. he.net
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HE backbone circuits — lines representing backbone links between locations. he.net
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Submarine cables — undersea fiber routes that connect continents. he.net
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View toggles (labels, animation, different visual effects) and a guided “HE On-net tour” that jumps around important HE locations. he.net
A concise explanation of how data travels
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Client → Local ISP: Your device sends packets to your local ISP (home router or mobile network).
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Transit & Peering: The ISP either hands traffic to a larger backbone provider or exchanges traffic directly with the destination network via an Internet Exchange Point (IXP).
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Backbone & Submarine Cables: For long distances (between cities/continents) traffic traverses backbone circuits and submarine cables. These are the high-capacity fiber routes you can visually inspect on the HE map. he.net
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Data Centers & CDNs: Many services live in data centers and CDN nodes; content can be served from a nearby edge location to reduce latency.
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Routing & DNS: BGP decides the path that packets take across autonomous systems; DNS resolves human domains to IP addresses before connections start.
How to explore the HE 3D Map (quick guide)
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Turn on/off layers (Data centers, Submarine cables, Circuits) using the toggles in the map UI. he.net
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Use Zoom In / Zoom Out to inspect a region or a single cable landing. he.net
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Try the HE On-net Tour to jump between major points and observe how a backbone connects multiple regions. he.net
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Turn on Labels and Pop animations to read details about particular cables or locations. he.net
