the.com/packet
A sentence your data was chopped into so the internet could stop caring if you existed.
means A small bundle of data with a bit of addressing information attached, sent as one of many fragments that get reassembled at their destination.
from From French 'paquet', a diminutive of 'pacque' or 'pack' — itself borrowed from the Low Countries word for a bundle tied up for carrying. English picked it up in the 16th century for small parcels, especially mail bundles shipped by 'packet boats.' Computer scientists in the mid-20th century borrowed the same homely image — a thing wrapped up and sent on its way, trusting it'll arrive and be unwrapped correctly at the other end.
- typical size
- 1500 bytes, the Ethernet MTU default
- contains
- header with addresses plus the actual payload
- routing truth
- each packet can take a different path
- reassembly
- destination reorders them before you see anything