This session is intended to be part of the Youth Track proposed for the 2020 IGF, it will introduce the technical operations of the Internet, discussing topics such as Domain Name System (DNS) resolution, routing, IP addresses, and a brief overview of Internet technical operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The session will introduce the technical operations of the Internet, discussing topics such as Domain Name System (DNS) resolution, routing, IP addresses, and a brief overview of Internet technical operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Speakers will describe how these technical operations are relevant for the on-going digital policy and governance initiatives. The session will be presented by three technical actors within Internet infrastructure.
From visiting a website to sending an email, this session will take a step-by-step approach in explaining what happens behind the scenes: How does your computer know where to find that website and how does your data end up at the correct destination? But even more importantly, during the global pandemic when we have all relied so intensely on the Internet, how has the global network of network successfully responded to the demands we've made of it.
Establishing a common understanding on the basic mechanisms of DNS and routing, the session will also cover some scenarios like changing your DNS or deploying technologies such as DNS-over-HTTPS. We will explain how deploying these changes will alter the technical space and the way your data travels across the Internet.
Using the concrete examples we will discuss the interactions between policy and technology: how changes on one side influences the other and limitations that may exist in either the technological capabilities or the political landscape.
The event will include a substantive Q&A session following the presentations by the technical speakers.
