The entire journey: https://panel.exampleapp.net

🧠 Step 0: Human Intent

You type:
https://panel.exampleapp.net

That’s a human-readable name — it needs to be translated to numbers (an IP address) to go anywhere.

📡 Step 1: The “Radio Ping” – Network Stack Fires Up

Your device doesn’t yet know where this domain lives.

So it checks:

• 🔍 Is this in my local cache?

• ❌ Nope? Ask the next source.

Your OS builds a DNS query → wraps it in a UDP packet → and sends it via your network interface card (NIC) out into your default gateway.

This is like sending a radio signal from your laptop to your ISP’s first router, asking:

"Hey, where is panel.exampleapp.net?"

🌐 Step 2: Recursive Resolver – “The Station Directory Booth”

Your request reaches your ISP’s DNS resolver.

This resolver is a smart guide that builds the path from scratch if needed:

1. 🧭 It checks if it has the answer cached.

2. ❌ If not, it starts walking the root DNS chain:

   • Ask the root server: "Where are the .net nameservers?"

   • Ask the .net nameservers: "Where are exampleapp.net nameservers?"

   • Ask the exampleapp.net nameservers: "What’s the IP for panel.exampleapp.net?"

Each one answers and redirects to the next — like changing trains at different global terminals.

🛰️ Step 3: You Get Back A List of IPs

The resolver now has answers, and they’re often multiple:

0.1.2.35  
1.2.3.35  
172.2.0.114  
2606:4700:20::681d:523  

It picks one or more to return to your system, usually based on:

• Distance (geo-DNS)

• Network health

• Anycast proximity

🖥️ Step 4: TCP Handshake – Boarding the Train

Now your browser says:

"Okay, IP 0.1.2.35 looks good. Let’s try to connect."

It initiates a TCP handshake:

[SYN] → [SYN-ACK] → [ACK]

The equivalent of walking up to the train, showing your ticket, and being allowed to board.

🔐 Step 5: TLS Handshake – Locking the Train Door

Once on board, the browser and server:

• Exchange encryption keys

• Validate certificates

• Build a secure channel

Now the train has locked doors, secure conversations, and you're on your way through the internet rails.

🧾 Step 6: Request/Response Exchange

Finally, your browser sends:

GET /dashboard HTTP/1.1
Host: panel.exampleapp.net

The server responds with:

HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Content-Type: text/html
...

You get the dashboard. The train arrives at the correct terminal.

🚨 Recap: From Brain to Server

Layer	Action	Real-World Analogy
Human	Types domain	Passenger deciding a destination
App/OS	DNS packet formed	Ticket being printed
NIC → ISP	Packet sent via gateway	Train leaving local station
DNS Resolver	Builds route through root, TLD, and authoritative servers	Transfers between global stations
IP Returned	Optimal one picked from list	Best train line chosen for the region
TCP/TLS	Handshake & encryption	You’re on board, door locked
HTTP	Request/response	You’re talking securely at your destination