How do devices which are different in their physical architecture and components communicate with each other regardless of the medium of the communication and the distance between them?
The communication among different physical device is possible due to the different network layers present. This difference in physical architecture is taken care of by the bottom three layers of the TCP/IP network layers. The topmost of the three layers, the network layer ensures that systems and devices communicate with each other on an agreed upon standard or protocol, which is known as Internet Protocol. This layer uses an addressing mechanism such that each device on a network is assigned an IP Address regardless of its Physical Architecture. This assigned IP Address is used to uniquely identify the system on a network.
Now coming to the distance. The distance becomes a hurdle only when the communication is direct. The data sent and received never follows a direct route.
The data packets are relayed through various routers around the globe. Every router calculates the shortest route possible and forwards the data according to the same.
