This episode explores the journey of an HTTP request from a user click on a link (e.g., in a WhatsApp message) to the final response rendered in a browser. Against this backdrop, the speaker meticulously details the process, starting with the operating system detecting the link and launching the default browser. More significantly, the process involves DNS resolution to obtain the IP address of the target domain (e.g., facebook.com), followed by establishing a TCP connection and then a TLS connection for secure communication. For instance, the speaker explains the complexities of TCP segment transmission and the potential latencies introduced by waiting for acknowledgements. The discussion then pivots to the role of an API gateway as a reverse proxy, highlighting the additional layers and latencies involved before the request finally reaches the backend web server. Ultimately, the episode emphasizes the numerous technical steps and potential bottlenecks in a seemingly simple action, offering valuable insights for backend engineers working with API gateways, load balancers, and other network components.
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