How those Internets work

If you're a lot of analysts, you probably have a very good grasp of how networks work at the LAN, WAN and maybe even MAN level. You also probably know that "the Internet" is really just a collection of independent networks that have mutually agreed to talk to each other, but you're not exactly sure how all that works.

If that sounds like you, I highly recommend Rudolph van der Berg's article How the 'Net works: an introduction to peering and transit. It's a great introduction to peering and transit agreements, which goes into detail about how traffic routes from one network to another without using a lot of technical jargon. I particularly like the discussion of the economics of choosing peering vs. transiting.

Great article. I have to say, it's one of the most informative networking articles I've read in a while.