The internet and networks

About this lab: The internet and networks

Interactive simulation for Cambridge IGCSE Computer Science 0478 topics 3.4 and 5 and AS & A Level 9618 topics 2 and 14: follow a URL through the DNS to a web server over HTTP or HTTPS, watch session and persistent cookies, explore MAC and IP addresses, break a blockchain, test password strength and spot phishing, compare network topologies and CSMA/CD collisions, wrap data in the TCP/IP layers, and compare circuit and packet switching.

IGCSE Computer Science 0478, topics 3.4 and 5, and A-Level 9618, topics 2 and 14. How a web page arrives through DNS and HTTP(S), cookies, NIC, MAC and IP addresses, blockchain, cyber security, then network topologies, CSMA/CD, the TCP/IP stack and circuit versus packet switching for A-Level.

The internet and networks is a free, browser-based simulation for Cambridge IGCSE Computer Science 0478 (topic 3 Hardware, section 3.4 Network hardware; topic 5 The internet and its uses). The same lab serves both Cambridge IGCSE Computer Science 0478 and AS & A Level Computer Science 9618; tabs marked A-Level go beyond the IGCSE syllabus. The course is assessed in Paper 1 (Computer Systems), Paper 2 (Algorithms, Programming and Logic). Syllabus for examination in 2026-2028. There are 7 tabs, each a self-contained experiment with its own controls and live readings, and nothing to install: it runs on a laptop, tablet or classroom projector.

Syllabus coverage

• 3.4 Network hardware. Lessons: NICs, MAC addresses, IP addresses and routers.
• 5.1 The internet and the world wide web. Lessons: The internet, the world wide web and URLs, HTTP, HTTPS and web browsers, How a web page is located and retrieved: DNS, Session and persistent cookies.
• 5.2 Digital currency. Lessons: Digital currency and blockchain.
• 5.3 Cyber security. Lessons: Cyber security threats, Keeping data safe from security threats.
• 9618 3.4 Network hardware. Lessons: NICs, MAC addresses, IP addresses and routers.
• 9618 2.1 Networks including the internet. Lessons: LANs, WANs, client-server and peer-to-peer, Network topologies and hardware, Cloud computing.
• 9618 14.1 Protocols. Lessons: The TCP/IP protocol suite, HTTP, FTP, POP3, IMAP, SMTP and BitTorrent.
• 9618 14.2 Circuit switching, packet switching. Lessons: Circuit switching and packet switching.

Full syllabus map: IGCSE Computer Science 0478 topic 3, IGCSE Computer Science 0478 topic 5, IGCSE Computer Science 0478 topic 3, A Level Computer Science 9618 topic 2 and A Level Computer Science 9618 topic 14.

How to use this simulation

1. 1. How a web page arrives.
2. 2. Cookies.
3. 3. MAC and IP addresses.
4. 4. Blockchain.
5. 5. Cyber security.
6. 6. Networks.
7. 7. Protocols.
8. The buttons at the end of the tab strip give the scene the whole window (Full screen, Hide controls) and, on a dark stage, a projector-friendly palette (Light scene). Many scenes also have drag handles: drag them to change the set-up directly.

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