How is possible to the computer make multiple downloads at same time

Question

My intuition is that the computer is receiving parts a little part of every download, so if I am download three files i receive like , part 1 file one , part 1 file two , part 2 file one ... This files are stored in some part of nic and after a interrupt some process catch the downloads. This way the computer can continue doing his work in parallel with the download.

Am I right ?

thanks

Answer 1

Basically, yes, that is correct.

To download a file, you make a network connection. You can have multiple network connections open at a time. When you're downloading a file from a server, you have a network connection open to the server for that file download, and the server sends you multiple packets, one after another. Each packet contains the next little part of the file. If you are downloading two files, you have two network connections, and the server is sending you packets for the first network connection (i.e., the first file) and sending you packets for the second network connection (i.e., the second file). The networking software on your computer takes care of figuring out which packet goes with which connection, and makes everything work no matter in what order you receive the packets or how they are interleaved.

This is not specific to file downloads. All network connections work this way.

To learn more, I suggest learning more about TCP/IP and networking. This should be covered in any good introductory course or textbook on computer networks.

I also suggest learning about multitasking and processes. This should be covered in any good introductory course or textbook on operating systems.

• gidds: May be worth adding that this is not specific to file downloads — all network connections are handled like this (in a packet-switched network such as IP uses), and so it applies when loading web pages, downloading emails, streaming videos, etc.