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Tier 2 and Tier 3 ISPs always connect to a higher up Tier (from what I hear). But how do the Tier 1 ISPs get their connectivity to the Web?

Do they just have a bunch of cables connected to other web servers and download data to their own servers then send anything back that the user requests?

Or does all of the web servers connect in a Web like manner and the ISPs connect to one of them?

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We Get It You Code
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  • Note2: This question seems to be based on a fundamental misconception, server operators are internet customers too. – plugwash Aug 14 '16 at 04:53
  • *I would like to know how this is a duplicate of the other post. As it doesn't ask anything close as the claimed topic.* – We Get It You Code Aug 14 '16 at 04:53
  • @plugwash Server operators are customers too, however Tier 1 ISP's have a free settement connection to each other. If an ISP requires anything more than a free-settement peering connection, then its not a Tier 1 ISP therefore, Tier 1 ISP's don't pay anyone for internent – Frostalf Aug 14 '16 at 04:58
  • Right, the key thing to understand is that the teir 1 ISPs don't buy access to the servers. The server operators buy access (directly or indirectly) to the teir 1 ISPs just like the clients do. I would have provided an answer to that effect if someone hadn't closed the question first. – plugwash Aug 14 '16 at 05:01
  • understand that server operators are customers too and then read the top answer to the "duplicate" and things should start to make sense. – plugwash Aug 14 '16 at 05:14
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    There seems to be some lack of understanding how a packet switched network works. The bit about "download data to their own servers" doesn't make any sense. The OP might need some basic network knowledge before being able to understand the answer. – Sander Steffann Aug 14 '16 at 09:20

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They connect to the internet like everyone else does, except they don't have to pay an ISP to do so, as they are the highest level of ISP.

How the internet works is like this, there is a bunch of datacenters that have servers. Each datacenter that wants to communicate with each other, utilizes a point to point connection, meaning they have physical cables running between the datacenters. ISP's have their own small datacenters albeit to handle their network where they provide Internet access, that connect to these largers ones.

So the ISP, pays for the use of the higher ups, network to other datacenters or lines they don't own. So, Tier 1's are not necessarily ISP's per say although you can view them like one, they are the ones that own the cable or fiber optic lines that go between geographic locations, as oppose to owning the cables or fiber optic lines in a specific town although they can as well.

Each ISP has its own Point to Point connection to the closest datacenter they provide internet access to, the Datacenters in the region have point to point connections between each other as well sometimes having Point to Point connections to datacenters outside their region but usually the datacenters in the region connect to a very large datacenter closest to them, and then those large datacenters connect to each other, although it doesn't strictly have to be that way, just for the sake of explaining thats how it works. So, the Tier 1 provider, or the datacenter, connects to the internet like everyone else does, with the execption they go through fewer connection points to do so and they don't require a modem to do so either.

Frostalf
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  • So do the data centers give the Tier 1 all access because they are a higher/bigger company? Lets say I had enough money to lay cables, if I have the cables laid for me and I wanted to do a personal ISP or a small ISP company would I need to pay the data centers (avoiding the topic of a Tier 3 ISP connection)? – We Get It You Code Aug 14 '16 at 04:31
  • Yes, you would pay a datacenter to have a connection to them, for the purpose of being an ISP. You also don't necessarily need to lay cables either to be an ISP, you could utilize cables already laid, but you just end up paying whoever owns those cables for your use as well. – Frostalf Aug 14 '16 at 04:49
  • For the most part the major datacenters are in the buisness of providing power, cooling and space. Sometimes they resell connectivity too but it's not really their core product. – plugwash Aug 14 '16 at 05:07
  • @plugwash you are correct and incorrect. They are datacenters that only their main purpose is to house/ store servers and provide power and cooling and sometimes maintenance. However you are incorrect as well, because there are datacenters for the specific purpose of providing internet and it requires servers to do so just not the same type or kind of server, you would see in a datacenter for the purpose of selling its space to others for servers. – Frostalf Aug 14 '16 at 05:15