The Hardware of the Internet
Broadly speaking the Internet is comprised of servers, routers and clients.
1. Servers are powerful computers that run 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, without stopping and hopefully without failing. Servers are specially constructed with redundant hard drives (this is called a RAID array), extra cooling and are generally "rack optimised", which means they are very flat and deep and are intended to slip into a rack of 32 similar machines.
Most servers are housed in "data centres". The datacentre offers physical security, redundant power supply (with back up diesel generators), redundant air-conditioning, special fire retarding systems, anti static mats... and the list goes on. In other words, short of an earthquake or nuclear strike, datacentres are designed to handle many contingencies. The objective of a datacentre is to keep those servers cool and running continuously. During hurricane Katrina only one New Orleans datacentre was able to do this.
2. Routers pass data onwards to its destination IP. They aren't all that smart, but they do their job quickly and efficiently.
3. Client machines, that is the end user, the person requesting a web page or downloading email. The client machine uses a browser and an email client to perform these functions. The server waits for a request from a clientthan the then grabs the requested data and servers it back.
4. Cables and conduits. The physical connections between servers, routers and clients vary enormously. Between you and your telephone exchange, it is likely you are using twisted pair copper wire. Between your exchange and your ISPs network, it is likely you are using fibre optic cables. Between ISP and ISP it is likely you are using T1 carriers, the main trunk routes of the Internet.
Today, there are good arguments to include VoIP phones, some mobile phones and Blueberry-styled PDAs as "Internet hardware" as all of these devices are connecting to the Internet for various functions.
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