This question sounds broad until you're actually in it and realize they want every layer.
Structure your answer as a chronological narrative from the browser's perspective, covering each layer of the stack in order: DNS, TCP, TLS, HTTP, server-side processing, and rendering. Balance breadth and depth by briefly explaining each step and then diving deeper into areas where you have expertise, while connecting concepts to real-world systems like CDNs, load balancers, and caching.
Pro tip: Mention that the browser may use a cached DNS entry or an existing TCP/TLS connection (HTTP keep-alive) to skip steps, and that modern stacks often use QUIC/HTTP3 over UDP. This shows you understand real-world optimizations beyond the textbook sequence.
Explain how the browser checks its cache, then queries the OS resolver, which may hit a recursive DNS resolver that traverses root, TLD, and authoritative nameservers to get the IP address for amazon.com.
Describe the three-way TCP handshake (SYN, SYN-ACK, ACK) to establish a connection to the server's IP on port 443, followed by the TLS handshake (ClientHello, ServerHello, certificate exchange, key derivation) to secure the connection.
Detail the HTTP GET request sent over the established connection, and how it reaches a load balancer (e.g., AWS ELB) that routes to an application server; mention caching layers (CDN, reverse proxy, application cache) and how the server generates a response.
Explain how the browser receives the HTML response, parses it to build the DOM, fetches subresources (CSS, JS, images), constructs the CSSOM, and renders the page through layout, paint, and composite steps.
AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.