There are two different methods in how users make use of the data available on the Holonet, and how the Holonet actually operates. One is more broadly used and gives the appearance of how we use the Internet today and the other is a far more technical version which would only be familiar to those who commonly deal with high-level specialists.

Basic Break-down:

Most Users access a terminal which is connected to the "Holonet" and through this terminal they may browse and search the Holonet in a manner that is almost exactly how we use the internet today. Queries and searches to the net make use of planetary data-vaults which house much of the information received from off-world.

Off-world Holonet stations prepare packages from around their network, retrieving information from much larger data-vaults which are almost always military installations, and sending these packages in updates to the planet-side ones. This process takes time and operates on a weekly updating schedule for the core-worlds, increasing or decreasing in time in relation to their distance from Coruscant. These packages are requested by the planetary governments who maintain their own data-vaults and request the information most likely to be requested by their citizenry.

For more specific information that is not requested in these packages users may apply to gain access to the information. Reliant on the speed of Imperial bureaucracy these requests may be fulfilled anywhere from some months of waiting to merely a few hours. Affected by status, location, and a myriad of other factors measured by the Imperial network.