History of the Internet

The History of the Internet

It’s origins within the United States Government

Operating Systems

Academy College

April White

Introduction

Back in 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first satellite into the earth’s orbit and as a result; in 1958, the US government under President Dwight D Eisenhower created the Advanced Research Projects agency at the US Department of Defense.

“The agency’s purpose was to make scientific and technological advances that could be used to increase US military strength and preparedness.” (Hillstrom, 2005, p. 6)

You might ask what this event would have to with the Internet.

We will discuss the role of the Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO) within ARPA and their purpose. The creation of the ARPAnet and the work to create the first connection and finally, how the ARPAnet became the foundation for expanded growth and use beyond the military and academic community to evolve into what we use today.

The Internet.

So you might say that the government’s quest for superior military capabilities over the Soviet Union started the journey towards the creation of the modern day Internet.

Role of the Information Processing Techniques Office (IPTO)

The purpose of the IPTO was to create avenues for scientists and researchers to be able to quickly share ideas and results with one another utilizing computer technology. Mainframe computers were expensive to build and operate and ARPA wasn’t able to provide one to each university and defense contractor who wanted one. Back in 1962, Licklider, the Director of the IPTO at that time, published a paper describing his vision of a “galactic network” of interconnected computers that would allow people to access information from any site around the world.

Researchers, in the beginning, were using three different terminals at the Pentagon to communicate to each of its research...