Internet History

The Internet is an amazing collaboration of thousands of networks around the world which share information using a single protocol. In 30+ years, the Internet has grown from a four-computer network to an estimated 400 million users or more.

History

For the majority of current Internet users, the Internet waas not around until the mid-1990's. This was when the World Wide Web made the Internet accessable to the masses. But, long before this, the Internet was a key component of the national defense of the United States.

In the 1960's, the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) needed a way to exchange information. It's offices were not close together and the DOD was concerned that a single missile attack could destroy a main computer center. The idea was put forth that a network of computers could share data at several locations. By having several lines of communication, a single attack could not knock out the entire network. This network of computers became known as ARPANET and connected both defense contractors and research universities.

In order to accomplish this, several problems had to be addressed.

• A protocol had to be developed because different computer systems created by different vendors do not speak well to one another.

• A practical medium had to be established that could connect several remote systems.

• The network had to be connected such that the loss of one machine did not bring it down.

How these problems were addressed has established the means of connections we know today in both predictable and unpredictable ways.

ARPA originally thought that one computer (a router) would move the data using a universal protocol so that other computers on the network could run their own operating systems. During the 1970's, the idea of TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) came into play. It was developed by researchers, not a commercial vendor, so it did not favor any particular...