FREE ESSAY ON HISTORY OF THE INTERNET

HISTORY OF THE INTERNET

History of the Internet
The Internet as we know today was not a concept that was quickly enacted when it was
first thought up. It was a revolutionary process that was the result of visionary people
who painstakingly brought forth the World Wide Web. These individuals saw a promising
potential in allowing computers to share information on research and development in
scientific and military fields. 
This is all started in 1962 when the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA) initiated a research program. They selected J.C.R. Licklider of MIT to head the
work and develop it. Later Leonard Kleinrock of UCLA who developed the theory of packet
switching, which was used to create the basis of Internet connections. His thesis was
titled Communications Networks: Stochastic Flow and Delay. This thesis examined what
packet-switching networking could look like. Lawrence Roberts of NIT confirmed
Kleinrocks' theory by connecting a Massachusetts computer with a California computer over
dial up telephone lines. This proved that it could be done and when he later joined DARPA
in 1966 he developed his plan for ARPANET.
ARPANET, also known as the Internet "was brought online in 1965 under a contract let by
the renamed Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA)" (Howe 2). It originally connected
UCLA, Stanford Research Institute, UCSB, and the University of Utah. Soon after several
other universities connected to ARPANET. 
In order for ARPANET to communicate via the telephone lines a series of protocols were
developed Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP) came first then
TCP/IP developed from these. These protocols communicated transparently across multiple,
linked packet networks.
The ultimate infrastructure was designed that if "sites were destroyed by nuclear attack,
routers would direct traffic around the network via alternate routes. Since this was a
initially founded by the government, it was originally limited to research, education,
and for government use. In order to work the Internet a person had to learn a complex
system. 
"The Internet matured in the 70's as a result of the TCP/IP architecture first proposed
by Bob Kahn at BBN and further developed by Kahn and Vint Cerf at Stanford and others
throughout the 70's."(Howe 3). 
It is interesting to note that at this time at Bell Labs the Unix to Unix Copy Protocol
(UUCP) was invented. Newsgroups and discussions were exchanged through this means
although it did not use TCP/IP. Usenet is not considered a part of the Internet but it
did help those that used the Internet. It played a big part on creating the Internet
network and its community. 
"In 1986, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) initiated the development of the
NSFNET which today, provides a major backbone communication service for the
Internet."(ISOC 1). "In Europe, major international backbones such as NORDUNET and others
provide connectivity to over one hundred thousand computers on a large number of
networks. Commercial network providers in the U.S. and Europe are beginning to offer
Internet backbone and access support on a competitive basis to any interested
parties."(ISOC 2). 
In the early 90's commercial use on the Internet was allowed, before it was only allowed
to serve the goals of research and education. Because of this lift commercial network use
expanded beyond what anyone thought it could be. 
As with all growth there are pains to be dealt with. Users want quicker speed connections
and wireless connectivity. The demand is heralding a response for these needs and it
seems there will be no limit what to ask for. 
Bibliography
Aboba, Bernard. How the Internet Came to Be. 
Addison-Wesley, 1993. Bell Laboratories. 22 Oct. 2000 .
Cerf, Vint. A Brief History of the Internet and Related Networks. 
ISOC. 22 Oct.2000 
Howe,Walt. A Brief History of the Internet. 
22 Oct. 2000 http://www.0.delphi.com/navnet/history.html