ARPAnet.
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
During the time of the cold war in 1960, the demand for a computer network arose, which would be invulnerable to enemy attacks. In
this time networks were client/server based, which means, that if the server fails, the entire network would go down. So a network
architecture was needed, which still would be operational if one computer in this network fails. So the Department of Defense (DoD)
initialized a project, which was realized and administered by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, aimed at creating such a
network. This network was given the name
ARPAnet.
By the year of 1969 the first Interface Message Processor (today's
routers) was installed
in L.A at the University of California. By the end of the year, 4 sites were connected to the ARPAnet. In 1972 an International Conference on
Computer Communications was help, where the ARPAnet was demonstrated. At this time, approximately 40 machines were connected
In 1979 computer scientists from all over the world met to establish a Computer Science Department research computer network.
At this time the Usenet was introduced. Approximately
at the same time the UUCPNET (Unix to Unix Copy NET) was connected with the ARPAnet and the NSFnet.
Also the BITNET (Because it's time network), which was used mainly for inter-academic
communication was connected with all the other networks. Like this, many countries had their own special networks. All these
networks were connected together using one common protocol
for communication, to form what we know as the Internet. This protocol was introduced in 1982 and is known as the
TCP/IP protocol.
Its development reaches back to 1974. This protocol has the ability to decide, which way the data should be transmitted. So a failed computer
doesn't affect the whole network.
Because of the success of the TCP/IP it was used in other networks as well. In 1987 the National Science Foundation created a TCP/IP network with the intention to connect supercomputing centers between Universities. This network became known as the NSFNnet. When this network was opened to the public and to allies of the United States, NSFNnet and local networks were combined to form what we today as the Internet. With the end of the cold war there was no need for such a defense network and the growth of the Internet began. Since this time the growth of the Internet is estimated to be about 10% per month.
Since 1993 the Internet became more and more popular. More and more machines were connected to it and provided more and more
information. Since the development of the World Wide Web,
the Internet was noticed by commercial companies who wanted to present themselves and their products to the Internet public.
Nowadays every big and lots of middle-sized and small companies offer their services via the Internet, exactly via the World Wide Web. The ability to present text and graphics made the World Wide Web the most popular service in the Internet.
Since a permanent connection to the Internet is very expensive, clever businessmen came up with the idea, of selling access to
the Internet. These companies are known as Internet service providers (ISP).
They offer temporarily Internet access via the phone line and offer companies and private people to present themselves to the
continually growing Internet society on the World Wide Web by offering server hard disk space for rent. Also ISPs are investing for their little part
of the internet. The Internet itself is not owned by a specific person or organization. Each ISP or person connected to it pays for the continous
development and expansion. I Austria a main part of the Internet has been installed and is maintained by EUnet
and the ACONET, which is the austrian academic network.
| NOTE: Because of the growth of the Internet many "advertisements" like earn thousands of bucks for doing nothing and chain letters are circulating. Do not fall for these. Like printed chain letters and dubious advertisements you might loose a lot of money and get nothing in return. If you receive such mails, simply ignore them. |
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
You can find more information about internet history in the following chapters or locations: