What is the Precursor of the Internet?
Today, the internet is being used by billions of people all over the world. The internet has become a regular and essential part of all of our lives. With such a remarkable achievement, the precursor of the internet is a fascinating story of historical achievement.
The concept of the extensive and remarkable World Wide Web that we see today can be traced back to the Information Processing Technology Office (IPTO), a networking project that was created by the ARPA. The idea of an internet was the result of efforts to create a military communications network that would withstand a nuclear attack. The purpose was to create a communications network that was decentralized so that the US military could access the network from different locations in the event of a nuclear attack.
The leader of the project tasked to develop the communications network was Lawrence Roberts, a doctor of chemistry and who also held an electrical engineering degree. He based his work on the work of Paul Baran who proposed the use of packet switching technology to create communication networks. In 1969, Roberts successfully employed packet switching to connect network nodes. The Advanced Research Project Agency Network (ARPANET) was born.
ARPANET is considered to be the precursor of the Internet. As a result of the development of the ARPANET, in 1960, J.C.R. Licklider put forth the concept of a world wide communications network which eventually led to the creation of the Internet. He and Lawrence Roberts’ team at the Information Processing Department in the U.S. military’s research agency worked together in research and development to build upon the initial communication network.
Various Scientists at MIT, the National Physical Laboratory, and RAND, began to work on the development of packet switching technology (information transmitted between computers in bundles called packets.) In 1969, the activation of ARPAnet between UCLA and Stanford University came to fruition. ARPAnet is referred to as the father of Internet.
The ARPAnet system extended quickly and by the early 1980’s there were more than 200 independent computer hosts. In 1988, the commercial use of networking began. The development of the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee resulted in the internet becoming popular. Public access to the internet became available in 1992. It was at this time that the world saw a major increase in the use of the internet by the public. The astounding growth and development of the internet is the result of ARPANET.
Today, the internet has grown to be the world’s largest information and communications platform. The world has innovative military research and development to thank for the internet we see today. The internet has now opened up a world of possibilities and access to information that we never had before. The internet is not only used for communication, but it helps us in our personal lives such as shopping, research, social and business networking, and it gives us instant access to events as they happen. The creation and expansion of the internet has made the world a global community.
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Category: Computers and Technology
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