The Internet has revolutionized the computer and communications waorld like nothing before. The invention of the telegraph, telephone,radio and computer set the stage for this unprecedented integration of capabilities. The Internet is at once a world-wide brodcasting capability, a mechanism for information dissemination, and a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for geographic location. 

      There is the technological evolution that began with early research on packet switching and the ARPANET (and related technologies), and whre current research continues to expand the horizons of the infrastructure along several dimensions, such as scale, performance, and higher level functionality.

  1.1.1. Internet history in brief

1876-Telephone. Alexander Graham Bell Exhibits.
  • Telephones exchanges provide the backbone of Internet connections today.
  • Modems provide Digital to audio conversion to allow computers to connect over the telephone network.
1957 - USSR Launches Sputnik, first artificial earth satellite.
  • The start global telecommunications, Satellites play an important role in transmitting all sorts of data today.
  • In response, US forms the Advanced research Projects Agency (ARPA) within the Department Of Defense (DoD) to establish US lead in science and technology applicable to the military.
1962  - 1968 Packet switching (PS) networks developed.
  • As we will see later the Internet relies on packets to transfer data.
  • The origin is military : for ulmost security in transferring information of networks (no single outage point).
  • Data is split into tiny packets that may take different routes to a destination.
  • More than one route available - if one route goes down another may be followed.
  • Networks can withstand large scale destruction (Nuclear attack - This was the time of the Cold War).
1969 - Birth of Internet.
  • ARPANET commissioned by DoD for research into networking.
  • First node at UCLA (Los Angeles) closely followed by nodes at Stanford Researh Institute, UCSB (Santa Barbara) and U of Utah (4 Nodes).
1971 - People communication over a network.
  • 15 nodes (23 hosts) on ARPANET.
  • E-mail invented - a program to send messages across a distributed network E-maol is still the main way of inter-person communication on the Internet today.
1972 - Computers can connect more freely and easily.
  • First public demonstration of ARPANET between 40 machines.
  • Internet working Group (INWG) crated to address need for establishing agreed upon protocols.
  • Telnet specification . Telnet is still a relevant means of inter-machine connection today.
1973 - Global Networking becomes a reality
  • First international connections ti the ARPANET : University College of London (England) and Royal Radar Establishment (Norway).
  • Ethernet outlined - this how local networks are basically connected today.
  • Internet ideas started.
  • Gateways define how large networks (maybe of different architecture) can be connected together.
  • File Transfer protocol specified - how computers send receive data. 
1974 - Packets become mode of transfer.
  • Transmission Control Program (TCP) specified. Packet network Intercomminicaton the besis of Internet Communication.
  • Telnet, a commercial version of ARPANET, opened - the first publick packet data.
1979 - News Groups Born.
  • Computer Science Department research computer network established in USA.
  • USENET established using UUCP.
  • USENET still thrives today.
  • A collection of discussions groups, news groups.
  • 3 news groups established by the end of the year.
  • ARPA establishes the Internet Configuration Control Board (ICCB).
  • Packet Radio Network (PRNET) experiment stars with ARPA funding. Most communication take place between mobile vans.
1981 - Things start to come together.
  • CSNET (Computer Science NETwork) established to provide networking services (specially E-mail) to university scientists with no access to ARPANET. CANET later becomes known as the Computer and Science Network.
1982 - TCP/IP defines future communication.
  • DCA and ARPA establishes the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet Protocol (IP), as the protocol suite, commonly known as TCP/IP for ARPANET.
1983 - Internet gets bigger.
  • Name server developed.
  • Large number of nodes.
  • Hard to remember exact paths
  • Use meaningful names instead.
  • Desktop workstations come into being.
  • Internet Activities Board (IAB) established, replacing ICCB.
1984 - Growth of Internet Continues.
  • Number of hosts breaks 1,000.
  • Domain Name Server (DNS) introduced.
  • Instead of 123.456.789.10
1986 - Power of Internet Realised.
  • 5,000 Hosts. 241 News groups.
  • NSFNET created (backbine speed of 56Kbps)
  • NSF establishes 5 super-computing ventres to provide high-computing power for all - This allows an explosion of connections, especially from Universities.
  • Network News Transfer Protocol (NNTP) designed to enhance Usenet news performance over TCP/IP.
1987 - Commercialisation of Internet Begins.
  • Number of Hosts 28,000


1.1.2. Internet and World Wide Web era
    1991 - Birth of WWW

    • World-Wide Web (WWW) released by CERN, Tim Berners-Lee Developer.
    • Originally develpes to provide a distributed hypermedia system.
    • Easy access to any form of information anywhere in the world.
    • Initially non-graphic (this came later, MOSAIC. 1993).
    • Revolutionized modern communications and even our way of life.
    1992 - Multimedia changes the face of the Internt

    • Number of hosts breaks 1 Million. News groups 4.000
    • Internet Society (ISOC) is charteres.
    • First MBONE audio multicast (March) and video multicast (November).
    • The term "Surfing the Internet" is coined by Jean Armour Polly.
    1993 - The WWW Revolution truly begins

    • Number of Hot 2 Million. 600WWW sites.
    • InterNIC created by NSF to Provide soecific Internet Services
                            Directory and database services
                            registration services
                            information services

    • Business and Media really take notice of the internet.
    • US White House and United Nation (Un) comes on-line.
    • Mosaic takes the Internet by strom.
                          User Friendly Graphical Front End to the World Wide Web.
                          Develops into Netscape

    • WWW proliferates at 341.634.
    1994 - Commercialisation Begins

    • Number of Hosts 3 million. 10,000 WWW sites. 10,000 News groups.
    • ARPANET/Internet celebraes 25th anniversary
    • local communities begn to be wires up directly to the Internet (Lexington and Cambridge, Mass, USA)
    • US Senate and House provide information servers 
    • Shopping malls, bamks arrive on the Internet
                          A new way of Life
                          You can now order pizza from the Hut online in the US
                          First Virtual, the First cyberbank, open up for business                  

    • NSFNET traffic passes 10 trillion bytes/month
    • WWW edges out telnet to become 2nd most popular service on the Net (behind ftp data) based on % of packets and bytes traffic distribution on NSFNET
    • UK's HM Treasury on-line (http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/)
    1995 - Commercialisation continues space
    • 6.5 million Hosts, 100.000 WWW Sites.
    • NSFNET revets back to a research network. Main US backbone traffic now routed through interconnected network providers
    • WWW surpasses ftp-data in March as the service with greatest traffic on NSFNet based on packet count, and in April based on byte count
    • Traditional online dialup systems (Compuserve, America Online, Prodigy) begin to provide Internet access.
    • A number of net related companies go public, with Netscape leading the pack.
    • Registration of Domain names is no longer free.
    • Technologies of years : WWW, Search engines (WA/S development)
    • New WWW technologies Emerge Technologies
                         Mobile code (JAVA, JAVAscript, ActiveX)
                           Virtual enviroments (VRML)


      1996 - Microsoft enters to WWW

      • Internet phones catch the attention of US telecommunication companies who ask the US COngress to ban the technology (Which has been around for years).
      • The WWW browser war begins, fought primarily between Netscape and Microsoft. has rushed in a new age in sofware development, whereby new releases are made quarterly with the help of internet users eager to test upcoming (beta) versions.