Overview of the Internet
What is the Internet?
The Internet is a worldwide connection of millions of computers connected
to thousands of different networks. These computers "communicate" that
is, share, exchange, and transmit data to another computer on the same
or another network.
Who runs it?
Nobody owns or controls the Internet. It is a global information system
similar in some respects to telephone networks that allow anybody to call
any other number anytime, anywhere. Each network is run by its own operating
center subject to the laws in their country and international conventions.
There are, instead, several "councils of elders," consortiums, societies,
and communities whereby representatives from various countries, institutions,
and organizations collaborate occasionally to establish common standards
for hardware, software, and telecommunications technologies.
How did it come to be?
The Internet was born in the era of the Cold War. At that time the U.S.
Department of Defense was interested in establishing a communication system
using computer, radio and satellite networks that will be able to work
around power outtages in the event of a nuclear attack. How will the government
communicate if the communication network is destroyed? The answer was to
do away with a centralized communication network and come up with separate
networks where each will be independently responsible for getting messages
across through any route. An experimental network called the ARPAnet was
set up in 1968 to enable scientists and researchers in universities to
collaborate on this project. Some universities were later permitted during
the 1970s to connect their local area networks to ARPAnet. Demand grew
as networking spread among schools. With the invention of the first e-mail
program in 1972, academic resources started using the network not only
for long-distance computing but more to exchange information and gossip
with their colleagues. Concerned by security risks, the military broke
off and established a separate network in 1983. By the late 1980s the National
Science Foundation commissioned its own network called NSFNET to share
its information resources for scholarly research. Major universities were
connected to five computer centers using telephone lines. To avoid the
cost of laying down telephone cables for every institution to connect directly
to the computer centers, regional networks were created. This resulted
in a chain that allowed schools to connect to their nearest neighbor, thus
permitting their computers to forward messages from one link to another.
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