I have always been curious about how computers and the internet work, how people can communicate without meeting in person, and how everything can be accessed with just a click. This curiosity has led me to the field of technology where I have discovered the workings of these systems, and I now wish to share this knowledge with others. As the topic is vast, I will divide it into several parts. In this segment, I will be covering the history of the internet in the context of computer networking.
How it all Started?
The Internet started in the 1960s as a way for government researchers to exchange information. During this time computers were bulky and large, and in order to access information stored in a particular computer, one had to either travel to the computer site or have magnetic computer tapes sent through the conventional postal system.
The Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union was another catalyst in the formation of the Internet. During this time, the two nations were competing to launch the first satellite into space. The Soviet Union won by launching Sputnik, which was a significant blow to the US as they wanted to be the first to achieve this feat and have their name in history.
ARPANET
To ensure they wouldn't miss out on any future technological advancements, the US created the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPA) to handle further research. ARPA was an organization that focused on new inventions and had research centers located throughout the US.
The need to share data between these research centers led to the creation of ARPANET, which allowed for the sharing of messages using computers. The research centers wanted to connect with each other, and ARPANET provided a way for them to share information easily and efficiently. The first network was built between UCLA, Stanford, the University of Utah, and MIT. Afterward, more networks were involved in ARPANET.
The history of the internet is much bigger than what we have discussed so far. You can read more about it here. I just wanted to cover how it all began before we delve into the computer networks and OSI model. This will help you understand how the internet actually came into existence. I will definitely try to complete this series on computer networks soon.
I hope you learned something from this blog. If you have, don't forget to drop a like, follow me on Hashnode, and subscribe to my Hashnode newsletter so that you don't miss any future posts. You can also reach out to me on Twitter or LinkedIn. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to leave a comment below. Thanks for reading and have a great day!