Each of us at least once, reading email or studying the results of the next search query, wondered how the Internet appeared. Indeed, what was the beginning of this grandiose system, which today does not have a specific host.
Like many other technologies and inventions, the Internet has emerged from the bowels of military centers, namely the Pentagon. To ensure the availability of computers in the event of a nuclear war or other military confrontation, it was necessary to develop a fundamentally new system. To fulfill this task, at the end of the 50s of the last century, DAPRA, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, was established. It was there that the "web" began to interweave.
Studying various publications on how the Internet came about, it is difficult to give a definite answer, which can be considered a real beginning. The beginning of theoretical development? Start of laying the first cable connections? First successful session?
For many years before the Internet appeared in its usual sense, the idea of transmitting information using an alternative network or packet switching was developed. In the 60s of the 20th century, several scientists, independently of each other, dealt with the concept of distributed networks. Among them: Americans Joseph Liklider and Paul Baran (by the way, a native Ukrainian), Englishman Donald Davis. Liklider in the 61st year publishes his notes, in which he develops the idea of a global network, which will allow everyone to access information on virtually any computer. Baran introduces the concept of "package", and Davis voices the need to ensure that system nodes not only transmit, but also translate information.
The beginning of a long journey
In 1969, the first attempt was made to connect 4 computers between 2 leading universities (3 of them belonged to the University of California and 1 to Stanford), located more than five hundred kilometers from each other. The first successful data transfer session between 2 computers took place in October. 10/29/1969 10:30 p.m. The history of the Internet began precisely with these numbers.
$ 1 million was spent on preliminary work. The preparation of equipment for the launch of a new project called APRAnet, with the exception of cable laying between the cities, was carried out by BNN. One of the employees of this particular company said: “I don’t understand who will ever need such a network.”
Over time, computers from other research institutes and universities in America joined APRAnet. At this stage, quite logically, the problem of inconsistency and "different sizes" of software arose, which made the transfer of information impossible. Such a discrepancy necessitated the creation of a unified data transmission system. As a result, developers offer a unified set of rules for transmitting information, called the protocol. The first in history was IP (Internet Protocol). Despite significant distortions in the transmission of information, it has not lost its relevance today. As a kind of controller for saving data in transmission, the TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) protocol has been developed .
The usual name for everyone was the “Internet” network in 1974. The patent holders for the term are Americans Winton Cerf and Bob Kahn.
Not even half a century has passed since the Internet appeared, but it has entered the life of a modern person so deeply that for many it has become the only source of knowledge and information. You can argue endlessly about its benefits or harms, but if you read these lines, then you are online.