A Brief History of Network Technology Written by Kat Cox, Technology Writer Computer networking is one of the greatest breakthroughs of our age. Well before the Internet took over our daily lives, engineers and scientists worked to connect computers to each other. The work they did established our current state of networking. If you’re new to network cables, it’s not a bad idea to review the history of network technology to understand how we got to where we are now. The First Computer Network is Born The history of modern computer networking technology goes back to 1969, when ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) became the first connected computer network. It implemented the TCP/IP protocol suite, which later became the Internet. ARPANET was developed by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), a subset of the US Department of Defense. Why did the DoD need to develop networked computers? The Cold War, of course! The goal of ARPANET was to keep lines of communication open if the USA and the USSR decided to exchange nuclear devices. ARPANET revolutionized communications by using packet-switching instead of direct connections. Data that is communicated through a packet-switching system is formatted into packets with an address of the destination machine, and then sent onto the network and picked up by the next machine. The address in the protocol tells the machine where to send the packet. This way, the information will reach its intended destination, even if there isn’t a direct connection between the two machines. While it changed the need for there to be direct connections between machines to communicate, the ARPANET system still relied on phone lines. It was originally a four-node network between university computers at Stanford, the University of Utah, UCLA, and UCSB, but expanded to 40 machines in 1972. Attached Resource Computer NETwork (ARCNET) In 1986, Datapoint Corporation developed ARCNET, a communications protocol for local area networks (LANs). It was the first widely available networking system and was used widely in the 1980s for office automation. Unlike other computer systems that required all networked computers to be homogenous, ARCNET was the first solution that did not make assumptions about why types of computer networking technology would be connected. ARCNET speed was limited to 2.5 Mbit/s, and while it was popular during its reign, it was less reliable and less flexible than other systems, particularly Ethernet. Token Ring and Network Topology Token Ring Network Example In the 1980s, token ring protocols became more popular, mostly as a response from IBM to the openness of the new Ethernet protocol. This local area network (LAN) setup connects all the computers in a ring or star wherein data is passed from host to host. This protocol prevents collisions of information packets on a network by ensuring that only a host that holds a token can send data, and that tokens are only released when data receipt is confirmed. IBM’s Token Ring technology was launched in October, 1985 and ran at 4 Mbit/s. The star-wired physical topology was run over shielded twisted-pair cabling, and became the basis for the ANSI/IEE standard 802.5. Eventually a 16 Mbit/s Token Ring was standardized, and increased to 100 Mbit/s just near the end of its existence. Many scientists argued that token ring LANs were better than Ethernet, which had recently been developed. However, Ethernet provided more cost effective methods for networking, which helped make commercial token ring systems virtually non-existent by the 2000s. Fiber Distributed Data Interface The fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) uses optical fiber to convey data transmission in a LAN. It offered speeds of up to 100 Mbit/s, blowing ARCNET out of the water. FDDI is a ring-based token network, but uses a protocol derived from the IEEE 802.4 token bus timed token protocol as opposed to the IEEE 802.5 protocol. The data network technology can also cover a large range, extending up to 120 miles. FDDI and its later cousin made of copper, CDDI, were popular in the 1990s, when Ethernet was still young and could only offer 10 Mbit/s. But most FDDI systems have been completely replaced by Ethernet since the introduction of the faster and less expensive Gigabit Ethernet in 1998. The Rise of the Ethernet Ethernet was developed in 1973 by Bob Metcalfe at Xerox PARC, and it wasn’t patented until 1975. The open Ethernet standard took another five years, and was standardized in 1983 as IEEE 802.3. The first Ethernet system used coaxial cable as a shared medium, and started out with speeds of 2.94 Mbit/s. Over time, Ethernet has moved on to twisted pair or fiber optic links as well as switches, allowing it to increase in speed, which currently stands at a blazing 40 Gb/s. Ethernet offered a less expensive alternative to many previous networking standards, especially as it adapted to new cable types like twisted pair and fiber optic cabling. Other standards were limited to the types of cable they could use. Because Ethernet operated on an open-source protocol as opposed to a proprietary one, it was also easier to implement. Ethernet is now relatively ubiquitous, and is considered one of the main components of the Internet as we know it. Using Ethernet Cables Now Because Ethernet is a protocol and not a type of cable, there are many different kinds of Ethernet cables available. You might choose a fiber optic version for networking over a long distance. If you require power over Ethernet (PoE) then copper is required. Read more about fiber optic vs copper here. You may opt for Cat6 cable vs Cat5e for better speeds, or vice versa for price reasons. Now that you have a brief history of network technology under your belt, trueCable has the Ethernet cable and expertise to help you pick the right set up for your network, whether it’s at home or the office. Contact us today for more information! trueCABLE presents the information on our website, including the “Cable Academy” blog and live chat support, as a service to our customers and other visitors to our website subject to our website terms and conditions. While the information on this website is about data networking and electrical issues, it is not professional advice and any reliance on such material is at your own risk. Othere source: A computer network is a group of computers that has the potential to transmit, receive and exchange voice, data, and video traffic. A network connection can be set up with the help of either cable or wireless media. In modern times, computer networks are very important as information technology is increasing rapidly all over the world. The network and data communication are the essential factors to rise information technology in the world as technology's advancement is on the system, including the gadgets. ARPANET began the networking long ago. Year Event 1961 In this year, Leonard Kleinrock proposed the earliest computer networks, which was the idea of ARPANET. 1965 In 1965, Donald Davies coined the term "packet" to describe how to send data between computers on a network. Although In 1966, the development of ARPANET began, officially started ARPANET in 1969. It was considered one of the first computer networks in which first two nodes, UCLA and SRI (Stanford 1969 Research Institute) were connected, and to use packet switching. To provide and define information about network protocols, procedures, and computer communications, the first RFC surfaced as a document in April 1969. 1969 On 29 August 1969, the first IMP and network switch were sent to UCLA. On ARPANET, the first data transmission was sent by using it. 1970 NCP, stands for NetWare Core Protocol, released by Steve Crocker and a team at UCLA for use with NetWare. 1971 In 1971, the first e-mail was sent to across a network to other users by Ray Tomlinson. While working at Xerox PARC, Robert Metcalfe developed the Ethernet in 1973. In the same year, ARPA deployed the first international network connection, known as SATNET. 1973 In 1973, VoIP technology and capabilities were officially introduced, which made a VoIP call. However, until 1995, the software was not available for users that could make VoIP calls. 1974 In this year, the use of first router was began, but they were not considered true IP routers. 1976 Originally called a gateway, Ginny Strazisar develop the first true IP router. 1978 In 1978, the TCP/IP protocol was developed and invented by Bob Kahn for networks; it was developed with help from Vint Cerf. In the United States, between IBM mainframe systems, BITNET was created in 1981 as a network. The 1981 U.S. National Science Foundation developed the CSNET (Computer Science Network) in the same year 1981. 1983 For using TCP/IP, ARPANET finished the transition. The first DNS implement by Jon Postel and Paul Mockapetris in 1983. This is the year in which a backbone for ARPANET, the National Science Foundation Network was 1986 came online, which finally took the place of ARPANET in 1990s. In the same year, with the original BITNET, BITNET II was introduced to deal with bandwidth issues. In 1988, the first T1 backbone was included with ARPANET. AT&T, Lucent, and NCR introduced the WaveLAN network technology in 1988. 1988 In 1988, for the first time, the explanation of network firewall technology was published. In the same year, Digital Equipment Corporation developed it. This paper had the detail about the first firewall, known as a packet filter firewall. 1990 The first network switch was developed and introduced by a U.S. network hardware company named Kalpana in 1990. 1996 In 1996, an IPv6 was introduced as an improvement over IPv4, as well as embedded encryption, improved routing. 1997 In June 1997, the 802.11 standards, containing transmission speeds up to 2 Mbps, for Wi-Fi were introduced. The 802.11a standard, containing transmission speeds up to 25 Mbps to use the 5 GHz band, was officially made in 1999. Another standard 802.11b was available to use for the public in mid-1999, 1999 which offered transmission speeds up to 11 Mbps. In September 1999, for use with 802.11b, the WEP encryption protocol was released. 2003 802.11g devices, contained transmission speeds up to 20 Mbps, were available to the public in January 2003. In the same year, for use with 802.11g, the WPA encryption protocol is released. 2004 In 2004, as a replacement for WPA, the WPA2 encryption protocol was introduced. By 2006, WPA2 certification was compulsory for all Wi-Fi devices. 2009 The 802.11n standard can operate on the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bandwidths and offers higher transfer speeds over 802.11a and 802.11g. Officially, it was made in 2009. 2018 In January 2018, WPA3 encryption was released by the Wi-Fi Alliance, which comprises security enhancements over WPA2. https://youtu.be/N5LjE77IHmk data switching: Arpanet:
