The History of Internet

THE HISTORY OF INTERNET

The internet as we know it today started as an entirely different idea known as the ARPANET (Advanced Research Project Agency Network) initiated by Vint Cerf and Bob Khan in the 1970s. The internet is basically made up of a large number of independent networks that are engaged in the transmission of data in the form of packets. It is fully distributed without any central coordination or control. The internet typically works like a post office, but instead of sending letters in boxes like the regular post office, it sends and receives binary numbers in the form of bits.

Bits are made up of 1s and 0s, and everything on the internet is centered on the 1s and 0s. This is usually referred to as the atoms of information. The medium of sending this information has continued to change over the years as technology continues to advance. Presently, these bits are sent either light using fibre optics cable or electricity or through radio signals.

The internet makes use of protocols that facilitate the ease of communication between various devices. This set of protocols makes it easy for the internet to grow along the ever changing world of technology. This protocol is simply called the Internet Protocol or IP address. It is a set of numbers that is unique to each device within a network. It functions just like a house address, which is unique to a particular building. The computers or devices within a given network communicate with each other using this IP address. These IP addresses are represented in bits and 32 in terms of length. The IP address has different segments which plays a unique role in terms of determining the country which the device resides in, thus making it easy to decipher where any IP address is coming from. The initial version of the IP address that was being used in the past was known as the IPv4, which was designed in 1974 and adopted in the 1980s. Presently, the internet has an alternative version of IP addresses known as the IPv6. This version boasts more capabilities in terms of expansion and scalability.

Based on the fact that these IP addresses are not user friendly when dealing with them, because humans tend to have more affinity towards letters than numbers, a more user friendly system was developed known as Domain Name System, The DNS simply associates names to the different IP addresses on the internet e.g. google.com, which makes it easier for users to familiarize with. The computer uses the Domain names to look up the associated IP address.

Also, the way information is shared among computer devices is fascinating,also embedded with its own unique set of protocols. This information is usually shared in the form of packets. Each of these packets contains the originating IP address and the designation IP address.The arrangement of these information in packets enables the network to break it down into smaller bits, and allow them to travel across different paths based on the amount of congestion along each path. These packets are usually transported via a router, which acts like a traffic manager for the different packets of data across a given network.

Data of any kind which is usually shared on the internet can be kept secret using a process known as encryption. This is the scrambling of information being sent across a network to make it look confusing for anyone attempting to access the information without authorization. The process of unlocking the code to that data when it gets to the destination is known as decryption. Due to the multifaceted nature of the internet, the protocol for encryption is arranged in two formats, using a public key and a private key. A public key is used to encrypt data and anybody can use it to encrypt a message. This message can only be decrypted by a computer with access to the private key. Public key encryption is the foundation of all security protocols used in securing data sent over the internet, including Secure Socket Layer(SSL) and Transport Layer Security.(TLS).

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