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To conclude this report I would like to summarize some of the key points we have covered. First of all we saw how the idea for the ARPANET was the result of an outline for computer networking that was first developed by RAND in the RAND Project. We then reviewed the basic configuration of the ARPANET with regards to its utilisation of a sub-net of computers to link hosts within the network. We saw how the Internet differs from the ARPANET by allowing host to host communication across a broad range of node and network configurations without the need of a sub-net of computers. We saw how through the creation of the TCP/IP protocol, Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf were significant enablers to this transformation of the ARPANET to Internet and its subsequent growth. We made note of the significance of their decision to design a protocol which was based on the concept of open architecture and perhaps even more significant, there decision to make TCP/IP "public domain". The development of commercial interest in networking and the privatization of networks through organisations like The National Science Federation (NSF) and the NFSNET were more than likely significant factors in the rapid expansion of the Internet as well. Without a quality protocol able to support the interworking of diverse networks, and without public access to such protocols, expansion of this magnitude would have been, in my opinion, far less likely. I believe that we can see the significance that open access to code has had in the development of what may be the most significant technological development of the 20th Century. |
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| Cover Page |
| Introduction |
| Report |
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| References |
| Report Plan |