Overview
The world’s current population is around 7.6 billion people, and the number of devices connected to the internet is estimated to be over 50 billion, implying that each person uses approximately 6 internet-connected devices. This number has been increasing since the day when the first network, ARPANET was made. In today’s world, one cannot imagine life without the internet. In this article, we will learn about how computer networks evolve with time.
What is Computer Networking?
A computer network is a collection of computers capable of transmitting, receiving, and exchanging voice, data, and video traffic. Because of the capability of computer networking, everything is becoming more automated and capable of communicating and managing itself.
If there is no computer network, you will not be able to read this article by simply conducting a search on the topic and getting results in a matter of milliseconds. Because of the internet’s powerful network, you can use Google and YouTube and watch other information with just a few clicks. It is possible due to computer networks.
History Of Computer Network
The history of computer networks is vast, so we will discuss different generations of computer networks according to their timeline.
- In his paper “Information Flow in Large Communication Nets”, Leonard Kleinrock introduced the notion of ARPANET (one of the early computer networks) in 1961. The telephone network was the most powerful network on the planet at the time. The telephone network transmits data from a sender to a receiver using circuit switching, which is a suitable choice given that voice is transferred at a consistent pace between sender and receiver.
- Leonard Kleinrock published the first work on packet switching methods. Kleinrock’s work neatly illustrated the efficiency of the packet-switching strategy employing queuing theory for busy traffic sources. At the same time, Paul Baran began researching the use of packet switching for secure voice-over military networks at the Rand Institute.
- In 1969, the first packet-switched computer network and a direct ancestor of today’s public internet ARPANET was first used. It was the first to use the TCP/IP protocol suite, which later evolved into the internet. The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), a US Department of Defence division, developed ARPANET. ARPANET initially had four nodes, i.e., the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), Stanford Research Institute (SRI), University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB), and the University of Utah. The first communication between UCLA and SRI took place on October 29, 1969.
Roy Tomlinson invented email after UCLA was connected to Bolt Beranek and Newman, Inc. (BBN) in 1972.
- A test VoIP connection was made in 1973 to officially introduce VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) technology and its capabilities. In 1995, the first software allowed consumers to make such a call.
- The first routers were deployed at Xerox in 1974, although they were not real IP routers. The breakthrough in computer networking was made possible by gateway devices and the Interface Message Processor employed in the ARPANET. Bill Yeager, a Stanford University researcher, invented the multiprotocol router in the 1980s. Stanford IT personnel Leonard Bosack and Sandy Lerner recognized the business possibilities of this router technology. Leonard and Sandy built an updated version of Yeager’s router, which led to the establishment of Cisco Systems in 1984.
In 1973, in a Xerox research center in Palo Alto, California, Robert Metcalfe and David Boggs created the first Ethernet prototype, which carried data at 2.94 Mbps.
- In 1973, Following further research, Xerox patented Ethernet in 1975. In 1979, the IEEE established a standards committee with the goal of pushing technology for widespread use. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the notion of a virtual LAN, or VLAN, was developed to address the problem of rising broadcast traffic on LANs with a significant number of connected devices. The IEEE 802.1Q standard was created to standardize VLANs and multi-VLAN trunking over network uplinks.
- In 1974, Telenet was the first commercial ARPANET adaption. This concept of an Internet Service Provider (ISP) was also introduced. An ISP’s primary goal is to provide its clients with a reliable internet connection at a reasonable cost.
- As the internet became increasingly commercialized, more networks sprang up worldwide. For communicating over the network, each network uses a separate protocol. This made it impossible to join many networks in a seamless manner. Tim Berners-Lee led a team of computer scientists at CERN in Switzerland in the 1980s to establish the World Wide Web(WWW), a seamless network of various networks.
Timeline of Computer Networks
- In 1957, Advanced Research Project Agency was formed by the US.
- In 1961, the idea of ARPANET was proposed by Leonard Kleinrock.
- In 1965, the term packet was used by Donald Davies.
- In 1969, ARPANET became functional, and the internet was officially born, with the first data transmission sent between UCLA and SRI on October 29, 1969, at 10:30 p.m.
- In 1971, Ray Tomlinson sent the first email, and the foundation for Wi-Fi was laid with the use of ALOHAnet.
- In 1973, Robert Metcalfe developed Ethernet at Xerox PARC, and the first experimental VoIP call was made.
- In 1976, the first true IP router was developed by Ginny Strazisar.
- In 1978, Bob Kahn invented the TCP/IP protocol for networks developed.
- In 1981, Internet Protocol version 4, or IPv4, was officially defined in RFC 791 in 1981.
- In 1983, DNS was introduced by Paul Mockapetris.
- In 1988, details about network firewall technology were first published 1988.
- In 1996, IPv6 was introduced.
- In 1997, the first version of the 802.11 standards for Wi-Fi was introduced in June 1997, providing transmission speeds up to 2 Mbps.
- In 2002-2004, Web 2.0 was introduced.
Modern Computer Networks
From the first computer network, Arpanet, to the latest Web 3.0, the computer network has evolved in speed, reliability, and user experience. In today’s world, everything is Speed, and to increase the network’s Speed. We are currently replacing copper coaxial cableswithoptical fiber cables. Some things that make the network better and better with time are described as follows.
Optical Fiber Cables
An optical fiber is a thin strand of pure glass that works as a long-distance waveguide for light. It works on the principle of total internal reflection. The core, which carries the actual light signal, and the cladding, a sheet of glass around the core, are the two layers of glass that make up the device. The refractive index of the cladding is lower than that of the core, and this results in TIR within the core. Two significant service providers that provide optical fiber-based internet are Reliance JIO and Indian Airtel Xstream Fiber. Both service providers claim to provide a speed of 1 GBPS, which is enormous.
LI-FI Technology
Li-Fi is light-based bi-directional, fully networked, wireless communication technology where the light source is used to transmit the data wirelessly. This is achieved by turning the LED ON and OFF very rapidly (Million times per second) so that the flicker is not observable by the human eye. In this way, the data is transferred between the two devices wirelessly. Features provided by the Li-Fi are:
- Speed: Li-Fi can provide speeds up to 100 Gbps.
- Security: Light can not cross the walls, so data cannot be hacked by outsiders, providing one more layer of security.
- Safety: Unlike radio waves, light exposure is safer for humans.
- Congestion-free: The bandwidth of the light spectrum is 1000 times more than the radio spectrum; hence, it is congestion-free and free of electromagnetic interference.
- Efficiency: It uses LED for transmission, which minimizes the overall energy consumption.
Blockchain Technology
A blockchain is a database that holds encrypted data blocks and links them together to build a chronological single source of truth for the information. Blockchains are well known for their critical function in keeping a secure and decentralized record of transactions in cryptocurrency systems like Bitcoin. The blockchain’s novelty is that it ensures the accuracy and security of a data record while also generating trust without the requirement for a trusted third party.
Web 3.0
The third generation of web technologies is known as Web 3.0 (Web3). Web 3.0 is still evolving and being defined, and as such, there isn’t a canonical, universally accepted definition. But one thing is certain: Web 3.0 will significantly emphasize decentralized applications and make considerable use of blockchain-based technologies. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be used in Web 3.0 to help empower more intelligent and adaptive applications.
Firewall
A firewall is a network security hardware or software application that monitors and filters incoming and outgoing network traffic according to a set of security rules. It serves as a firewall between internal private networks and public networks (such as the public internet). To route web traffic, firewalls generate ‘choke points,’ which are then examined against predefined parameters and acted upon accordingly. Some firewalls also keep track of traffic and connections in audit logs to see what is allowed and prohibited.
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Conclusion
- A computer network is a collection of computers capable of transmitting, receiving, and exchanging voice, data, and video traffic.
- In 1969, the first packet-switched computer network and a direct ancestor of today’s public internet ARPANET was first used.
- In 1976 the first true IP router was developed by Ginny Strazisar.
- In 1983 DNS was introduced by Paul Mockapetris.
- In 1981 IPv4 was introduced, while IPv6 was in 1996.
- The World Wide Web, which is a seamless network of various networks, was introduced in the 1980s by Tim Berners.
