1979
     Meeting between Univ of Wisconsin, DARPA, NSF, and computer
     scientists from many universities to establish a Computer Science
     Department research computer network (organized by Larry Landweber)

     USENET established using UUCP between Duke and UNC by Tom Truscott,
     Jim Ellis, and Steve Bellovin. All original groups were under net.*
     hierarchy.

     First MUD, MUD1, by Richard Bartle and Roy Trubshaw at U of Essex

     ARPA establishes the Internet Configuration Control Board (ICCB)

     Packet Radio Network (PRNET) experiment starts with DARPA funding.
     Most communications take place between mobile vans. ARPANET
     connection via SRI.

   ---------------------------------------------------------------------







 
RFC 2235               Hobbes' Internet Timeline           November 1997


                                   1980s

1981
     BITNET, the "Because It's Time NETwork"
        - Started as a cooperative network at the City University of New
          York, with the first connection to Yale (:feg:)
        - Original acronym stood for 'There' instead of 'Time' in
          reference to the free NJE protocols provided with the IBM
          systems
        - Provides electronic mail and listserv servers to distribute
          information, as well as file transfers

     CSNET (Computer Science NETwork) built by a collaboration of
     computer scientists and Univ of Delaware, Purdue Univ, Univ of
     Wisconsin, RAND Corporation and BBN through seed money granted by
     NSF to provide networking services (especially email) to university
     scientists with no access to ARPANET. CSNET later becomes known as
     the Computer and Science Network. (:amk,lhl:)

     Minitel (Teletel) is deployed across France by France Telecom.

     True Names written by Vernor Vinge (:pds:)

1982
     DCA and ARPA establish the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and
     Internet Protocol (IP), as the protocol suite, commonly known as
     TCP/IP, for ARPANET. (:vgc:)
        - This leads to one of the first definitions of an "internet" as
          a connected set of networks, specifically those using TCP/IP,
          and "Internet" as connected TCP/IP internets.
        - DoD declares TCP/IP suite to be standard for DoD (:vgc:)

     EUnet (European UNIX Network) is created by EUUG to provide email
     and USENET services. (:glg:)
        - original connections between the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden,
          and UK

     External Gateway Protocol (RFC 827) specification. EGP is used for
     gateways between networks.

1983
     Name server developed at Univ of Wisconsin, no longer requiring
     users to know the exact path to other systems.

     Cutover from NCP to TCP/IP (1 January)

     CSNET / ARPANET gateway put in place





 
RFC 2235               Hobbes' Internet Timeline           November 1997


     ARPANET split into ARPANET and MILNET; the latter became integrated
     with the Defense Data Network created the previous year.

     Desktop workstations come into being, many with Berkeley UNIX which
     includes IP networking software.

     Networking needs switch from having a single, large time sharing
     computer connected to the Internet at each site, to instead
     connecting entire local networks.

     Internet Activities Board (IAB) established, replacing ICCB

     Berkeley releases 4.2BSD incorporating TCP/IP (:mpc:)