Welcome to Networking Niche

History of the Internet

Key Points

A.   In the late 1960s there was no standard for intercommunications between vendors, equipment. Majorly you had one large unit called a mainframe and several terminals plugging into it. Due to the lack of standards, if an entity started with one vendor say maybe IBM, they are locked to that vendor. If they had to change equipment, they would have to change everything. The mainframes were the main brains, and data storage unit. 

B. The US military had different vendor equipment across the country and had a problem because the equipment could not understand each other not to talk of sharing Data. 

    Heat Zones: This led to creation of a system that could share information and back each other up. That system was known as ARPANET. 

    Heat Zones: Question sample 1) What system later evolved into the internet 

Ans : Arpanet 

    Heat Zone: Arpanet was created by the DOD ; specifically by an agency  of DOD called Arpa – Advanced research Projects Agency now Darpa – Defense Advanced research Projects Agency .

    ARPA also had other projects like ALOHANET focusing mainly on packet radio networks. Sometime in the period, there was work ongoing on a Satellite technology for networks called the SATNET. One thing the DOD attempted to do was create a protocol that could allow for intercommunications between systems. The test of its workability will be communications between ARPNET, ALOHANET and SATNET. This would birth the TCP/IP

    ARPNET was originally designed to run on a protocol called NCP (Network Control Protocol). The Limitation of NCP was its addressing its limited to next hop addresses. Meaning, it could only go as far as the next hop. We will come to understand more as we proceed in this course. 

Heat Zone: Why was arpnet created 

                                             Service providers and content providers serve different functions. Service providers are entities that offer services to end users or other service providers, including telecommunications, access, and transport services. Content providers, on the other hand, are entities that create and distribute content, such as text, multimedia, and applications, which can be accessed and used by consumers. Both play crucial roles in the digital ecosystem.

     Service Providers as a term refers to any entity that provides connection to the internet. They could have small addon services like emails. Eg, Netvision in Israel, Etisalat in dubai or AT and T in the US

                                           SERVICE PROVIDERS TIERS

Tier 1 - These networks have a robust resource base and multiple interconnection capacities. They do not need to purchase transit from any other companies to access any part of the internet. Tier 1 networks also have peering agreements or connections with every other Tier 1 network in the region.

Tier 2 - These networks have some capacity to independently reach certain parts of the internet. They require services from Tier 1 networks to connect to other parts of the internet.

Tier 3 - These are typically service resellers. They buy the rights to distribute interconnection capacities.

                                         Some terms to understand:

   1) IXP- Internet exchange Point: These points are very important to the working of the internet. Since the internet is an interconnection of different networks. IXPs are points provided by the government to host different switches /equipment owned by Tier 1, 2 and 3 entities. Ultimately every network destined for the overseas internet will have to finds its way to an IXP to get out. some tiers 2s and 3s just hold agreements with tier 1s to forward their traffic to the IXP. 

- Fun fact. This is why its easy for a government to ban a particular app, website etc. Of the many resources available to them, the just block the traffic at the IXPs. 

   2) Demarcation points ( demarc point for short ) – This is the point where the isps responsibility ends and the customer assumes the responsibility of distribution. Depending on the agreement with the ISP, it could simply be a cable handover or a router, switch or some device. 

   3)POPs – Point of presence. This is a place/point/location where two or more networks interconnect. This should not be confused with IXPs. The way I keep them apart is this. A POP can be between your local network and an Isp net work. Its simply a place where you connect with another network. Ixp on the other side is points hosted by the government where tiers 1,2, and 3 meet. POPs are not owned by the government. 

Heat Zones. What’s POP. What’s IXPs

Heat Zones. A place where routes are exchanged by tiers owned by the government is called

Heat Zones. What is the best term to describe a place where a provider has connection points

Heat Zones. What is a demarc point. (Note it must be a handover point where distribution becomes the customers responsibility.