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ARPANET Full Form

Read this to know about the full form of ARPANET, its history, advantages and legacy.

One of the earliest networks to use the TCP/IP protocol suite and the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network was the first wide-area packet-switched network with dispersed control (ARPANET). These two inventions both evolved into the fundamental elements of Internet technology. The ARPANET was created by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the US Department of Defence.

More about ARPANET

Bob Taylor launched the ARPANET project in 1966, building on J. C. R. Licklider’s concepts to make it simpler to connect to far-off computers. Taylor chose Larry Roberts to serve as the initiative’s boss. Regarding the network design, Roberts made crucial choices. He solicited Paul Baran’s opinion and utilised Donald Davies’ packet-switching theories and designs. Bolt Beranek & Newman, who created the initial protocol for the system, were given the network construction contract by ARPA. Roberts hired Leonard Kleinrock of UCLA to provide mathematical techniques for analysing packet network technology.

In 1969, the first computers were networked, and in 1970, the Network Control Protocol was introduced. The network was judged to be operational in 1971. Email, file transmission, and remote login were made possible by further software development. In 1975, the swiftly expanding network’s operational management was turned over to the Defence Communications Agency.

History of ARPANET

1968 saw the launch of ARPANET by the American organisation ARPA (Advance research projects agency). It was created by Bob Taylor and J. C. R. Licklider. The University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), University of Utah, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and Stanford Research Institute’s computers were initially connected as part of the ARPANET project (SRI). It was for playing as long-distance entertainment, and people were asked to provide their opinions. 1980 saw the transfer of ARPANET to the Defense Data Network, another military network. Early in the 1970s, ARPANET expanded quickly. Many computers from government agencies and colleges joined the network during this period. When ARPANET was made operational in 1975, it was used to advance communications technology. Over time, satellite links were also used to connect several computers in other nations.

Advantages of ARPANET

There are many advantages of ARPANET. Following are some of them: 

  • The ARPANET was built to operate even during a nuclear attack.
  • Email interactions were conducted with it.
  • It improved the transmission of crucial military files and data.
  • Tenet was the term given to ARPANET, which permitted remote login.
  • In ARPANET, FTP includes file transfers as a function.
  • It employs the NCP host-to-host protocol (network control protocol)
  • Data is sent using packet switching.

ARPANET's legacy

ARPANET represents a significant turning point in the evolution of computer technology. Many fundamental internet technologies were created for or on the ARPANET first. The ARPANET was one of the first networks to use the FTP and Telnet protocols, which are still in use. On it, TCP/IP was created. In 1971, on the ARPANET, the first network email was transmitted. Additionally, in 1978, it hosted what is regarded as the first marketing spam email.

Many more networking firsts were also made possible via ARPANET. Early social networks were list servers, sometimes known as listservs. On it, the earliest voice communication protocols were created. For use over ARPANET, password security and data encryption were created.