Internet

A map graphically displaying interconnections on the Internet (known as routes)

The internet is a network of computer networks used as transport mechanism for documents sent over the world wide web. The research which led to the internet was funded initially by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), which was established in 1958 as the first U.S. response to the Soviet launching of Sputnik. The first functional networks between individual computers were created in the early 1970's. Many educational institutions and corporations began joining the network, and on a day in 1983, all computers on the so-called DARPA-net changed over at once to a new protocol, TCP/IP, which is still in use on the internet today. The fundamental transport protocol for the internet has not changed substantially in more than twenty years. However, it is on the verge of changing in the near future, with a movement from version 4 to version 6 of TCP/IP.

Related Topics

• The ARPANET was the Advanced Research Projects Agency network that evolved into today's Internet
• The article on Computer networks for a general overview of computer networking