Today marks the 25th anniversary of ARPANET's global acceptance of the TCP/IP standard. Without TCP/IP, there'd be no internet (at least not as we know it).
More info on TCP/IP here:
Vague synopsis of above articles, since some of you won't understand it anyway and I feel like writing:
* TCP/IP is a little program that is standard on every computer and server, whether Windows, Mac, Linux, Aix, Unix, etc.
* IP = Internet Protocol
* TCP = Transmission Control Protocol
I'll be using UPS (United Parcel Service) as a crude example of how this works.
You create an email and click "send." SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) runs over, grabs your email, stuffs it in a little box for you, addresses it based on who you sent it to, and then calls up the nearest UPS office to let them know it's coming their way. (This might be known to UPS as "Billing Information Received.") SMTP then runs away with it to deliver it to TCP, who works 24x7 at UPS, making sure all packages reach their destinations.
The package then reaches its local TCP office. TCP then takes the package and explains to SMTP how the package will be sent on, acquiring all necessary addresses, payment and signatures in the process. This information is explained to the next SMTP, also, through a series of telegrams, which explain how he may track the package online. UPS might call this "Origin" meaning it's being prepped to be sent out into the world.
TCP then hands the package to IP (UPS: "Departure") who slaps his own labels on the package to ensure it can cross the whole spanse of the Internet without getting lost. (UPS: "Arrival")
IP then checks to see the vehicles available for delivery, and translates the instructions to each driver so they understand where it will go. The first driver then takes the package along a long route known as a "network interface." This could be as simple as an ethernet cable! UPS would call this "out for delivery."
Keep in mind that several of these exchanges may occur in the process of shipping one of the packages, known as "packets."
Once the package reaches its destination UPS office, a new SMTP comes running over, grabs the package excitedly, and delivers it to the addressed computer. UPS would call this "Delivery."
The user of that computer then opens the email with a big ol' pocket knife and goes, "Egads, ANOTHER chain letter?!"
And this is why UPS packages have so many labels on them.
:)
Oh, and here are some interesting articles, too...
January 1st Events throughout the ages:
For more info on the internet and how it has "grown up" over the years, here are a couple of good resources:
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