Blown to Bits Appendix
Appendix
The infancy of the Internet was a crucial time for deciding how it would function. One of the most important decisions made was choosing the nature of the network that the Internet would use to exchange data from place to place. The Internet uses packet switching to communicate data. The way this works is first, data being sent from one client to another is broken up into packages. These packages are each given a serial number and are then sent through a system of routers. The packages don't have to go down the same route as once all the packages are received by the client at the other end the packages are reassembled according to their serial number.
Today this type of network proves to be a great way to communicate data over the Internet. It allows for messages of unlimited size to be sent and received and the network capacity is only limited by the amount of data traffic. Another type of network was being considered for the Internet, however, called circuit switched network. If this network were to be used for the Internet the data of the sender would go to a central switch. There a connection would be made to the receiving client, completing a full circuit between sender and receiver. This method is reliable and uninterruptable but its expensive and is limited by the number of connections it can handle. To handle more connections being made simultaneously a larger switch must be made. Packet switch does not posses this problem and thus the Internet is not limited by the size of certain switch boards and information is communicated efficiently.
Was the decision to make the Internet packet switched luck or foresight? It could've be a combination of both. This decision was made in the 70s. The designers had in mind to create a network with message size not being a problem, since they believed large messages would be important some day, and network capacity not being a major hindrance. While circuit switch was a proven and reliable method of data exchange packet switch met all their desires and presented an advantage over circuit switch, it wasn't as expensive since building large switch boards was unnecessary and switch board size did not limit capacity. These anticipations may've led them to choosing packet switch but the fear of unproven methods could've very well led them astray. Packet switch wasn't really used for much during the 70s so using something they knew would work was probably appealing but it was because they didn't let this feeling decide what to choose and their evaluation that packet switching is objectively better for them that the Internet uses a great network system today. So we are lucky the fear of unproven did not lead to a more limited Internet.
Chapter 3 p. 91 - 92
The Internet is as interconnected and accessible to all as it is today because Internet protocols have been agreed upon to be the standard by the public and companies. TCP/IP is the standard for data exchange, computer companies implement this protocol into their computers, and it is possible for a Mac and PC to communicate with each other over this network despite differences in manufacturer. If this were not the case and protocols were proprietary to company we would not have the interconnectedness and accessibility we have today. If a user owned a Mac they would be limited to communicating with people who also have a Mac. If one wanted to contact their boss online but there was difference in the company of both computers one could not contact their boss for potentially important things. The Internet would be comprised of smaller proprietary networks like MACnet for Macs only. It would be hard for small business to get a good online presence since it would have to budget a lot of money for sites to work on all forms of network or online have a presence on one type of network. In the end the Internet would not be as big as it is today since not everyone has access to all the same things.
The infancy of the Internet was a crucial time for deciding how it would function. One of the most important decisions made was choosing the nature of the network that the Internet would use to exchange data from place to place. The Internet uses packet switching to communicate data. The way this works is first, data being sent from one client to another is broken up into packages. These packages are each given a serial number and are then sent through a system of routers. The packages don't have to go down the same route as once all the packages are received by the client at the other end the packages are reassembled according to their serial number.
Today this type of network proves to be a great way to communicate data over the Internet. It allows for messages of unlimited size to be sent and received and the network capacity is only limited by the amount of data traffic. Another type of network was being considered for the Internet, however, called circuit switched network. If this network were to be used for the Internet the data of the sender would go to a central switch. There a connection would be made to the receiving client, completing a full circuit between sender and receiver. This method is reliable and uninterruptable but its expensive and is limited by the number of connections it can handle. To handle more connections being made simultaneously a larger switch must be made. Packet switch does not posses this problem and thus the Internet is not limited by the size of certain switch boards and information is communicated efficiently.
Was the decision to make the Internet packet switched luck or foresight? It could've be a combination of both. This decision was made in the 70s. The designers had in mind to create a network with message size not being a problem, since they believed large messages would be important some day, and network capacity not being a major hindrance. While circuit switch was a proven and reliable method of data exchange packet switch met all their desires and presented an advantage over circuit switch, it wasn't as expensive since building large switch boards was unnecessary and switch board size did not limit capacity. These anticipations may've led them to choosing packet switch but the fear of unproven methods could've very well led them astray. Packet switch wasn't really used for much during the 70s so using something they knew would work was probably appealing but it was because they didn't let this feeling decide what to choose and their evaluation that packet switching is objectively better for them that the Internet uses a great network system today. So we are lucky the fear of unproven did not lead to a more limited Internet.
Chapter 3 p. 91 - 92
The Internet is as interconnected and accessible to all as it is today because Internet protocols have been agreed upon to be the standard by the public and companies. TCP/IP is the standard for data exchange, computer companies implement this protocol into their computers, and it is possible for a Mac and PC to communicate with each other over this network despite differences in manufacturer. If this were not the case and protocols were proprietary to company we would not have the interconnectedness and accessibility we have today. If a user owned a Mac they would be limited to communicating with people who also have a Mac. If one wanted to contact their boss online but there was difference in the company of both computers one could not contact their boss for potentially important things. The Internet would be comprised of smaller proprietary networks like MACnet for Macs only. It would be hard for small business to get a good online presence since it would have to budget a lot of money for sites to work on all forms of network or online have a presence on one type of network. In the end the Internet would not be as big as it is today since not everyone has access to all the same things.
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