Computer Science Network example essay topic

Computers store all information as binary numbers. The binary number system uses two binary digits, 0 and 1, which are called bits. The amount of data that a computer network can transfer in a certain amount of time is called the bandwidth of the network and is measured in kilobits per second (kips) or megabits per second (m bps). A kilobit is 1 thousand bits; a megabit is 1 million bits. A dial-up telephone modem can transfer data at rates up to 56 kips; DSL and cable modem connections are much faster and can transfer at several m bps. The Internet connections used by businesses often operate at 155 m bps, and connections between routers in the heart of the Internet may operate at rates from 2,488 to 9,953 m bps (9.953 gigabits per second) The terms wide band or broadband are used to characterize networks with high capacity and to distinguish them from narrow band networks, which have low capacity.

Research on dividing information into packets and switching them from computer to computer began in the 1960's. The U.S. Department of Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) funded a research project that created a packet switching network known as the ARPANET. ARPA also funded research projects that produced two satellite networks. In the 1970's ARPA was faced with a dilemma: Each of its networks had advantages for some situations, but each network was incompatible with the others. ARPA focused research on ways that networks could be interconnected, and the Internet was envisioned and created to be an interconnection of networks that use TCP / IP protocols.

In the early 1980's a group of academic computer scientists formed the Computer Science NETwork, which used TCP / IP protocols. Other government agencies extended the role of TCP / IP by applying it to their networks: The Department of Energy's Magnetic Fusion Energy Network (MFE Net), the High Energy Physics NETwork (HE PNET), and the National Science Foundation NETwork (NSF NET). In the 1980's, as large commercial companies began to use TCP / IP to build private internets, ARPA investigated transmission of multimedia-audio, video, and graphics-across the Internet. Other groups investigated hypertext and created tools such as Gopher that allowed users to browse menus, which are lists of possible options. In 1989 many of these technologies were combined to create the World Wide Web. Initially designed to aid communication among physicists who worked in widely separated locations, the Web became immensely popular and eventually replaced other tools.

Also during the late 1980's, the U.S. government began to lift restrictions on who could use the Internet, and commercialization of the Internet began. In the early 1990's, with users no longer restricted to the scientific or military communities, the Internet quickly expanded to include universities, companies of all sizes, libraries, public and private schools, local and state governments, individuals, and families.