Circuits, Packets, and Protocols

Entrepreneurs and Computer Communications, 1968-1988

James L. Pelkey, Andrew L. Russell, Loring G. Robbins

• Publisher: ACM Books
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN: 9781450397285
• Topic: Ciencia de la computación
• Subtopic: Ciencias computacionales general

As recently as 1968, computer scientists were uncertain how best to interconnect even two computers. The notion that within a few decades the challenge would be how to interconnect millions of computers around the globe was too far-fetched to contemplate. Yet, by 1988, that is precisely what was happening. The products and devices developed in the intervening years—such as modems, multiplexers, local area networks, and routers—became the linchpins of the global digital society. How did such revolutionary innovation occur? This book tells the story of the entrepreneurs who were able to harness and join two factors: the energy of computer science researchers supported by governments and universities, and the tremendous commercial demand for Internetworking computers. The centerpiece of this history comes from unpublished interviews from the late 1980s with over 80 computing industry pioneers, including Paul Baran, J.C.R. Licklider, Vint Cerf, Robert Kahn, Larry Roberts, and Robert Metcalfe. These individuals give us unique insights into the creation of multi-billion dollar markets for computer-communications equipment, and they reveal how entrepreneurs struggled with failure, uncertainty, and the limits of knowledge.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Halftitle
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• List of Acronyms
• Preface and Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Prelude to Change: Data Communications, 1949–1968
• Chapter 2 Onset of Competition: Data Communications, 1968–1972
• Chapter 3 Packet Switching and ARPANET: Networking, 1959–1972
• Chapter 4 Market Order: Data Communications, 1973–1979
• Chapter 5 Protocol Confusion: Networking, 1972–1979
• Chapter 6 Emergence of Local Area Networks: Networking, 1976–1981
• Chapter 7 The Chaos of Competition: Networking, 1981–1982
• Chapter 8 The Need for Standards: Networking, 1975–1984
• Chapter 9 Market Order: Networking, 1983–1986
• Chapter 10 Adaptation of Wide Area Networks: Data Communications, 1979–1986
• Chapter 11 Market Consolidation: Data Communications and Networking, 1986–1988
• Chapter 12 Government Support for Internetworking, 1983–1988
• Chapter 13 The Emergence of Internetworking, 1985–1988
• Chapter 14 Conclusions
• Appendix A List of Interviews
• Appendix B Bibliography
• Appendix C Timeline
• Author Biographies
• Index