July 1986
NSFNET backbone activated
The NSFNET backbone became operational in July 1986 — a 56 kbps network linking supercomputerA machine at the extreme high end of performance — built for weather, physics, and large-scale simulation. centers and replacing the ARPANETAdvanced Research Projects Agency Network — the U.S. research network that pioneered packet switching and became a precursor to the internet. as the US research internet core.
What it was for
NSFNET opened TCPTransmission Control Protocol — a reliable, connection-oriented protocol used on the internet./IPInternet Protocol — the addressing and routing layer that moves packets across networks. networking to universities beyond defense contractors — the pipeline that became the commercial internet. Regional networks plugged into the backbone; traffic exploded until T1 upgrades in 1988 and the eventual privatization of the backbone in the 1990s.
Why it's here
NSFNET expanded the internet from defense research to the academic mainstream.
Why it mattered
It was the bridge between ARPANETAdvanced Research Projects Agency Network — the U.S. research network that pioneered packet switching and became a precursor to the internet. and the public internet era.
What it solved
Researchers outside the ARPANETAdvanced Research Projects Agency Network — the U.S. research network that pioneered packet switching and became a precursor to the internet. needed a funded, high-speed national network.
Media
ImageNSFNET-backbone-T3Merit Network, Inc., CC BY-SA 3.0, via wikimedia
Related
- ARPANET switches to TCP/IPJanuary 1, 1983
- First ARPANET host-to-host messageOctober 29, 1969
- WorldWideWeb — first web browserDecember 1990