[ih] Fate of Alohanet

[Matthias Bärwolff]

Thanks for all of your responses, I have written to Frank Kuo, and it
turns out that not only did funding stop; also, both Abramson and Kuo
left for DoD jobs, Abramson from 1974 to 75, and Kuo from 1976 to 77.
So, I take it the project kind of died somewhat silently.

I could not find out, though, whether Menehune service continued once
funding ceased; after all, the modems (TCUs, PCUs) plus the software had
been in place. Possibly it did for some more time, but this is mere
speculation.

Matthias

Richard Binder wrote:
> Matthias ,
>
> I believe the arpanet connection was via a TIP at UH, but can't recall
> the connection details from the Menehune side. I left Hawaii in early
> 1975, but a good person to ask about the project's fate is Frank Kuo
> (ffkuo at mindspring.com).
>
> Dick
>
>> from Bob Kahn:
>>
>>>> The Alohanet funding began (I think,  because it was before my
>>>> time) with funds from AFOSR. Then, around 1969, DARPA got into the
>>>> picture and augmented the AF funding (via AFOSR as agent). Most
>>>> likely the last funding was in FY 1974 or 75.
>>
>> If you Google "richard binder alohanet" you should turn up the final
>> report of the Alohanet project that is dated late in 1974 so Bob's
>> guess as to funding appears to be correct. As far as landlines, I
>> don't think they got any better. The project itself successfully
>> demonstrated the feasibility of the stochastic method for sharing
>> capacity and by mid-1973, Bob Metcalfe, stimulated by his exposure to
>> the Alohanet project, had invented and demonstrated Ethernet at Xerox
>> PARC. The Internetting project, initiated by bob kahn at ARPA had
>> already started in 1973 and was well underway in 1974 at Stanford.
>> Packet Radio and Packet Satellite were also well underway and these
>> also used some of the Alohanet ideas. In some sense, these other
>> projects instantiated the Alohanet notions in more powerful, higher
>> speed forms and it might have been thought that the Hawaiian project
>> would not yield more beneficial results.
>>
>> vint
>>
>>
>>
>> Dick Binder is copied and may have more precision to offer.
>>
>> vint
>>
>>
>> On Feb 25, 2010, at 4:40 AM, Matthias Bärwolff wrote:
>>
>>> Dear all,
>>>
>>> I gather from the literature (largely Abramson and Kuo) that Alohanet
>>> got connected to the Arpanet by means of an IMP at the Hawaii
>>> University
>>> in late 1972; then, by 1974 they had NCP and Telnet sufficiently up in
>>> the Menehune to allow terminal connections to the Arpanet; and,
>>> finally,
>>> in 1976 the whole project died for lack of further funding. No further
>>> information was provided for the latter point.
>>>
>>> Does anyone know a specific reason why they discontinued Alohanet? Did
>>> the landlines get better, and thus the raison d'etre vanished? What
>>> happened to the IMP, did it stay connected to the Arpanet?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Matthias
>>>
>>> -- 
>>> Matthias Bärwolff
>>> www.bärwolff.de
>>>
>>
>>

-- 
Matthias Bärwolff
www.bärwolff.de