[ih] History of 127/8 as localhost/loopback addresses?

[John Kougoulos]

Hi,

I had done some research also, it appears that it started as network 254:
https://fossil.fuhrwerks.com/csrg/artifact/7abb44b66b9fc3e8

You can see more details in my answer in quora, just in case they help:
https://www.quora.com/Why-is-127-0-0-1-used-for-localhost-Does-anyone-know-why-that-number-was-chosen

Kind regards,
John


When TCP/IP was being designed, where did the concept of a loopback
> function come from?  How did it merge with the "connect to a port
> on the local host, without having to figure out its IP address" function
> that 127/8 eventually got used for?
>
> Did Jon Postel or other IP designers have the localhost function in mind
> for 127 when he first reserved it back in 1981?  Was 127 used this way
> prior to 1986?  Did Jon or others discuss this use prior to then?
>
>