[ih] How to build the Internet

[Alexander McKenzie]

On 20-Apr-24 23:31, John Day via Internet-history wrote:
> In the early 70s, people were trying to figure out how to interwork
multiple networks of different technologies. What was the solution that was
arrived at that led to the current Internet?

1. Designing a to-be-universally-adopted protocol with the following
features:
universal addressing
specified data unit: Internet chose 8-bit byte
allowed range of data values: Internet chose "all"
method of identifying each data unit: Internet chose sequence numbering
method for separating data from metadata: Internet chose data count

2. Understanding that the protocol so designed would be one of a number of
protocol layers: lower levels to take account of network physical
characteristics, and upper layers to take account of the needs of specific
applications.

3. Anticipating the design of devices at the interfaces between networks
which could
understand the best destination within each of its connected networks to
each universal address
encapsulating the end-to-end data and metadata within a transmission
unit(s) suitable for the network it was entering
properly addressing the transmission unit(s)
implementing enough of the universal protocol to be able to break incoming
transmission units into a size suitable for carriage by the next network

4. Agreeing that no network could be part of the Internet unless it could
carry all metadata plus at least one data unit in one of its own
transmission units and had no restrictions on data values

Cheers,
Alex