[ih] Fw: First ARPANET Link Put Into Service: November 21, 1969

[Barbara Denny]

 I have asked Don Nielson (SRI)  to see if he can provide any additional info.
I haven't heard back yet.
barbara
    On Friday, November 21, 2025 at 02:06:17 PM PST, Steve Crocker via Internet-history <internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:  
 
 That just seems wrong.  I don't recall any disruption once the line between
UCLA was connected.  The was undoubtedly installed in advance of the
installation of the IMP at SRI, else the IMP wouldn't have been able to
talk to anything.  The hardware interface for the SRI machine was likely
also working either at the time of installation or immediately thereafter.
Any delay after that was, as usual, due to software development.

I recall Larry Roberts coming for a visit.  That was a big deal because he
didn't come very often.  I recall showing him my implementation of TECO
which displayed the contents of the buffer on the DEC 340 display Mike
Wingfield had connected to the Sigma 7 for his master's thesis.  TECO is
remarkably simple to implement, so I didn't think much of it at the time
except that it seemed like a cute exercise.  Only later did I come to
understand that Larry was a serious TECO hacker.  More relevantly and more
importantly, the fact that we could log into SRI was a relief.  Protool
developing was taking much longer than I had expected :)

Steve


On Fri, Nov 21, 2025 at 4:55 PM Jan Schaumann via Internet-history <
internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:

> Alexander McKenzie via Internet-history <internet-history at elists.isoc.org>
> wrote:
> > Note that the phone line was installed and operational in October
> (October
> > 29, 1969).  This has nothing to do with November 21.
> >
> > In November an IMP (and phone lines) was installed at UCSB.  Perhaps
> that's
> > what this announcement was trying to celebrate? (First possibility of
> > multiple pats between source and destination?)
>
> It seems so.  The Wikipedia page for ARPANET[1] says
> (after noting the "lo" message on 29 October 1969):
>
> "The first permanent ARPANET link was established on
> 21 November 1969, between the IMP at UCLA and the IMP
> at the Stanford Research Institute."
>
> However, there is no citation for that.
>
> -Jan
>
> [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARPANET
> --
> Internet-history mailing list
> Internet-history at elists.isoc.org
> https://elists.isoc.org/mailman/listinfo/internet-history
> -
> Unsubscribe:
> https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/9b6ef0621638436ab0a9b23cb0668b0b?The%20list%20to%20be%20unsubscribed%20from=Internet-history
>


-- 
Sent by a Verified

sender
-- 
Internet-history mailing list
Internet-history at elists.isoc.org
https://elists.isoc.org/mailman/listinfo/internet-history
-
Unsubscribe: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/9b6ef0621638436ab0a9b23cb0668b0b?The%20list%20to%20be%20unsubscribed%20from=Internet-history