[ih] Internet: 57 years later, what does Professor Kleinrock think of the his creation?

[vinton cerf]

Thanks John,
correct about Wes contribution for sure. The IMP presented a packet
interface (BBN 1822) but internally set up a two way connection between end
IMPs. Between IMPs the packets flowed in store-and-forward fashion and
allowed for adaptive alternative routing, so the routing was not a fixed
circuit although the end-point IMPs established an end/end relationship
that could be seen as a 'circuit' especially considering reservation of
reassembly space as part of the "set up".

v


On Sat, Oct 31, 2026 at 10:51 AM John Day <jeanjour at comcast.net> wrote:

> Vint,
> A slight correction to your note.
>
> A APRA PI meeting in early 67 rejected Roberts plans for the ARPANET
> because their systems were too loaded as it was. But Wes Clark suggested
> putting minicomputers in front of the hosts as a front-end, hence the IMPs.
> If you look closely, the IMP is really a virtual circuit packet switch on
> the backend and a front-end to the host.  Host-IMP protocol is part of the
> front-end part that sets up connections between hosts and reassembles
> packets into multi-packet messages. It was the front-end function that was
> the source of the deadlocks we talk about.
>
> Take care,
> John
>
> > On Oct 31, 2026, at 07:16, vinton cerf via Internet-history <
> internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
> >
> > The 10/29/1969 was a two node test of the Arpanet and involved
> connecting a
> > terminal at UCLA to a host at SRI International that were connected via
> two
> > Interface Message Processors (IMPs) which we would call packet switches
> > today. There was no host level protocol for that test. The protocol that
> > linked the Arpanet hosts was developed under the leadership of Steve
> > Crocker and was eventually called either the host-to-host protocol or
> > Network Control Protocol (or Program) in 1970 (see IETF RFC document
> > series, also started by Steve Crocker; RFC 33 Feb 1970). Three of us
> worked
> > at the Network Measurement Lab, led by Leonard Kleinrock: Steve Crocker,
> > Vint Cerf and Jon Postel, among others. The Internet development started
> in
> > the Spring of 1973 at Stanford and was initiated by Bob Kahn (then at
> > DARPA) who invited Vint Cerf to work with him on the project. The
> > Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) protocol was published in May 1974 in
> > IEEE Transactions. By Dec 1974, a complete TCP spec was published in Dec
> > 1974 (RFC 675) written by Cerf, Yogen Dalal and Carl Sunshine at
> Stanford.
> > Three networks made up the cohort populating the early Internet: Arpanet,
> > Packet Radio network and the Atlantic Packet Satellite network. The first
> > two-network test of the Internet protocols occurred in Summer 1976
> linking
> > the Packet Radio network to the Arpanet and was conducted by SRI
> > International. The first three network test was conducted Nov 22, 1977
> > including Packet Radio, Packet Satellite and Arpanet. Internet went
> > operational on January 1, 1983.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Sat, Oct 31, 2026 at 3:19 AM Frantisek Borsik via Internet-history <
> > internet-history at elists.isoc.org> wrote:
> >
> >> "Leonard Kleinrock and a team of scientists at UCLA gave life to the
> >> Internet at precisely 10:30 PM on October 29, 1969, quite literally
> >> changing the world.
> >>
> >> 57 years later, what does Professor Kleinrock think of the his
> creation?"
> >>
> >> https://x.com/lainaminute/status/2115898117229039925
> >> <
> >>
> https://x.com/lainaminute/status/2115898117229039925?a=bXFqldnx0o8OUK9A6xw&s=46
> >>>
> >>
> >> https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BU8EMAfdG/?mibextid=wwXIfr
> >>
> >> https://www.instagram.com/reel/DfFw5IGSTy9/
> >> <https://www.instagram.com/reel/DfFw5IGSTy9/?mdxt=MTMzMTRwdDliNjcyNw==>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> All the best,
> >>
> >> Frank
> >> Frantisek (Frank) Borsik
> >>
> >> In loving memory of Dave Täht: 1965-2025
> >> https://libreqos.io/2025/04/01/in-loving-memory-of-dave/
> >>
> >>
> >> https://www.linkedin.com/in/frantisekborsik
> >> Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp: +421919416714 <+421%20919%20416%20714>
> <+421%20919%20416%20714>
> >> iMessage, mobile: +420775230885 <+420%20775%20230%20885>
> <+420%20775%20230%20885>
> >> Skype: casioa5302ca
> >> frantisek.borsik at gmail.com
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