The advent of computer networks

Computer network emergence time

Computer network appeared in the 1960s.

The first generation computer network is a remote online system centered on a single computer. A typical application is an airplane reservation system composed of one computer and more than 2,000 terminals across the United States. The terminal is a computer. Peripherals, including monitor and keyboard, no CPU and memory. As the number of remote terminals increases, a front-end machine (FEP) is added in front of the host computer. At that time, people defined computer networks as "systems connected for the purpose of transmitting information to achieve remote information processing or further resource sharing." Such communication systems already had the prototype of a network.

Definition of computer network

In a broad sense

Computer network is also called computer communication network. The simplest definition of a computer network is: a collection of interconnected, autonomous computers that share resources.

Press to connect

A computer network is a collection of autonomous computers interconnected through lines. To be precise, it is a collection of independent computers distributed in different geographical locations. A system that connects capable computers, terminals and their ancillary equipment with communication equipment and communication lines, and configures network software to realize computer resource sharing.

On demand

A computer network is a large number of independent but interconnected computers that work together to complete computer tasks. These systems are called computer networks.

Development History of Computer Network

Since the emergence of computer network, its development speed and widespread application are astonishing. Throughout the development of computer networks, it has roughly gone through the following four stages:

birth stage

The first generation of computer networks before the mid-1960s was based on A typical application of a single computer-centered remote online system is an airplane booking system consisting of one computer and more than 2,000 terminals across the United States. The terminal is a peripheral device of a computer, including a monitor and keyboard, without CPU and memory. As the number of remote terminals increases, a front-end machine (FEP) is added in front of the host computer. At that time, people defined computer networks as "systems connected for the purpose of transmitting information to achieve remote information processing or further resource sharing." Such communication systems already had the prototype of a network.

Formation stage

The second-generation computer network from the mid-1960s to the 1970s was based on multiple hosts interconnected through communication lines to provide services to users. It emerged in the late 1960s, with the typical representative being ARPANET developed with the assistance of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The hosts are not directly connected by lines, but are interconnected after being transferred by the Interface Message Processor (IMP). The IMP and the interconnected communication lines between them are responsible for the communication tasks between hosts and constitute a communication subnet. The hosts interconnected by the communication subnet are responsible for running programs, providing resource sharing, and forming a resource subnet. During this period, the concept of network was "a collection of computers with independent functions interconnected for the purpose of sharing resources with each other", which formed the basic concept of computer networks.

Interconnection stage

The third-generation computer network from the late 1970s to the 1990s was an open and open network with a unified network architecture and compliance with international standards. Standardized network. After the rise of ARPANET, computer networks developed rapidly, and major computer companies successively launched their own network architectures and software and hardware products that implement these structures. Since there is no unified standard, it is difficult to interconnect products from different manufacturers. People urgently need an open, standardized and practical network environment. As a result, the two most important international architectures have emerged, namely the TCP/IP system. structure and the International Organization for Standardization's OSI architecture.

High-speed network technology stage

The fourth-generation computer network from the 1990s to the present. Due to the mature development of local area network technology and the emergence of optical fiber and high-speed network technology, the entire network has Like a large computer system that is transparent to users, it has developed into the Internet represented by the Internet.

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