The European Researchers’ Network Francois Fluckiger CERN, Geneva Published in La Recherche, Issue number 328, February 2000 “Special Internet, l’Avenir du Web” In the middle of the 1980s, most European countries did not dispose of any operational network. Whilst Governments (States) and the major computer manufacturers negotiate, public research computer scientists adopt the Internet technology. Without explicit mandates from their organisations, they deploy it, spreading it out all over, and ten years later, the door is opened to the private sector. François In spite of what has often science resources? In the United States, Fluckiger been said, the Internet is not the Arpanet network, set up in 1969, is, at the time of this a positive product of links universities and laboratories that article is published, in unconstrained liberalism, collaborate in research projects of the charge of the CERN nor a product of the Department of Defense. (See article by Web Services in imagination of private Jean-Claude Guédon p. 16.) But the Geneva. He is also enterprise which is free of technology used at that time to transport adjunct professor at the the straightjacket of data is not the one we know today – University of Geneva, member of the Advisory autocratic policy; neither “TCP/IP” technology will be introduced Council of the Internet could have accomplished into Arpanet only in 1983. What can Society (ISOC) and something that both researchers do with this network? expert for the European Governments and major Exchange electronic messages, transfer Commission. institutions had failed to files from one computer to another and achieve. connect at long distance to another No, the setting up of a world-wide computer. Moreover, the USENet information network, based on universal network, since 1979, allows any standards, is truly the result of public university who so wishes to exchange research: the Internet is the indirect any news item, the famous Internet product of universities and laboratories news, between any computer that has that not only invented the technology the Unix operating system installed, but – a rare fact – used it as a world- thanks to a technique developed by Bell wide operational network, at the Laboratories (UUCP: Unix to Unix researchers’ service. Copy Protocol). Our narrative begins in 1980. What What’s happening in Europe? facilities did universities and Research into computer network researchers have at their disposal then to technology remains active. It splits into communicate between themselves or to two schools of thought: that of the accede, at a distance, to computer telecommunications operators, who To conceive, construct and use complex instruments (here the ATLAS detector), particle physics as practiced at CERN requires the participation of hundreds of researchers, engineers and computer scientists: this culture of collaboration promoted the development of the Internet. develop standards based on telephone impetus of Ira Fuchs who is in charge of network principles – this approach the computer centre of the City culminates in the X.25 standard, largely University of New York, they decide, due to the work of the Centre National on their own initiative, to interconnect d’Etudes des Telecommunications themselves and to offer an electronic (CNET) – and that of computer mail and news broadcasting service to scientists, illustrated in France by the their users. The name of the network is Institut National de Recherche en evocative: BITNet, Because It’s Time Informatique et Automatique (INRIA). Network. Its method of financing is The latter, led by Louis Pouzin, had very simple: each new centre starts to worked on solutions similar to those of seek a centre that is not too far away their American colleagues Bob Khan and already connected, and connects and Vint Cerf (see article by Louis itself at its own expense. BITNet Pouzin p.32 in this magazine). If becomes operational at the beginning of experimental networks have been put in 1981. Most of these centres use IBM place with success in Europe, such as computers, and it is without surprise the French INRIA Cyclades network, that one sees IBM actively supporting no ambitious plan exists for the this initiative. In parallel, American deployment of either national or multi- university computer science research disciplinary infrastructures, i.e., open to departments interconnect themselves as all universities and researchers. Except well, by setting up the CSNet for two countries: in Norway and in (Computer Science Network), under the Great Britain, work has begun on the initiative of Professor Larry Landweber one hand on the development of the of the University of Wisconsin. In required technology – in fact, everyone Europe, the British initiative, JANET – is inspired by the Arpanet technology, which starts to offer its first services – but nobody thinks to use it directly - is echoed. Germany creates a structure and on the other hand its baptized DFN (Deutsches implementation in a national network ForschungsNetz), SUENet and FUNet (UNINETT in Norway and JANET in greet the day in Sweden and in Finland, Great Britain). During the period 1980- soon to be followed by SURFNet in the 1983, the situation becomes more Netherlands. They are, above all, complicated in the United States, and, development structures, not yet in Europe, awareness slowly dawns. operational networks. On the other side of the Atlantic, university computer centres, most of The year 1983 is a turning point for which are not connected to the Arpanet what will become the world-wide network, can no longer wait. Under the Internet. Whilst most European 2 countries do not yet have a network, the offers to the end user a tangible service first efforts at world-wide coordination which is called an “application”, e.g. start. Curiously, the very first meeting electronic mail and is implemented by ever to be held to envisage a general “application protocols”. As of 1983, world-wide research network is not held the Arpanet network, the ancestor of the in the United States. It is held in Oslo, American Internet, will use protocols in July 1983 (see box “First Steps”), at called TCP/IP for their transport the initiative of Larry Landweber, that technology. Their success was such exceptional visionary. Oslo inaugurates that, for a number of years, their name a series of events that Larry will will replace that of the network. One organize – the 1984 edition is held in talks of the “TCP/IP Network”. Paris – and which will be transformed, in 1991, into official In fact, TCP/IP contains two distinct In July 1983, the conferences of the Internet protocols: The IP (Internet Protocol), first meeting Society (ISOC). Once again, on the one hand, which specifies that where the future the impetus came from the data flow sent out by one computer world-wide universities and public sector to another must be split beforehand by research researchers who, without any the source computer into individual network is explicit mandate from their blocks, known as packets, and on the elaborated is institute, meet to lay down other hand, TCP (Transport Control held in Oslo together the base of a global Protocol) which allows the two initiative. The Oslo meeting communicating computers to detect if allowed not only to verify a common any packets are lost and if desire to create a trans-national retransmission is required. The network, and not just national islets, but specificity of IP is essential: packets also brought to light one of the major are independent of each other, as a letter difficulties that this enterprise would that is posted is independent, even if it encounter: the deep divide concerning is part of a more global correspondence. the choice of technologies. Now the Since packets are independent - just like most painful phase begins: the protocol letters sent via the postal service – they war. must each carry the address of the remote computer. Inside the network, The history of the Internet cannot be packets are forwarded by relays known dissociated from that of its technology. as routers, connected one to the other, Communication between computers just like the mesh of Post Offices and requires the use common rules and a Sorting Offices. It can thus happen that common language. These rules are an Internet packet, following a different called communication protocols. They route, arrives at its destination before broadly divide into two types. The first another that preceded it at the time of type is designed to ensure the transport emission. It is this principle, known as of raw information data between two the principle of connectionless network points, independent of their communication, that gave rise to the significance or of their use: These rules liveliest confrontations between a are implemented by “transport fraction of Europe and the United States protocols”. The second type of rule 3 During this epoch there are three types open to all: the IETF (Internet of Internet application Engineering Task Force. The protocols and this will Any individual or Internet designers set up this remain so until 1991: group of individuals, structure so as to benefit from SMTP for electronic mail, from a mere student contributions from all over the FTP for the exchange of to a group of experts, world, from universities, files and Telnet for the can propose an idea. researchers and engineers in connection from a terminal the public or private sector. to a computer at long distance. Thus, There is no need to belong to a no Web! These Internet protocols have Standards Organisation in order to two properties: they are open, i.e. they propose an idea, an improvement or a do not belong to any particular new norm: any individual or group of manufacturer and can thus operate on individuals, at whatever rank or any type of computer; they are public, qualification, from a mere student to a i.e.